B2B Lead Generation Blog

Generate over 60,0000 inquiries by educating people?

Last year, I wrote a post on giving away ideas to proactively educate and attract future customers. I was surprised that it generated such a lively discussion.

Michael Stelzner wrote the following comment on my post back then, “I have been giving away my trade secrets for years (against the advice of advisors). The results have been amazing. The fact is that folks look to you as a thought leader when you share your secrets. In addition, the discussion that comes from sharing results is a better idea.”

Today, Michael just launched a series of videos on how he is leveraging educational techniques to pull in inquiries and generate leads. Michael told me he's got a bunch of videos he plans to release over the next few days telling how he generated over 60,000 inquiries and leads for his business by giving away his ideas.

Watch his first video, "How To Generate Mass Interest in Your Business During Tough Times." (No need to do anything special, it will just start playing.)

ITSMA: Elevating Demand in a Crowded World

Generating demand has become a top priority for most companies in today’s slower environment. The most successful programs are much more targeted than in past years and favor quality over quantity.

You're invited to join me at ITSMA's (IT Services Marketing Association) upcoming Marketing Leadership Forum May 6-7, 2008 in La Jolla, CA. I’ll be giving a keynote on “The Playbook for Effective Lead Management” and I'm looking forward to meeting the other speakers.

Please note is there is a fee for this event. ITSMA has extended a their member rate discount to B2B Lead Generation Blog readers. To register this way, select “My Company is an ITSMA Member,” and in the Comments field enter “Brian Carroll Offer.” Register here

They have a great line up of speakers including:

• John Aiello, CEO, SAVO
• Brian Bakstran, SVP, Field Marketing, North America, CA
• Paul Dunay, Global Director, Integrated Marketing, BearingPoint
• Janis Fratamico, Director, Marketing, Global Business Services – Americas, IBM
• Ajit Maira, Senior Vice President, ITSMA
• Julie Meyers, Vice President, Global Marketing, Xerox Global Services
• Jean Ostvoll, Global Marketing Director, Products, Accenture

Podcast: A new role for sales as expert content filters

I just had a great interview with Robin Carey, co-founder of the Customer Collective.

Salespeople have become the second choice for information among buyers who'd rather just go to the Internet. This trend actually creates an opportunity for those who think and act like trusted advisors.

You can listen here

In the interview, I share how I got my start and how the Internet has shifted control away from marketers and salespeople. I also describe how today's sales people can add value to the buying process by becoming expert content filters for prospects. This is the key to lead nurturing with a human touch.

What's The Customer Collective? It's a new business outreach community for sales and marketing executives. It was built in collaboration with established media companies like Business Week, ZDNet and BNET. I see it as a social media site (that doesn't focus on social media) but rather looks at real meat and potatoes sales and marketing. We need more sites like this.

Lead Nurturing is about Relationships, not e-mails

Carrying on the theme of my recent post on lead nurturing as trusted advisors with the  human touch, I came across Mike Volpe's post over the HubSpot Marketing Blog. I thought he did a nice job of showing the human touch in action as part of the lead nurturing process.

The goal of lead nurturing is to maintain a relevant and consistent dialog with viable future customers - regardless of their timing to buy. It’s about relationships. As you read Mike’s story, you'll notice how he helped “Kristen” move through her buying process not by selling but by seeking first to be a relevant resource to her.

Lead nurturing requires a shift away from the traditional marketing mind-set to a new way of thinking centered on the following tenets:

• Companies don't buy - people do. Don't ever forget the human touch. 
• Build relationships with the right people and companies regardless of their timing to buy.  Engage these people early in their buying process (preferably before) and you can co-create and influence their vision.
• Trusted advisers win more sales than slick brands.
• More ROI is reaped from the patient tending of future customers (relationships) over time. Think: customers for life.
• Lead nurturing is a conversation, not a series of disjointed campaigns. 
• A multi-tactic and multi-touch lead generation portfolio will always outperform marketing tactics that stand alone.
• Generate relevant content that engages the right decision makers/influencers.
• The first impression matters.  So does the second.  So does every single touch after that.  Consistency and relevancy is key.

