Get Slightly Famous

David Silverstein Learns the Value of Thought Leadership

David Silverstein, CEO of Breakthrough Management Group (BMG), a business improvement consulting firm, works actively to cultivate his reputation in the performance enhancement industry. A global firm with eleven offices on five continents, BMG pursues a comprehensive industry thought leadership strategy to promote its reputation as a leader in Six Sigma consulting, training, and software support tools.

David has positioned himself as an unquestioned leader and expert in his field, which has been an essential element to BMG's continued growth. Silverstein employs a multi-prong thought leadership strategy driven by that has helped him grow BMG into a global organization with eleven offices on five continents in just six years.

Media Strategies: David makes himself available to the trade and business media and frequently comments as an expert on topics of interest to business leaders in a variety of publications. His efforts have resulted in coverage in Business Week, Executive Decision Magazine and Healthcare Strategic Management. Consistent media coverage has built name recognition for BMG in a variety of fields ranging including financial services, healthcare and manufacturing.

Speaking: Silverstein is a sought after keynote speaker and chairs numerous high profile industry events. He appears annually at the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals Leadership Conference, alongside speakers such as Jack Welch, Stephen Covey.

Cause Marketing: Silverstein supports a variety of non-profit enterprises such as the Young Entrepreneurs Organization, a volunteer group of business professionals, all of whom are under 40 years of age whose mission is to support, educate and encourage others to succeed in building companies and themselves.

Silverstein’s efforts have paid off, and have branded him as a leader in his industry while helping BMG grow from a start-up to a globally recognized firm. “Our thought leadership efforts have become the flagship for BMG’s reputation, which has helped our global expansion tremendously,” says Silverstein. “It has been especially helpful in Asia and Latin America, where name recognition goes a long way. My industry reputation has helped BMG’s sales team get their foot in the door in key overseas markets.”

The Case for Thought Leadership Marketing

Thought leadership is becoming one of the most powerful and effective strategies marketers can embrace to cut through the clutter and get noticed in today's increasingly competitive marketplace.

This is a time when small businesses are facing increased competition. It's harder to get noticed because the world has gotten "noisier." Traditional marketing methods like advertising, direct mail, cold calling -- or just sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring -- just don't work anymore. Consumers are now inclined find companies on their own, and on their own terms, often through a search engine.

Thought leadership marketing is becoming de rigueur in our age of increasing buyer distrust, an expectation (fostered by the Internet) that we should get a free sample of products and services before we put down our money, and an overall expectation that marketing claims are suspect, or meaningless, and that businesses should show, rather than tell, when making a case for their products and services.

Thought leaders contribute in meaningful ways to their broader marketplace. They demonstrate a commitment to their communities. They give their inside knowledge of their industries freely, and generously, and help members of their target market make informed decisions. They earn trust and develop a reputation of authority and leadership that is recognized among all influencers in their respective industries.

Many of my future posts will discuss thought leadership: defining it as a concept, highlighting what works in pursuing a thought leadership marketing strategy, and it's overall role in the Get Slightly Famous marketing model. I'll also be profiling companies of all sizes and industries who are living the thought leadership mindset. Stay tuned!

Structuring Your Article: Inverted Pyramid and the "Q"

There are a few standard ways to structure a magazine article. The inverted pyramid is an old standby used in newspapers. The “Q” is one of the most common formulas used in magazine articles. Both formulas are built around the premise that you present your most important information first, and then explain its significance in the rest of the article.

Formulas Make Writing Easier: The List

Just as an outline helps you begin with a structure that makes writing easier, a “formula” is a design or structure for articles that is ready-made, widely recognizable, and provides a pattern for expressing your ideas.

Formulas are set patterns for expressing your ideas. In addition to making writing less of a chore, formulas, like outlines, impose discipline, help you determine the components of your article and insure that they relate to one another.

The list is one of the most basic formulas for writing an article. A list article is just that—a specific number of facts or bits of information tied together by a binding idea.

List articles are:

• Easy to research
• Easy to write
• Easy to sell
• Ideal for new writers just breaking into print

“Ten Common Sales Objections,” or “Eight Ways To Avoid Workplace Injuries” are examples of list articles that promise an easy grasp of a cluster of facts based on an overall theme.

List articles are popular among writers, readers and editors. Not only are they easy to write, they are easy to read and make excellent material for editors looking to fill in empty spots in a magazine. Another useful attribute to the list article is that it can easily be reworked, or even submitted in identical form, to other publications.

Marketing with Electronic Reports, White Papers and E-Booklets

Jim Jenkins is a business coach and training consultant. His firm, Creative Visions Consulting, recently launched a new web site to attract visitors and targeted prospects into its corporate consulting programs.

Jenkins noticed a trend in his site's visitor statistics. An overwhelming percentage of visitors were searching for "free team- building exercises," a phrase that appeared in several places on his site. He decided to channel this definite interest in team- building into an effective lead generation strategy.