How To Become A Thought Leader In Your Domain (and why it is important to your practice!)
BY SUSAN TRUMPLER
As coaches who are focused on growing our practices, we are constantly competing for attention in a noisy marketplace.
It can be hard to make yourself stand out from the crowd and get noticed by potential clients. Becoming a thought leader in your domain is one way to instantly increase your credibility and give you an edge over other coaches who are vying for the same audience.
Here's how you can become a thought leader in your domain and take control of the conversation.
Go a Step Deeper to Define Your Niche
The first step to becoming a thought leader your ideal clients would be attracted to is defining your niche.
Right now you may be saying to yourself…duh! That's business 101 stuff. But here's the problem today. You need to be crystal clear about not only who you serve, what problem you help them solve, and why they should trust you as an expert. You need to take that one step further and consider refining your niche one level deeper.
Here's an example. You may call yourself a leadership coach, but unfortunately, there are hundreds, if not thousands of leadership coaches in the marketplace. How do you differentiate yourself and get people’s attention?
WHAT SPECIFIC PROBLEM do you solve for WHAT TYPE OF LEADER? Now, that's niching down, baby!
This doesn't mean that you have to limit yourself to serving that one specific type of client; rather, it means finding a lane within your industry that you can own and dominate.
Being able to articulate these things clearly will ensure that prospects know exactly how they can benefit from working with you. And as they say, the rising tide lifts all boats. You will attract not only the particular leader in the niche you are defining. You will earn the respect of a broad audience of leaders and they will want to work with you as well.
Create Quality Content
Now that you've refined your niche, it's time to start creating content that demonstrates your expertise in that area.
Aim for quality over quantity—you don't have to produce endless amounts of content in order to establish yourself as an authority figure in your field, but what you do create should be high-quality and engaging for readers.
Think about writing blog posts or articles on topics related to your area of expertise, or even producing videos or podcasts discussing those same topics.
The key is showing people that not only do you understand their problems, but also that you have the knowledge and experience needed to help them find solutions.
Engage With Your Audience
Just as important as creating quality content is engaging with those who read it (or watch/listen).
Make sure that comments on social media posts are answered promptly and thoroughly; this shows readers/viewers/listeners that their feedback matters and helps build trust between them and yourself as a coach/mentor/teacher.
Additionally, if someone has asked a question or expressed interest in what you offer, reach out directly! Don't be afraid of being too "salesy" here — if someone came across something helpful on your page or profile then there's no harm in letting them know more about what services or products might be able to help them further down the line!
Conclusion
By following the steps outlined above — defining your niche, creating quality content, and engaging with potential customers — any coach can become a thought leader within their domain. Establishing yourself as an expert within an industry is invaluable when it comes time for marketing; having instant credibility makes all the difference when trying to attract new clients or customers! Plus, once people recognize yours as a name associated with authority within its field then word-of-mouth advertising will begin to work its magic too - so there's no better time than now to get started on becoming the go-to thought leader amongst business coaches today!
As a new member of the Triad Coaching Connection, Susan is excited to meet you and learn about your thought leadership. She is a business coach who specializes in online sales and marketing and has written an Amazon Bestseller: OH SH*T, I'm in Sales? which explores the connection between your sales mindset and. your business results. Reach out to say hi at: susan@uwibusiness.com