If you keep these ideas top of mind, the way you nurture leads will naturally go beyond just e-mail. You’ll start thinking about how you and your sales people can be a relevant resource. When you do that, you don’t have to sell to people. They will come to you first when they are ready. Again, it’s about relationships.

Lead Nurturing as trusted advisors with the Human Touch

In today’s commoditized business climate I think what sets companies apart with a complex sale is how well they build and cultivate relationships.

Over the years, I’ve observed a truth; and this truth will requires many sales people to reconsider how they think selling should be done.

The truth is, average sales people think they are most effective when they talk with someone WHEN they are ready to buy, but top performers seek to build relationships with the right people in the right companies BEFORE they're ready to buy.

This is where marketing can have a profound impact by helping their sales team go beyond the lead.

Today’s prospects have a general lack of trust and they simply don’t want to be sold. They are weary of pitches, hype, pushy sales people and manipulative marketing tactics. They are time constrained and too busy to think or strategize. So what do they do with most sales and marketing messages? They simply ignore them.

For this reason, I think it’s critical to contact and have initial conversations with our future customers that are devoid of sales pitches.  Quite literally when we begin a conversation with them, their attitudes and beliefs are being shaped, primed by the information they have already soaked up through various sources. 

Be a resource to them regardless of their timing to buy. Otherwise, they are likely to get information from the internet or uninformed colleagues, trade publications or heaven forbid your competitors. In other words, we need to move from lead generation campaigns to conversations.

Sellers can make the biggest impact early on in the buying process, or before it happens by developing relationships with potential clients and becoming a trusted advisor. The best way to do this is by starting with what we call the “human touch.” A personal phone call to the right person that is free of sales hype is the best way to build relationships that lead to positive sales results.

Relationship building with prospects is part of the overall lead nurturing process.

The goal of lead nurturing is to maintain a relevant and consistent dialog with viable leads - regardless of their timing to buy - until they are sales ready. A key aspect of lead nurturing is the ability to provide valuable education and information to prospects up front. In this way you will be able to position yourself as a trusted advisor and perhaps even a thought leader.

I was honored to speak at the Jill Konrath's Sales Shebang. Jill posted a summary of what I shared on the Selling to Big Companies blog. It includes specific tips on how you can leverage thought leadership to win more sales with lead nurturing.

Read: Leverage Thought Leadership to Win More Sales (with Nurturing)

Lesson’s learned from Podcasting

If you plan on entering the world of podcasting or want to make yours better, you can read what I’ve learned in my MarketingProfs article, "Lessons Learned from Podcasting."

Similar to blogging, podcasting is a medium that B2B marketers remain on the fence about. Are they worth the time investment? Should you start a podcast to generate leads? I would say probably not, at least if that’s your only motivation.

Podcasts work because they have an appeal of authenticity. There is power in the human voice. And that’s why they are a great way to positively inform and educate your audience. If that’s a goal you have, then read on.

Think of podcasts as content pieces to use as part a lead nurturing program. If you’re going to start podcasting don’t just do one and see what happens. A good podcast requires a commitment to do more than one to build your audience.

Here are some podcast ideas you can try:

• Ideas or tips of the day, week or month
• Talk radio complete with topic and call-in listeners
• Short interviews with thought leaders and industry experts
• Recording speeches, webinars or teleconferences for later distribution
• Promote an upcoming event by giving a preview of the speaker or content

I’ve done a number of podcasts and learned that my listeners don’t have time for 20 minute podcasts. For future podcasts, I’m going to break them into shorter bite sized segments. Also, I’m exploring some technologies that allow smart tagging of audio so people can skip ahead or click into the specific audio content they believe is relevant.  Any suggestions here would be welcome.

Did you know that most people don’t listen to podcasts via MP3 players? The majority still listen from their desktops instead. That’s a good thing if your using them for lead nurturing. We’ve found that sending links to the podcast audio file via email (as part of a nurturing program) along with a short message is an effective way to reach more listeners.

