 Publish or Perish
Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends,
During one of my recent seminars on How Publishing Articles Can Lead to More Business, attendees shared with me the reasons they had avoided this powerful form of marketing in the past — even though they confessed that writing articles, books and giving speeches would help them (in their words) “get hired,” “get publicity,” “increase credibility,” “build self-confidence,” and “get prospects to call them.”
Their objections fell into one of four categories: no time, no skills, no message, and no interest in giving away their ideas for free.
In case you also believe these misconceptions, I’d like to dispel them one by one!
NO TIME: Time is always a problem when you’re a management consultant, CPA or other business professional. But, as Gayle Carson reminded attendees at IMC’s Confab last month, “If you don’t wake up every day thinking about how to market yourself, you might as well go back to work for someone else.”
The beauty about writing articles and books as part of your marketing efforts is that you can accomplish this during off-hours when you’re not busy making your current clients successful. Our thoughtleaders tell us they are continually surprised they can complete their writing assignments during off hours in a reasonable time once they follow our techniques.
NO SKILLS: I would argue that any management consultant or professional who has written a proposal, report, website, marketing brochure and e-newsletter — or has given an oral presentation — has the requisite skills to draft articles and books. True, there are special journalistic techniques for writing articles and books but they are not well-kept secrets and can be learned in a myriad of ways.
Developing relationships with and learning how to negotiate with editors and publishers are other skills one needs to become a successful author. Fortunately, these are also skills you can learn through books, seminars and on-the-job practice. Plus, you could engage an outside professional to assist with the editing and negotiating processes. Available resources include thoughtleading or publishing coaches, book agents, ghostwriters and/or editors, among others.
Here’s one place that you can get information right away. Just read my Blog on “Five Steps to Getting Published” on our Website at http://www.thoughtleading.com/thoughtblog.htm
NO MESSAGE: If you have satisfied clients, then you most likely have something important to add to the knowledge in the business world. It’s not about unique ideas and processes. It’s about unique ways that you work with your clients and deliver the results.
Because this is such an important part of getting started with publishing, I will be offering several ThoughtTips in the future on how to determine your sweet spot, how to get focused with your messages, how to differentiate yourself from other business authors, and how to create buzz in the marketplace, among other topics.
NO INTEREST IN GIVING MY IDEAS AWAY FOR FREE: There is a very important distinction between “giving away your ideas” during your marketing activities and during your sales presentations. Consultants who are willing to share their ideas in articles, book and speeches are viewed as the thoughtleaders in their fields. Those who don’t share their knowledge have a harder time achieving major growth as only a few companies and clients know them and their expertise.
As Chip Doyle, sales coach par excellence, says, “It’s OK to give some valuable information away to a mass audience. That’s called marketing, not selling.” But, he adds, it’s important not to give away your ideas or do unpaid consulting during one-on-one meetings with prospects.
This is such an important distinction, about when and how to "give away your ideas," that I suggested this be the main presentation at the Institute of Management Consultants (NorCal) December 10, 2007, gathering — and that Chip Doyle lead the discussion.
If you are interested in a synopsis of this presentation, I'd be happy to send you a summary of the key points Chip made as he provided us with loads of insights about when and how to share one's ideas in business development activities.
That’s it for now. Best wishes for the New Year — and for becoming a published thoughtleader in 2008!
Best,
Patricia
Patricia Coate, West Coast Manager
emerson consulting group, inc.
“We turn experts into thoughtleaders.”
about emerson consulting group
emerson consulting group transforms consultants, attorneys, accountants, CEOs and companies into successful "thoughtleaders" via publishing, speaking engagements, research projects, the Internet and other thoughtleadership channels. Learn more by visiting our website www.thoughtleading.com or by calling 415-309-2231.
Patricia Coate
email: patricia@thoughtleading.com
voice: 415-309-2231
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