Need to raise your profile in the market? These 7 practical ideas can help consulting firms, professional services firms and other expertise businesses develop a thought leadership strategy that creates out-sized market awareness.

1. 7 Practical Principles
for Consultants,
Professional Services
Firms and Other
Expertise Businesses
How to
Earn
Attention
Photo: T.C. Morgan/Flickr

2. The way to build an
expertise business
is to share your
knowledge.
#1

3. Buyers of expertise services are
looking for insight and solutions.
The way to
connect with
these buyers is to
demonstrate your
understanding of
their problems
and your ability to
improve their
performance.
Photo: Håkan Dahlström /Flickr

4. To grow your
business, share
your knowledge
and expertise
within industry
forums.
Photo: Taco Ekkel/Flickr

5. Thought
leadership is an
investment.
#2

6. Articles,
conference
presentations
and other
professional
contributions
have a
multiplier
effect.
As you build a body of intellectual property, new
contribution opportunities open up, leading to
exponential growth in market awareness.
Photo: Shaun Dunphy/Flickr

7. Thought leadership is a long-term commitment, but it
does not need to drain attention and resources.
Steady progress yields strong results in a short time.
Photo: Leonora Enking/Flickr

8. The mass marketing
mentality is
counterproductive.
#3

9. Consulting and
professional services
firms need to put
advertising, branding,
brochures and other
traditional marketing
efforts into perspective.
An expertise
business is not
like Coca-Cola,
The Gap or Apple.
Photo:InsomniaCuredHere/Flickr

10. You don’t need millions of customers.
One hundred or even one dozen clients who
understand your value can make your business thrive.
Photo:KeoniCabral/Flickr

11. The term
“thought leadership”
can be misleading.
#4

12. Many people associate the title
“thought leader” with very large
firms that sponsor sophisticated
research programs.
Research leadership can be important, but it is not
the main focus of thought leadership strategy.
Photo: jai Mansson/Flickr

13. The term “solutions leadership”
is more to the point.
Any firm that helps clients solve
their business problems can
play a prominent role in industry discussions.
Photo: photo fiddler/Flickr

14. Understanding
the platform
is key.
#5

15. The power of thought leadership
strategy is that the “platform”
already exists.
Trade publications, conferences, professional
associations and other organizations have already
created the infrastructure for sharing expertise
within your niche—and they depend on input from
knowledge leaders.
Photo: Steve Pomeroy/Flickr

16. Firms that are
able to produce
high-value
content can
leverage these
platforms to
create out-
sized market
awareness.
Photo:WilliamCho/Flickr

17. Gatekeepers are
still important.
#6

18. The internet and social media
have broken down many barriers
to sharing information and
expertise.
Photo: U.S. Navy/Flickr

19. At the same time, people who need credible,
effective information continue to seek “curated”
content on the web and in print.
Photo:PublicDomainReview/Flickr

20. The titles are changing,
but gatekeepers still
exist—and they
continue to play an
important role in
determining the
information that
people receive.
The key to working constructively with editors,
journalists, event organizers and other gatekeepers
is to provide them with engaging information that is
valuable to their audiences.
Photo: Luca Sartoni/Flickr

21. Most expertise
companies have
untapped
reserves. #7

22. Many consulting and professional
services firms do not perceive the
full value of their expertise.
They see their business in terms of services and
deliverables.
Photo:WaltStoneburner/Flickr

23. Instead,
look at
your
business
from the
client’s
point of
view.
How do you understand your clients’ challenges?
How do you help clients overcome them?
Photo: Erik Fitzpatrick/Flickr

24. Refocusing on results will unlock
the true value of your intellectual
capital, positioning your firm as a
source of high-value solutions.
Photo:NASA/Flickr

25. Focus on Value
These seven principles define the Open Passage strategy for
helping clients grow their business.
Open Passage help consulting and professional services firms:
> Demonstrate their value to the market by sharing their
expertise and solutions.
> Create and implement a manageable plan
for building a body of intellectual property.
> Amplify the short-term impact of intellectual
property, and build its long-term value.
www.open-passage.com
Photo: Taco Ekkel/Flickr