Ultimately, your reasons for podcasting may be to use your content for lead generation, but I urge you to begin with a heart to make a difference with your audience. If you begin with that in mind, your efforts to inform and educate will be obvious and you’ll increase the odds that your audience will keep listening.

The One Piece Of Advice You Can't Generate Leads Without

The staff at Raintoday approached a group of B2B lead generation experts with the following question: "What is the one piece of advice you simply cannot generate leads without?"

The result was a special 36-page report with 10 all-new articles (mine included) aptly named "The One Piece Of Advice You Can't Generate Leads Without." I think you'll find it valuable.

Download your copy 

The expert authors and advice includes:

1. Trash Talk And Delete Buttons: A Candid Letter From Your Prospective Client
   Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies
2. More Is Not Better If You Don't Know How To Nurture
   Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch Inc and author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale
3. Find Out What Your Sales Team Considers A Lead
   Stefan Tornquist, Research Director & Sean Donahue, Senior Reporter, MarketingSherpa
4. If You Can't Measure It, Don't Do It
   Suzanne Lowe, President of Expertise Marketing and author of Marketplace Masters
5. Automate Lead Nurturing To Increase Lead Generation Effectiveness
   Laura Ramos, Vice President of Forrester's Marketing Strategy and Technology Team
6. Generating Leads By Finding Buyers In Trouble
   Larry Bodine, Owner-Operator of LawMarketing Portal and Larry Bodine Marketing
7. Tales To Keep Them Talking
   Ardath Albee, B2B Marketing Strategist, Marketing Interactions 
8. Promising Prospect - Or Dead End? Start By Defining A Lead
   Roy Young, President with Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
9. All Sound And Fury, Signifying Nothing: Executing Your Lead Generation Plan
   Mike Schultz, Publisher, RainToday.com and Principal, Wellesley Hills Group
10. B2B Sales Lead Success Checklist
    M.H. (Mac) McIntosh, B2B Marketing Consultant, The B2B Sales Lead Experts

Content ideas for lead nurturing and tactics to use

When it comes to lead nurturing, I find that many marketers get stuck because they lack enough good content to do it consistently. My advice (if you plan to do it) is to start accumulating content and building your lead nurturing library ASAP.

How do you build your library of relevant lead nurturing content?

A lead nurturing program can leverage existing investments that you have made in other marketing tactics such as events, white papers, contributed articles, or any other thought leading content. Third-party resources and content can also be effectively utilized to bring you an aspect of credibility through the the halo effect.

Begin by developing a catalog (think library) of all of your lead nurturing content. Unfortunately, if you have a lot of content this can be tedious process. But trust me it's worth it. To help you get started, I’ve put together a simple spreadsheet (with example data).  Download Lead-Nurturing-Content-Catalog-Sample.xls

Next, start digging around for good content in places such as your website, shared network folders and other content management systems that you have access too and collect that data in your spreadsheet. I advise starting with the most recent content first and then working your way back in time. And once you're done, be sure to keep your lead nurturing library catalog updated.

Here are some tactics you can use to leverage your lead nurturing content:

What can you send via direct mail?
The workhorse of business-to-business direct mail is still the one-page, personalized letter sent in a #10 envelope. Here are some direct mail content ideas: personal letters, dimensional mailers, books, newsletters, press releases, white papers, event invitations, research reports, case studies, success stories, article reprints and third-party articles.

What can you send via email?
Send personalized one-to-one emails with links to: by-lined articles, blog posts, relevant third party articles, case studies, press releases, white papers, e-newsletters, event invitations, archived events, research reports, blogs, success stories, case studies, videos, podcasts, and website content.

How can you leverage events?
Invite people to attend events such as: trade shows, live seminars, webinars, webcasts, executive briefings, workshops, conferences, road shows, speaking engagements and on demand events. Leverage past archived and recorded (archived) events with email links.

