A thought leader is a trusted expert in their industry who moves and inspires people with their ideas.
If you want to be seen as a credible person in today's business world, you have to be liked and trusted.
The title of a thought leader isn't something that you can just give to yourself. Rather, it is something that is credited to you by others once you have demonstrated your value and expertise.
The world is hungry for cutting-edge knowledge and ideas. Are you ready to share your thoughts?
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Despite what naysayers may say, thought leadership matters.
In the business world, thought leadership has become a commonly discussed buzzword. However, I consider it to be a critical element for building credibility with customers and clients.
According to a recent LinkedIn survey, 45% of decision-makers said that thought leadership directly led them to decide to do business with the company, while 30% said it led them to remove a company from consideration. These numbers are proof that being a thought leader positively affects the bottom line of your business.
Everyone wants to be a thought leader, but not everyone knows what it takes to become one. It doesn't happen by publishing one winning article or giving a great talk. Rather, it is earned through a process of consistent effort and commitment to your craft.
Over the past 6 years, I've become a thought leader in the personal growth and development industry. I've created a multi-million dollar online business that has inspired hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. I am deeply humbled that so many people have received value from my work.
Once I received the position of a thought leader, I didn’t stop adding value. Rather, I worked even harder. This commitment to my craft is what has allowed me to achieve so much success in my business.
Let's talk about 6 ways to gain credibility as a thought leader in your industry.
1. Pick A Niche
Every thought leader that has achieved massive success started by embracing a niche. Thought leaders play to their strengths. They choose a single area to be an expert in and then look for a niche that will complement it.
You can't be an expert at everything, so stop trying. The best way to showcase your expertise is by finding a small niche. Doing so will help you attract the right target audience for the message that you want to get across. Once you have established credibility, you can work your way into bigger niches.
When choosing your niche, ask yourself the following three questions:
- How can I utilize my strengths?
- Where can I best provide value?
- What problems can I solve?
Judge Graham, a Texas-based entrepreneur and investor, argues that “businesses that serve a well-defined niche within an industry are strategically poised to demand a larger multiple, putting them in position to scale faster.”
2. Love Your Topic
Being a thought leader will require that you write, speak and talk about your topic, over and over again. It can take years to become an authority figure. This is the sole reason why you've got to love your topic, inside and out.
If you don't believe what you are talking about, that inauthenticity will shine through in your work. Don't choose a niche just because you know it will make you a lot of money. That's the wrong approach to take and it will get you nowhere.
If you lack enthusiasm in your topic, it will be challenging to do anything of value in your business. Have you ever tried to pretend to enjoy something? It's draining.
Being in service of people should always be your first priority. This is how my journey started. Project Life Mastery wasn't meant to become what it is today. What started out as a hobby for me to share my story ended up becoming a multi-million dollar business and brand.
There's no way I could do what I do if I didn't believe in the mission behind my work. When you love what you do, it doesn't feel like work. Rather, it becomes a hobby that you enjoy. What message do you want to share with the world and be known for?
3. Commit To Lifelong Learning
In my experience, the secret to lifelong success is a commitment to lifelong learning. The world is in a state of constant change. If you want to stay on top of the latest innovations in your industry, then you've got to continually expand your knowledge of them.
A lot of people claim to be experts at something. However, they have no experience or knowledge to back it up. They want to achieve credibility, without having to grow and evolve. If you want to become a thought leader, learning is a non-negotiable skill. You've got to know the topic that you specialize in, inside and out. I have yet to meet one thought leader who hasn't made it a priority to master their craft.
Thought leaders read books, listen to podcasts, take courses, and attend seminars. They make it a priority to gain as much hands-on experience as they can on a consistent basis. This is what allows them to become top performers in their industries. You can't tell people how to live their lives until you have walked the walk. People are great at smelling bullshit, so don't be inauthentic.
Learn for the sake of learning. Not only will you become a more intelligent person, but you will also enhance your creativity. By developing yourself, you will maximize your potential and accelerate your results in life.
4. Create Your Personal Brand
In today's world, building a brand is becoming less of a competitive advantage and more of a necessity if you want your business to thrive. If you don't have already have a brand, today is the day you create one.
A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs want to become an expert in their industry. Unfortunately, they approach it from the wrong angle. They ignore the asset that a brand can provide, long-term. Research shows that 89% of business-to-business marketers say that brand awareness is the most important goal, followed by sales and lead generation.
Think of your brand as your story; it defines who you are and what you stand for. My personal brand allowed me to differentiate myself within my industry. By connecting with my audience on a deeper level, I was able to create long-term relationships with them. This is one of the ways that I was able to establish my authority as a thought leader.
Lastly, a personal brand can help you build up your online presence. Doing so will only add to your ever-growing credibility as a thought leader in your industry.
5. Build Your Online Presence
No matter what business you have, your online presence is critical to your key to success. In a crowded business marketplace, differentiation is the name of the game. If you are new to the entrepreneurial world, building your online presence will be time-consuming and frustrating at times. The best way for people to learn about who you are is to add massive value. This is best done through the creation of high-quality content.
Creating content online is what has allowed me to attract thousands of people to my business. More importantly, it has helped me build my brand to where it is today. You can do this via a website, podcast, blog, a YouTube channel, and/or social media accounts. However, this is just a starting point.
If you want to create more reach, you will need to spread your message further. Think about sharing your expertise through public speaking engagements, online training courses, an eBook, writing for big online magazines, and workshops. If you do the work to create consistent and valuable content, you will eventually build yourself up to the title of a thought leader.
6. Build A Network
How good is your network? There is nothing more powerful than building a network of influential thought leaders in your industry. It enables you to generate new ideas, tackle challenges and problems together, expand your influence, and have more impact in your industry.
Building a solid network takes time, effort, and energy. In today's busy world, putting networking on your to-do list can feel all-consuming, which is why it tends to fall by the wayside. However, if you want to become a thought leader, having a strong network is a necessity. Your network is a critical part of how you develop your craft and get things done.
One of the top things that hold people back from developing their network is not knowing how to go about it. I'm a big believer in the power of mastermind groups. This is one of the easiest ways to expand your network and collaborate with like-minded people. Imagine being a part of an empowering ecosystem of like-minded people who meet on a regular basis.
In Dale Carnegie's book, How To Win Friends And Influence People he says that “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” This book will better help you understand yourself and others. I believe that it should be a part of everyone’s reading list, no matter what industry they are in.
Similarly, I encourage you to also find a mentor(s) that you can learn from.
Find someone who has achieved the thought leadership position that you aspire to. In my opinion, it's important to approach a mentor from a position of adding value. Think to yourself, “If I want to be mentored by this person, how can I provide more value to him/her than the value that they provide to me?”
Before you start exploring outside sources, take a look at some of the current relationships in your life. Whom do you admire and relate to that is doing great work that you can learn from? Don't ever hesitate when asking someone to mentor you. There is no better compliment that someone can receive.
Do you think you have what it takes to become a thought leader?
Only time will tell. Becoming a thought leader won't happen overnight. It will take energy, time, hard work, dedication, and laser-sharp focus to develop and maintain this position.
When asked what a thought leader does, Skaled CEO Jake Dunlap, said it best – “They possess an innate ability to contribute to the conversations happening today, while also being able to speculate on what is going to happen tomorrow.”
If you can consistently create conversations that inform and shape peoples' thinking, you will continue to be seen as a credible expert in your field for years to come. Doing it the right way takes hard work and determination. However, I promise you that the payoff will be well worth it. Are you ready to become an expert in your industry?
Do you want to receive cutting-edge online business and marketing advice every month? CLICK HERE to join my Online Business Mastery Accelerator program!