Can professionals use strategic social selling to demonstrate thought leadership?

It has never been easier for professionals to demonstrate their expertise to new and existing clients.?

Yet, I see very few professionals doing it.

I believe it’s because most professionals do not understand how to use social media in modern business.

Most professionals continue to see their LinkedIn profile as a CV and LinkedIn as the place you go when searching for a job.??

I see very few accountants, lawyers, or management consultants using social media to meet executives working at the firms they represent or, better yet, to meet executives at firms they’d like to represent.?

I see even fewer professionals using social media effectively to demonstrate their expertise. Even though thought leadership is the professional’s bread and butter, I see few professionals using social media to demonstrate thought leadership.?

Most professional services firms continue to use the same corporate branded content and webinars they have been using for the past 25 years to generate leads.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, I worked as an attorney in private practice at a large national law firm representing mid-market enterprises in corporate transactions.

I also worked in-house at an international retailer.?

I understand professional services.

First and foremost, competition in professional services is fierce. It can be very challenging to differentiate yourself. The strongest networkers become the rainmakers.

Rainmakers bring in the business while everybody else does the work.?

We know who the rainmakers are. They’re the partners that are in the news. They sit on advisory panels. They speak publicly, and they sell themselves as THE experts.?

The rainmaker designs her activities to raise her profile in industries of her choice (i.e., their community), and prospective clients see them and want to work with them.?

Professionals compete to complete the most transactions in an industry specialization so they can appear at the top of the league tables.?

Today, the traditional way that professionals become known and meet new clients is inefficient and circuitous.?

It ignores the disruptive impact of social media platforms.

Today, influencers from almost every industry use social media platforms, especially Twitter and LinkedIn, to have conversations. It’s remarkable how easy it is to have a conversation with a senior executive.

The same person it would be nearly impossible to reach at a convention or cold calling on the phone will have a conversation with you on social media.

Nurturing that relationship through ongoing engagement is your responsibility.

On social media, we can become known and have conversations with our prospects and clients in a matter of minutes.

We don’t need to get on an industry panel, travel to a convention, wait with tens or hundreds of other people to attempt to get just a few minutes to have a quick conversation. We can have that conversation virtually for much less stress, aggravation, and money. ?

We can nurture hundreds or thousands of relationships simultaneously while demonstrating our unique insights EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I am surprised how few professionals use social media effectively for this purpose.

There’s a tremendous opportunity for the professional services firm that harnesses the power of their networks and the unique selling proposition of each professional to build client relationships on social media.