Imagine with me for a minute. Pretend you are your ideal customer. Or maybe even think about the last time you bought something. How do these people (or you) perform due diligence?

Right. Google!

Indulge me. Google like you are your prospective customer. Are you there?

If not, shame on you!

If you are, good for you, but before you get cocky: What are you saying? Is it making your phone ring?

Here’s the facts on thought leadership:

1. Most aren’t selling anything. They are simply passionate evangelist, expert users (customers), or in a very few cases companies.
2. Most can’t help the client. See fact #1. If they aren’t selling or recommending a sales person the customer still has a lot of work to do to get to a solution.
3. Even if the thought leader is a company selling a product, there is a 99.9% chance that any inquiry will drop into the black hole called “CRM.” Again, the customer is a long way to a solution.

How frustrating (and quite honestly rude) of all these “thought leaders.”

So here’s my point: It’s your DUTY to become an online thought leader. Not only will it fatten your wallet, but it will be a HUGE BENEFIT to your prospective customers.

Let’s imagine again…

How wonderful would it be if you were the Amazon.com of your industry? Lists, reviews, best sellers, and a buy button all in one place. It can be a blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Linkedin. It’s probably a little bit of all (eventually). Position yourself to help.

Can you do this?