Vickie Sullivan

Market Strategy for Thought Leaders

Resources  >> How Thought Leaders Scale Their Revenue

Written by: Vickie Sullivan  |  January 14, 2016

How Thought Leaders Scale Their Revenue

Have you ever had a situation where you did everything right, but still you didn’t win?

I have. And so has former marketing exec Terry Barber. To become a thought leader, he invested personal resources and paid big bucks for the experts. He wrote the book, got the social media following, and got the big media coverage. On the surface, he was all that and a bag of chips.

One thing was missing: revenue. That’s why he came to me. While empathic, I had to break the bad news: what he created was in the “fabulous and free” category. His thought leadership wasn’t positioned for the revenue streams he had. Buyers couldn’t connect his message with a problem worth paying for. His perspective was valuable as long as he was giving it away.

What I told Terry: “You are not alone.” Here’s why many thought leaders have the fame but not the fortune: they assumed that brand awareness was enough. They thought if buyers “knew” them, opportunities would just roll in. In this crazy marketplace, it doesn’t work that way.


Related: Why Brilliant Thought Leaders Get Ignored


Many thought leaders make us feel something. That’s nice (and also free). Thought leaders who generate revenue help us do something. That’s why thought leaders must create a platform that applies their perspective to what buyers are willing to invest in.

And that’s exactly what Terry did. Instead of preaching inspiration, he focused on the challenges and behavior changes needed. That led him to create Jubi, a technology solution that combines gamification with validated results. Terry used his “inspiring engagement” message as the destination and the gamification/behavior changes as the vehicles. Result: validated results buyers need to green light their learning. The launch has exceeded his expectations.

What Terry says now: “Social equity does not equal financial equity.” Inspiration is free; results get paid for. Click here to listen to his story.


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