One of the key elements of success in prospecting, finding new clients (members), nurturing leads, moving CEOs down the path of learning to signing up is thought leadership.
Your prospects want to trust you, believe in you, accept that you bring more knowledge or can "facilitate" more knowledge than they currently possess about being a CEO.
The most commonly accepted approach to communicating your SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE (SME) as a facilitator of CEO knowledge is through thought leadership.
What is thought leadership?
It's taking both original content, case studies, your personal experiences, the thousands of articles Vistage/TEC speakers and TAs have written and adding your unique point of view. This continuous communication approach with your prospects establishes you as the thought leader they are seeking and the value they desire.
It can also differentiate you from other facilitators, coaches, and consultants seeking the same CEO. In a world where the buyer now controls the information flow and discovery is completely transparent, a lack of thought leadership will push you to the bottom of a prospect's choice. You'll essentially be relegated to picking up the crumbs from others who are establishing their thought leadership and in the process creating a powerful brand for themselves.
The tools are now available to chairs to create thought leadership simply, quickly, and with a minimum of time investment. Leveraging your network, content collection and curation tools, and social media to distribute your content -- chairs are perfectly positioned to take advantage of many of these new technologies.
I recently posted an article that discussed thought leadership and content curation into my Vistage/TEC LinkedIn Discussion Group for Leveraging Social Media. Here's the link in case you missed that recent discussion:
3 Rules for Driving Thought Leadership with Content Curation
Barry Deutsch
P.S. Call or email me to schedule a quick 20 minute review of whether you're capable of using these tools to rapidly engage potential members and move them through your pipeline.
