Thoughtleading Is PR and PR is Thoughtleading
"Thoughtleading" is a key part of a sound business-development strategy. Positioning yourself and your firm as leading-edge thinkers involves publishing articles and perhaps books, speaking regularly to professional groups and getting yourself noticed by the media.
While thoughtleading is crucial for professional service providers, it's invaluable for any organization that's producing a product or service that's less generic than hog bellies.
Studies indicate that a quantifiable ROI from thoughtleading can be measured. Kennedy Information, the nation's premiere management consulting think-tank, has found that firms and individual consultants at the topmost point of the compensation chart are paid far better than the remaining 99%. When asked how the top 1% manage this, the response is clear: "Those highest revenue-producers are the ones who regularly publish articles and books, do speaking engagements, and connect with the media," the Kennedy people explain. "They are the thoughtleaders."
Another recent study correlated increased revenue with publishing, speaking, media exposure and other thoughtleading actions, adding that thoughtleading's ROI will be measurably high when thoughtleading actions are integrated with a firm's more traditional marketing and sales activities. Article-publishing ROI, for example, incorporated in the marketing and selling pipeline, can be measured by asking prospects if the firm's published articles had played any part either in their initial decision to approach the company or in their ultimate decision to do business with the company.
For more information on thoughtleading, I recommend my colleague Ken Lizotte's new book, The Expert's Edge (McGraw Hill). It's easy to read, thought provoking and comprehensive. It's just hitting the bookstores and is available at Amazon.com:
www.amazon.com/Experts-Edge-Become-Go-Authority/dp/0071495673
Stimpson Communications
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Henry@StimpsonCommunications.com
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