I can only tell you my plan which is to accept anyone into my linked-in network that has requested to be there. I’m also starting a more aggressive campaign to increase the number of invites that I send out. At his point, I’m not even linked-in to my existing clients, never mind my prospects. Once I’m happy with my number/quality of contacts, I will begin the process of communicating on a consistent basis.

I’m sorry to take so long to offer to contribute to this blog. I’ve just been too busy to commit until now.

If you like, I could send you some copy in a few days. Of course, it’s up to you to publish it or not.

Hope all is well,
Bill

I don’t mind the cold calling, even the rejections(!), because I’m confident that I can help organizations improve their promotional materials. If they choose not to take advantage of that, they’re short-changing themselves. I know that sounds arrogant, but there is so much poor content on the web and elsewhere that almost any change would be an improvement! My most important tip on cold calling is to set a goal of a specific number of calls per day and stick to it.

The networking speaks for itself and is, of course, more fun. But it also consumes a lot of time and energy.

From a company perspective a good thought leadership program’s aim is to engage with the target audience with something authentic and that matters to them – this ultimately builds trust in n the brand. From trust comes a sense of loyalty to the brand which makes the sales process that much easier.

There are some great examples out there of companies doing this well and it has helped position them well ahead of their competitors who are still stuck in the old-style product sales cycle.