What can you do online?
Be sure to give your audience a way to subscribe to get updates either via RSS or via email. Here are some online examples such as: blog posts, podcasts, vidcasts, webinars, e-books, personalized microsites, wikis, and other multimedia.

What can you do via the phone?
Share new ideas, develop relationships, confirm correct contacts, get internal referrals, be sure to always get opt-in email addresses, personal invitations to events, reengage aged opportunities and identify sales ready leads.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of ideas but it should get you started. You might also find value in my recent webinar on lead nurturing relevant.

Do you have any other lead nurturing content ideas that you'd like to share?

Podcast: Interview with MarketingSherpa's Anne Holland

Would you like some inspiration or some fresh ideas for your marketing and lead generation strategy?

If so, MarketingSherpa just released their “Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08” and I had the privilege to interview Anne Holland about this year's findings. Very useful stuff. Download the Executive Summary

During our in-depth interview, Anne shares some terrific insights and helpful data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics.

Three data points that I found particularity interesting:

1. Teleprospecting works. As we all know, tech buyers are a notoriously tough crowd to cold call. Sherpa's findings contradict the "calling doesn't work" line we've heard for years. Their data shows that over 50% of tech buyers admitted to short listing a vendor after receiving a well timed and relevant phone call.

2. Sherpa's data shows that more decision makers (not just influencers) are attending webinars and watching archived events. This indicates the importance of relevant educational events and online content for lead generation.

3. Companies who provided fewer but higher quality "sales ready" leads to their sale people have better sales conversion rates than those that send lots of early stage leads and that creating a "cost per lead" culture just does not work.

Listen to podcast now (31 min MP3)

Show Agenda  

• Benchmark data that B2B all marketers must know
• Fresh ideas and best practices for lead qualification
• Why you should capture and track all web inquiries in your CRM
• How many buyers/influencers in the typical F500 buying process (hint: it's big!)
• Sherpa's unexpected data on B2B telemarketing (teleprospecting)
• Useful data on lead management and lead nurturing
• How webinars are reaching more decision makers than you would expect
• Common email mistakes (and why mobile devices matter more than you think)
• How and why high quality content is important and influential to buyers
• Why fewer leads is better (the CEOs role) and why "cost per lead" budgets fail
• Distinguishing characteristics of top performing marketers
• Unconventional research that will improve your corporate website homepage

The Business Technology Benchmark Marketing Guide features data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics especially valuable. They also have practical data on search, email, PR, direct mail, lead generation, trade shows, podcasting, telemarketing, budgeting and more. They interviewed over 1000 marketers, plus this year they gathered in-depth research from 4,658 actual business technology buyers.

If you are a marketer for a company that sells technology, I encourage you to get a copy of this report. It will definitely help you better budget, forecast, and benchmark your marketing results.

MarketingSherpa: Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08

Social Media Pundits Disconnect from B2B Marketing

As someone in B2B, do you feel left out of the social media buzz? I read a good article on "What’s Wrong With Social Media For B2B Marketing" by John Miller who also writes the Modern B2B Marketing blog.

John's article highlights something most of us in B2B marketing have come to accept. B2C marketing gets the vast majority of links and clicks while B2B hears the quiet sound of crickets chirping.

I remember when I started blogging in 2003 and there was only 11 true B2B marketing related blogs. Now there's are over a hundred. John lists about 80 of them on his blog.

John concludes, "The result is that there are fewer pundits and thought leaders writing about B2B marketing, resulting in fewer links to those early adopters who do write about business marketing techniques. And since links mean leadership on the web, the result is that the less-trendy subjects in B2B marketing—like marketing accountability and lead management—get left behind."

Personally, I think the reason B2B marketing receives less attention comes down to time and momentum.

I don't know a B2B marketer who isn’t swamped and time constrained. They often have more projects than hands to do them.

Plus, there are more B2C marketers than B2B marketers. Why? There are simply more consumer buyers than business buyers. And as consumers, it’s easier to understand B2C marketing experiences, concepts and ideas. There’s just more to write about, more people and thus there’s more momentum.

