Increase Your Visibility as a Thought Leader

You might (but really shouldn’t be) surprised that visibility and thought leadership can be very powerful assets when it comes to negotiating contracts. Visibility and thought leadership are equated with success, intelligence and innovation — and that translates to trustworthiness.

One of the first things I do before meeting with new clients is Google them, look them up on LinkedIn, review their social media channels and do a deep dive into their website. The results are always interesting. More interesting is the reaction I often get when I tell them I’ve done that: They confess that they have not kept up with LinkedIn, that they haven’t updated their website for a couple of years and that they had no idea a particular article could be found through a Google search.

Just to be clear, research is a key element of successful negotiations. That means you should be doing research on the people or entity across the table and you should know and expect that they are researching your company as part of their due diligence.

I was once told that a client of mine was not invited to bid on a contract because “her company did not look big enough to handle the contract.” Her company was 20+ years old with $15 million in revenue at the time. But her website looked old, she had no presence on LinkedIn and not much was found in a Google search about her company. Needless to say, she became uber-focused on changing that, and I’m happy to report that she was awarded a multimillion-dollar  contract from that same customer a few years later.

So, what would a potential client learn about you if they did some research? Is your website up to date? Are you active on LinkedIn? Are you considered an expert in your field? The good news is that claiming expert status is easier than you think. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1.     Write a blog. Provide information, guidance and resources, and answer common questions about your industry. Publish the blog on your social media channels. Share it with your existing and potential clients.

2.     Start a podcast. Interview industry leaders. Offer advice and talk about industry trends and how they will affect the local or national community.

3.     Become a speaker. Offer to do presentations at your local chambers of commerce and industry groups.

4.     Get involved in industry groups. Apply for leadership positions on boards or committees. Keep in mind that corporate representatives are in leadership positions in industry groups, and this is a great way to work alongside them for a common cause.

5.     Become a guest columnist. Industry publications are always looking for articles. You can write about trends, innovations and opportunities, and you can even offer advice for startups in your industry.

Don’t forget to publicize or publish your accomplishments on social media and on your website. It’s not bragging. This is information-sharing and a really great way for you to build credibility,  and that will lead to opportunities to bid on contracts and scale your business.

Contact me if you need some help thinking this through or if you want to hone your negotiation skills. I’m on a mission to help women business owners embrace creative thinking in business.