Top of Mind

1. Build trust through authentic, consistent helpfulness

Cultivate appreciation, and it becomes opportunity.

Be genuinely helpful. The foundation of becoming top of mind is building trust through authentic, consistent helpfulness. This means actively looking for ways to add value to others' lives without expecting anything in return. Some key ways to be helpful include:

• Sharing knowledge and expertise freely
• Connecting people with valuable opportunities
• Offering transparent, constructive feedback
• Becoming a brand advocate for others
• Providing thoughtful referrals
• Volunteering your time and resources

Make it a habit. Set up systems to remind yourself to help key contacts regularly, such as once every 3 months for important relationships. Use CRM tools to track interactions and set reminders. The goal is to make helpfulness second nature so you're consistently strengthening relationships and staying top of mind.

2. Leverage content to scale your top-of-mind strategy

Content is a vehicle for doing everything we've discussed throughout the book so far—with good content, you can help others, provide value, and embrace transparency.

Content enables scale. While one-on-one interactions are valuable, content allows you to reach and engage a much broader audience consistently. High-quality, helpful content positions you as a trusted resource and keeps you top of mind. Focus on creating content that:

• Educates your audience on topics they care about
• Addresses their key pain points and challenges
• Provides actionable insights and advice
• Showcases your unique expertise and perspective

Develop a consistent process. To create content regularly:

• Set up systems to capture ideas and insights
• Block time for content creation
• Leverage a team to help with writing and editing
• Repurpose content across multiple formats and channels

3. Practice transparency and cultivate genuine likability

To be successful, you need to shift your focus from yourself and your product or service outward onto the people who matter.

Be authentically transparent. Transparency builds trust, but it must be genuine. Share openly about your experiences, challenges, and lessons learned. Admit mistakes and show vulnerability. This human element helps forge stronger connections.

Develop authentic likability. While you can't force people to like you, you can cultivate authentic likability by:

• Shifting the spotlight to others
• Listening more than you talk
• Choosing your words carefully
• Admitting your own failings
• Focusing on others' needs

Remember that likability manifests differently for everyone. Find an approach that feels natural and authentic to you. The goal is to be approachable and relatable, not to create a false persona.

4. Craft your "why" to connect deeply with your audience

People don't buy what you do; people buy why you do it.

Start with why. To truly engage your audience, focus on communicating your core purpose and beliefs - your "why" - rather than just what you do or how you do it. This invites people to connect with you on a deeper level around shared values and vision.

Infuse your why into content. When creating content:

• Articulate the deeper purpose behind your work
• Share your motivations and passion
• Connect your offerings to your mission and values
• Tell stories that bring your why to life

By centering your why, you move beyond simply promoting products or services to inviting your audience to be part of something meaningful. This fosters stronger, more lasting connections.

5. Empower your entire team as thought leaders

Your team consists of a diverse and ever-evolving collection of perspectives, experiences, and insights. All of your team members have something valuable to say, and each of them has a trusted position within his or her own networks and social circles. In other words, every employee is a potential thought leader.

Democratize thought leadership. Don't limit thought leadership to executives. Empower team members across departments to share their expertise and insights. This:

• Amplifies your brand's reach and influence
• Showcases the depth of talent in your organization
• Helps attract and retain top talent
• Builds stronger connections with diverse audience segments

Provide support and guidance. To nurture thought leadership across your team:

• Explain the value and importance of their contributions
• Offer writing and content creation support
• Provide guidelines and best practices
• Recognize and celebrate their efforts

6. Strategically distribute content across the buyer's journey

Being too salesy too early in the journey will scare off your prospect. Post a great article to a publication that your target buyer doesn't read and you'll achieve nothing.

Map content to the journey. Create and distribute content tailored to each stage of the buyer's journey:

• Awareness: Broad, educational content on third-party sites
• Consideration: More specific, solution-oriented content
• Decision: Detailed comparisons and case studies

Diversify distribution channels. Leverage multiple channels to reach your audience:

• External publications your audience already reads
• Your own website and blog
• Social media platforms
• Email marketing
• Sales and customer service interactions

Consistently analyze performance to refine your distribution strategy over time.

7. Prioritize engagement over eyeballs for lasting relationships

Actual engagement is more desirable. Thankfully, technology has made it much easier to track these metrics more accurately than we've ever been able to.

Focus on meaningful engagement. While reach is important, prioritize creating content that truly engages your audience. This means:

• Sparking conversations and encouraging interaction
• Providing actionable value that impacts their lives
• Fostering emotional connections through storytelling
• Inviting audience participation and feedback

Measure what matters. Look beyond vanity metrics like views. Track engagement metrics such as:

• Time spent with content
• Comments and social shares
• Content citations and references
• Lead quality and sales conversations generated

By focusing on engagement, you build deeper, more lasting relationships that keep you top of mind when opportunities arise.

Last updated: August 10, 2024