B2B is more complex. Complex things are harder communicate and take more time and effort to build momentum. For example, my business partners and I were talking at lunch about why Steven Hawking is less known at this stage of his life than Albert Einstein (don't ask why were talking about this). One person said, "You can put Einstein's E=mc2 on a t-shirt and then a consumer will buy that. You can’t do that with Hawking.”

My point? Those who spend more time talking about the trendy marketing mediums (ie. Blogs, podcasts, WOM, etc.) are easier to link to than those who are talking about the strategy and execution aspects that B2B marketers really need. It’s a momentum thing.

B2B marketers may never have the same amount of buzz as those in B2C and that's okay. B2B marketing isn’t a popularity contest. It's about results. Without us, B2C marketers wouldn't have anything to sell and our economy would suffer. That's a fact. And that's why I love it.

Podcast: The New Rules of Marketing & PR Interview with David Meerman Scott

Before the Internet and social media tools, companies could only communicate through the filter of advertising or media ink placed by a PR firm. But fortunately the rules have changed.

I just interviewed David Meerman Scott author the new book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly. The book was officially released on June 4, 2007.

David also writes the Web Ink Now blog and has been named to the MarketingSherpa Viral Marketing Hall of Fame for the past two years in a row. During our interview we cover a variety of topics that are relevant to lead generation, PR and marketing.

Show Notes

• The New Rules of Marketing & PR
• Strategies for reaching more buyers directly via the web
• The role of content in reaching people earlier in their buying process
• Building your online credibility and authority
• Thought leadership and the changing role of media and journalists
• PR tactics that work

Listen to podcast now (MP3 27 min 12 MB)
Subscribe to the Start With the Lead Show

David is a friend and colleague so I'm happy to see his book is doing so well. As I write this post his book is ranked in the top 100 of Amazon Best Sellers. Congrats David! Get your copy of The New Rules of Marketing & PR on Amazon.

Lead Generation via Podcasts: An Interview With Paul Dunay

Did you know that podcasting can help you generate more leads and nurture future customers? Research shows that Podcasts do impact B2B purchase decisions.

Buyers want to know you understand them and that you’re relevant to their specific needs. They also want to know the people behind the company. An excellent way to reach them is by developing thought leading (educational) content in the form of podcasts.

If you provide your prospects with high quality thought leading content as part of your lead nurturing process, then you will find that your prospects are calling you first when they are ready to buy.

I interviewed Paul Dunay, Director of Global Field Marketing for BearingPoint. Paul also writes the insightful Buzz Marketing for Technology Blog. I really enjoyed learning from his experience in the trenches. This year he's going to do over 120 podcasts!

Show Notes

• Where podcasting fits in the multimodal lead generation portfolio
• How podcasting helps establish and reinforce thought leadership
• Where podcasts can help your lead generation ROI
• Why podcasts are perfect for lead nurturing (I was flattered to learn that Paul found inspiration in my book to develop his strategy.)
• Outsource podcast production or do-it-yourself
• Hints and tips for marketers to start podcasting for lead generation

Listen to podcast now (MP3 22 min 5.6 MB)
Subscribe to the Start With the Lead Show

Your questions answered on Lead Generation via Podcasts

I’m looking forward to launching my new podcast, “Start with a Lead,” this April.  Our first interactive show will be on lead generation via podcasts.

As a lead generation tactic, podcasting is still in its infancy but it's expected to be used by many more b-to-b marketers in 2007. That's why I’m excited to interview Paul Dunay, Director of Global Field Marketing for BearingPoint. Paul also writes the insightful Buzz Marketing for Technology Blog.

I met Paul as a fellow presenter at MarketingSherpa's Demand Generation Summit and I loved his presentation on podcasting. Paul uses podcasts to engage senior leaders and create demand and generate leads for his firm and he has a ton of real-world experience to share with us on podcasting. This year, he's planning to do over 120 podcasts! 

I’m going to “open the phone lines” to listeners who’d like to ask questions in advance of the show so we can be more interactive and get your specific questions answered.

