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emerson consulting group, inc.
box 41
concord ma 01742
(978) 371-0442
(413) 521-0013 fax
By Ken Lizotte CMC
At a presentation on the topic of professional fees, a researcher from New Hampshire-based Kennedy Information was once asked to explain how the tiniest .5% of revenue-producers at the top his PowerPoint chart had managed to get there. What made these service-providers so much more in demand than all the rest?
Without skipping a beat, the researcher responded, "Oh, those highest revenue-producers are the ones who regularly publish articles and books, do speaking engagements, and connect with the media...They are the thought leaders."
Though this research had been focused on consultants, its conclusions could easily be transferred to the legal profession as well. After all, what happens to an attorney or his/her firm when a case goes high-visibility? Think Johnny Corcoran, Mark Geragos or Gloria Allread. Billings skyrocket and new and old clients can't wait to break down your door.
On a more modest level, it's clear that those who practice "thought leadership" truly stand out from the crowd. Publishing articles or a book, speaking before professional groups, conducting an original survey on a vexing or controversial issue-such methods draw attention, gaining recognition in a way more traditional methods (brochures, website, networking) cannot even approach.
So how can you get the process started? The most essential element is to get your ideas published. This action wins you a credibility and stature second to none. Most people will never publish an article in their life, let alone a book, and many will never even get more than a small mention of their name in a hometown newspaper (usually for sports or some other honor back in high school!). So publishing something puts your head above the clouds.
Most of my clients prefer to begin with articles rather than taking on the overwhelming commitment of a book. When I started working with Wolf Greenfield, a leading Boston intellectual property law firm, for example, their frustration had been about seeing other IP firms in the Boston area routinely get quoted in feature articles in such leading local media at the Boston Globe. They however never got a reporter's call.
A year and a half later, with over 30 by-lined published articles under their belt, legal beat reporters and columnists now sometimes call them FIRST, so that their "invisibility cloak" is no longer a vexing issue.
If this approach appeals to you, here's the first thing you should NOT do: sit down and write an article! Instead, first determine your prime business objectives. Which of your services would you most like to promote? What expertise do you most want to be known for? Are there areas of your expertise that are so little known even your longest-running clients wouldn't think to ask you for such help?
Once you have answered this question, structure your article ideas around these topics to insure that your articles will highlight these services. Then go hunting for a "go-ahead" from an editor at a publication read by your target market, i.e., one read by decision-makers who typically hire you. Do you typically serve the chemical industry? Consumer manufacturers? Real estate buyers and sellers? High tech companies?
Whatever the answer, pitch your ideas to relevant trade or business publications. To find them, use a publication directory found in any public library, search the Web or (sometimes best of all) ask your clients what they read!
Next, to make your pitch, email an editor your pitch and then (if you don't get a quick response) follow up with a phone call a few days later. Make sure you're armed with a succinct, to-the-point 15-second synopsis of your article idea. Then expect to hear one of two responses: "Sounds like a good idea. When can you have it ready for us?" Or: "Sorry, we just did that one a few months ago. What else you got?"
What's important here is to realize that editors depend on attorneys like you to feed them ideas and to write articles for them. So if the first idea you pitch isn't right (for whatever reason), they will be nonetheless eager to hear a 2nd and a 3rd idea from you. Have a few more ready.
The next step will be for you to write an article in which editor has expressed interest, then submit it with your e-picture and bio, and ask the editor when she thinks it will appear. Follow this advice and you soon will be in publishing heaven, publishing article after article, and encountering clients, prospects and colleagues who tell you they actually saw your name and your article somewhere, and were very impressed with it.
After that, invitations to speak at conferences and other events should follow, particularly if you leverage your article in the following ways:
- Send an email announcement to your personal e-list of clients, prospects, colleagues and friends. Don't just wait for people to see it. Getting proactive and making sure that it gets read builds a buzz.
- Pass your article out, when appropriate, at networking events you attend. Hand it directly to influential contacts.
- Search out calls for speaking proposals, especially at organizations of which you are either or frequent. Your article now becomes a valuable credential to add to such proposals.
- Post your article on your website and add a line at the bottom declaring yourself available for speaking engagements. Also on your website, list your speaking topics as well as a calendar of past, present and future engagements. This last tactic bolsters your credibility as a speaker in constant demand.
- At your talks, always distribute your article to everyone in attendance. Emphasize again that you are available for future speaking gigs. And don't turn any down! Larry Winget, a highly sought-after motivational speaker, has said that "the best way to get speaking engagement sis to go out and speak!" Exposure breeds further exposure, growing your speaking assignments exponentially.
Finally, the media loves a popular expert, so by sending out regular press releases announcing your articles and speaking engagements editors will begin to call you as an expert to be quoted in their pages. I use an Internet service called Business Wire which sends out releases about my thought leader clients to editors and reporters throughout the USA, including relevant business publications. In your releases, provide a link to your web site page where your article or speaking synopsis can be found, and in this way you will drive media traffic directly to your door!
By taking all these steps, your credibility will be enhanced by the third party endorsement of trusted and well-known publication and professional groups, and the resulting media will augment all your efforts, boosting you to heights only dreamed of your competitors. At this point, bona fide thought leadership will have arrived. Once there, enjoy the ride!
Ken Lizotte is Chief Imaginative Officer (CIO) of emerson consulting group inc. (Concord MA) which transforms law firms and business experts into "thought leaders." Phone: 978-371-0442. Email: Website: www.thoughtleading.com