Do you have about questions lead generation via podcasts? Please submit your questions (via comments) for me to ask Paul or call our listener feedback line at 1-877-635-0560 (toll-free) to leave your questions.

Here's some of the questions I'd like to ask Paul:

• What compelled you to start doing podcasts?
• How does podcasting help you communicate more directly, and more personally, with your audience?
• Where does podcasting fit in the multimodal lead generation portfolio?
• How has podcasting helped you establish and reinforce your thought leadership platform?
• What's the impact of podcasting on your demand generation efforts and how to you measure ROI?

Now Announcing the "Start With A Lead" Podcast Show

I am pleased to announce that I'll be hosting a new podcast show called "Start with a Lead" debuting in April. 

The show will have content specifically for marketers and those who care about B2B lead generation, sales leads, and marketing strategies focused on the complex sale.

In the show, you’ll hear from thought leading experts on a variety of marketing and lead generation topics. You'll get the latest tips and strategies; and learn what really works and what doesn't to generate high quality leads in the complex sale.

Why a new show? Over the past few years, I’ve experimented with podcasting, (you can see my old podcast here) but now like Emeril, I’m ready to 'kick it up a notch’ and apply what I’ve learned from experience and listener feedback. 

Also, I’m  going to “open the phone lines” to listeners who’d like to ask questions in advance of the show so we can be more interactive and get your specific questions answered.  I’m looking forward to learning with you as I interview leading experts (and ask your questions) to get the latest contemporary thinking on lead generation. Stay tuned!

On giving away ideas

I had coffee with a potential partner and our conversation ebbed to a discussion about marketing philosophy and lead generation.  He said something like, "I think companies [like yours] give away many of their trade secrets on their website. They provide too much information.  If I wanted to compete with you... all I would need to do is read your website or blog. The purpose of a website is to solicit interest... you've got to get people to respond... to generate leads."

My response...

People use the web for research; they are looking for fresh ideas, insight and actionable information.  Intellectual property is difficult to protect and is quickly commoditized by the market. Why not leverage some of your IP to your advantage? Leverage it and demonstrate your thought leadership. 

It’s difficult to defend technology that can easily become commoditized and your processes can be copied or improved upon as well. You can't even keep all of your people indefinitely. There are more protections for tangible products but not many for service based business, which most companies are evolving to anyway.

I have a friend who is a NASCAR fan and what he loves is that it's more about the driver than the car. All the cars are the same.  It’s the driver and the crew that make the difference. It's kind of like that with business now. 

Most companies have the same basic car. It's really about how well you drive it. The driver and crew in this metaphor can be seen as thought leadership; the ideas and talents that set the team apart from others. It’s what people remember and identify with. Features and benefit are cool, but sooner than later everyone’s car has the same features anyway.

This is particularity important for companies engaged in a complex sale, where up to 70% of a customer’s perception of your brand comes from their interactions with your sales people. I believe that the people and companies who succeed today are those who learn faster and teach others what they know more effectively. 

My skeptical coffee companion had a schotoma (blind spot) because his viewpoint came from a product driven, B2C, branding perspective.

I didn't have any formal training in marketing before I got started. At first that seemed like a disadvantage, but now I realize that having a clean slate gave me the advantage of being untainted. I strive to not have preconceived notion of how it SHOULD BE.  Instead, I listen to the voice of my customers and what I hear is that they want a relationship with a trusted advisor, not someone who guards their thoughts and ideas.

So what happens to people/companies that keep the ideas to themselves?

Jure Cuhalev over at the g. blog also has some great thoughts on giving away ideas. Jure writes, "...I have a theory of what happens to them. They start losing their ability to produce new ideas, since their current idea preoccupies them. They think about it all the time to the point that they can not think of anything fresh." 

Jure also quotes David Kelley, one of the most visible product designers in the world, especially in the world of high technology. Kelly is founder of IDEO, America's largest independent product design and development firm.

I think Kelly's viewpoint goes well beyond design. Read the following quote and replace "designers" with your role (ie. CEOs, Marketers and so on)... I think it will ring true.

According to Kelly, "Successful designers just send out their vision to the world; and then, when somebody else builds on it, that’s okay. They’re not protective of their ideas because they’re so used to having ideas. A creative designer has an idea a minute. Publicizing an idea is a way to improve on the idea—someone else can build on it, expand it. If you’re fluent with ideas, as most design people are, you don’t have to be fearful. You don’t protect your one good idea because your afraid you’ll never have another good one."

Again, it's not the car. It's the crew and driver.

How to Become a Thought Leader and Attract Customers

Would you like to be more visible and generate sales leads on a limited budget? Become a thought leader! Thought leadership gives you an edge to combat commoditization and attract more business. 

RainToday recently released the results of a new, year-long research project called How To Become A Thought Leader. The report was written for service providers but I believe the core ideas also apply to most companies with a complex sale.  Thanks goes to Britton Manasco for reminding via his blog post, "It Pays to Be a Thought Leader."

As I wrote a while back in my post, "in defense of thought leadership," there are just a few select thought leaders in every industry and field of study.  So everyone can't be one. But if you have the vision, desire and passion to do it, this report tells you how. 

I was humbled to be interviewed, along with eight other business leaders, and to be able to contribute to this report, which includes:

• 100 Pages of expert analysis on how to become a thought leader in your field
• 95 Pages of stories and advice from thought leaders in professional services
• 20 learning checklists and questions for self-evaluation
• Down-to-earth views of how passion, relevance and reach work together for you

Download my 14-page interview on thought leadership (243K PDF)

Get more info on the report at http://www.raintoday.com/thoughtleader.cfm

Winning the Complex Sales Cycle with Thought leading Content

David Meerman Scott shares some great ideas on how to leverage your thought leading content on your website.  I agree. For lead generation, the concept of thought leading content should go beyond the website.  This is where lead nurturing fits in. 

Lead nurturing is all about having consistent and meaningful communication with viable prospects regardless of their timing to buy.  In the complex sale, we need to continually remind ourselves that companies don't buy - people do.  People buy on emotion and back fill with logic.  BTW - Bob Bly has a great discussion on, "Do People Buy Based on Emotion or Logic?"  So why is this important?

In every buyers mind, there is fear, uncertainty, and doubt.  Customers are weary of pitches, hype, pushy sales people and manipulative marketing.  Here are some of the questions your potential customers may be asking right now:

Is the company credible and solid?
Is there another company that is better?
Will your solution really work for them?
Budget: Can I afford it?
Vision: Will buying from you make a difference?
Is it going to be successful? Is this worth doing?
Can I trust you and your company?

Relevant content is key. Lead nurturing is about sharing content that helps people find the answers to these questions and reminds them of the benefits of working with you.  People want to work with trusted advisors.  People who truly "get them."

By combining content with lead nurturing, your potential customer’s inner dialog should eventually say the following: “You and I have been talking for quite a while. You understand me, my company and my industry. You have given me useful and relevant ideas around this issue. You have helped me sell this idea to my colleagues and they understand and accept this idea. I realize this is going to be a challenging project but I think you can do it. Okay, let's get going.” 

Web Ink Now: Shorten the Complex Sales Cycle with Web Content.

Using Thought Leader Content as a Lead Generation Tool

Using thought leader content as a lead generation tool

Demonstrating your expertise gives you an edge to combat commoditization by attracting more business and proactively building your reputation. This is especially important in generating postitive word of mouth (WOM) too.

As an expert, people and companies will seek you out when they have problems. You’ll evolve from a vendor that is simply selling products and services to being an expert that is selling value. If you’re really good, people (you don’t even know) will start recommending you to their collegues and peers.

A while back, I met with a CRM consulting firm. They were interested in developing a lead generation program and I asked them about their value proposition. They said they were thought leaders. In fact, their website said so! When I visited their so called “thought leader” section, it contained just a few ‘white papers’ which required user registration to download. There really wasn’t any other proof. That’s not thought leadership!

There are a number of things you can do to share your expertise and establish a reputation for creating value. Thought leaders often do the following things; they write, speak, do research, analyze trends, and openly share insightful ideas with people (regardless of their timing to buy).

My point: Share your information freely and try to be a resource, otherwise your potential customers will find someone else who will.

Using thought leader content as a lead generation tool
Content is king in demonstrating your thought leadership and expertise. I’ve found that creating good content doesn’t require a lot of budget but it definitely requires time, a desire to learn, and a willingness to teach others what you’ve learned. Your actions demonstrate your thought leadership.

(click image to enlarge) The thought leadership mindmap, shows some of the types of content that you can use to position your company as “the” experts. If you want to be looked upon as an expert, your thought leading content needs to focus on your potential customer’s needs, issues and concerns. It must be relevant!

Some thought leadership content rules of thumb:

1. It must be relevant to your target audience or their sphere of influence
2. It needs to be timely and address the issues faced by your target audience
3. It needs to demonstrate your value and tie into your value proposition
4. It needs to give more value than the time it takes to process and digest it

The modalities you’ll choose to share, promote and distribute your content will depend on your market and your target audience. As a general rule, you will select less intrusive methods of capturing people who are just at the awareness phase of the buying process. Then you can use more intrusive methods like phone calling to see where they are at in their process and learn how you can be more of a resource. What thought leadership content am I missing?

Also See: Winning the Complex Sales Cycle with Thought leading Content

In defense of thought leadership

Trevor Cook and David Murray skewer the term "thought leadership" on their respective blogs.  I agree with their arguments to a point. 

Yes - people do abuse the term "thought leader" and it can be contrived and meaningless.  That being said, I completely disagree with the definition of thought leadership as presented.

First of all, thought leaders don't refer to themselves as thought leaders.  For the same reason, I think it is silly that many marketers are trying to setup blogs because their bosses told them so.  Uh, that’s not the point. 

It's a conversation - a dialog. A friend gave me this simple advice that's served me my entire career, "just be people with people." In other words, be real, be authentic and put your whole self into what you do. That's the essence of blogging.  Okay back on track...

So what is a thought leader?
A thought leader is a recognized authority in one’s field.   Elise Bauer wrote an article on thought leadership that I referenced a while back.

Bauer writes, “What differentiates a thought leader from any other knowledgeable company [or individual] is the recognition from the outside world that the company deeply understands its business, the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates.”  She continues, “Trust is built on reputation and reputation is generally NOT built on advertising or looking smart.” 

I agree.  People have a natural "BS" meter.  We can sense when someone is just trying to sound smart rather than be authentic.  Most of us can recognize a charlatan, one who pontificates about their expertise.  These so called thought leaders are just trying to edify themselves. 

Thought leadership is not what you say or write.  It is a way of being.  There are just a select few thought leaders in every industry and field of study.  Thought leaders genuinely influence others by creating, advancing and sharing ideas.  Their objective is to help others. 

In business, thought leaders revolutionize the way others (both inside and outside their companies) do business.  That's thought leadership. 

Bauer concludes, “Become a thought leader in your field and it won’t matter as much how big you are. Companies and people will look to you for insight and vision. Journalists will quote you, analysts will call you, and websites will link to you.”

Thought leadership is an outside assessment based on what others say about you NOT what you say about you. 

Is the term "thought leadership" to blame?  No way!  I rather like it.  It is just being overused and abused as a hollow form of self promotion. 

Thought Leadership and lead generation

Would you like to be more visable and generate sales leads on a limited budget? Become a thought leader! Thought leadership gives you an edge to combat commoditization and attract more business. I read this post by Elise Bauer, a marketing consultant based Northern California, that shares some practical ways on how to position yourself as a thought leader. elise.com: On the Job: Be A Thought Leader! Lead generation Tip: If you require registration on your website to download white papers or other "free" resources, you're losing up to 75%-85% of your potential leads! Share your information freely and try be a resource otherwise your potential customers will find someone else who will.