BD Tips Wednesday

Business Development tips – usually posted on a Wednesday

The importance of being seen as a Thought Leader

A recent article by BTI Consulting’s The Mad Clientist (‘Did Clients Just Go Sour on Rankings and Directories?’ published on 12 February 2025) states that:

Thought leadership now outweighs rankings – especially when forming new relationships.

While we talk often about “thought leadership” in professional services, I’m not entirely sure we understand the mechanics and actualities of what constitutes “thought leadership”.

For a start, if you say you’re a “thought leader” chances are you’re not – as only others can pin that tag on you!

So, I thought I would do quick run through what thought leadership means to me, as well as some ways you might be able to demonstrate your knowledge in such a way as others start to consider you a thought leader!

What is ‘Thought Leadership’?

Thought leadership is the art of positioning yourself, or your firm, as a leading authority in a particular area – industry or field – by sharing (typically for free) valuable insights, expertise, and innovative ideas.

Thought leaders influence their audience through content such as articles, blogs, speeches, books, research and social media engagement.

Key Aspects of Thought Leadership

Expertise & authority: Thought leaders have extensive knowledge in their field and are trusted sources of information.
Innovative thinking: Thought leaders challenge conventional wisdom and introduce new perspectives or solutions.
Content creation: Though leaders share insights through blogs, articles, whitepapers, podcasts, videos, or public speaking.
Engagement & influence: Thought leaders actively participate in discussions, mentor others and drive industry trends.
Authenticity & credibility: Genuine thought leaders prioritise value over self-promotion, building trust through consistency.

How can I display thought leadership?

Many professional firms limit their content strategy to publishing articles on their firm website and stopping there. While this is a good starting point, it doesn’t fully leverage the power of content marketing to attract, engage, and convert potential clients.

To expand your reach and establish your authority as a thought leader, consider adopting the following to your content marketing strategy:

Blog posts: Either via your own blog page or your firm’s (or even both), regularly provide in-depth insights, case studies, and industry updates. From time-to-time offer to guest post on other people’s blogs as well.
Newspaper comments and articles: Write a regular column in a reputable newspaper on your area of expertise. You can also become a source of commentary – newspapers are always seeking commentary from industry leaders.
Whitepapers & eBooks: Offer comprehensive research findings, legal guides, and thought leadership content. Look to position both yourself and/or your firm as the trusted authority in that area/field.
Videos: Create a YouTube or TikTok account and make videos that help explain intricate and complicated topics in a dynamic, accessible and easy to consume way.
Webinars & Live Streams: Host real-time discussions, Q&A sessions, and educational webinars – either on your website or via other platforms such as LinkedIn.
Podcasts: Either host your own podcast or provide expert insights on podcasts hosted by others.
Social Media posts: Engage in relevant discussions on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Email Newsletters: Share valuable insights, firm updates, and case studies directly with subscribers via email providers such as MailChimp.

Bringing it all together

Thought leaders are recognised by others for their deep knowledge of a subject matter and so have the ability to shape conversations, influence decisions, and inspire others. These are all attributes that will help expand your audience reach and establish credibility in your area – leading to a higher number of requests for assistance and a bigger book of business!

Feel free to get in touch if you need help with your thought leadership strategy.

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Legal directories or legal awards?

Following a post I made on LinkedIn last week: ‘5 Tips to help make your next directory submission standout from the crowd‘ I was asked the following question:

With limited resources, should our firm prioritize directory or award submissions?

An excellent question.

So good, I thought I would try and answer it in this week’s BD Tips post.

The Goal: Brand awareness

When it comes to gaining brand recognition and visibility – for your law firm and its partners/principals – two leading strategies are directory and award submissions. Both have their own unique benefits, so let’s take a look at each in turn:

1. Directory submissions

Legal directories are comprehensive listings of law firms and individual lawyers. They provide potential clients with information about legal service providers – including leading lawyers in practice areas and client reviews.

Benefits

Increased Brand Awareness: Being listed in a reputable legal directory – such as Chambers, Legal 500, IFLR 1000, WTR or IP Stars, can enhance your firm’s online presence and make it easier for potential clients to find you.
Client Feedback/Testimonials: Most directories have clients feedback/reviews comments. These can be used in Marketing material (such as bids and tenders / capability statements / on your website) to help build trust in your firm’s brand and attract new business.

Cons

Cost: Submissions to all legal directories take significant time and input from fee earners. This time is otherwise billable on client matters.
Time-consuming: Submitting to directories is a time-consuming project.
Long lead time: Thinking just because you’ve submitted to a directory today means you will be listed straight away is naïve. Getting listed in a directory takes time. Like most things, it needs a strategic approach!

2. Award Submissions

Legal awards recognize excellence in various aspects of legal practice. Awards can be given to individual lawyers, law firms, or specific practice areas based on criteria such as innovation, client service, and case outcomes.

Benefits

Prestige: Winning or being shortlisted for a legal award can significantly boost your firm’s and it’s partners reputation and prestige within an industry and beyond.
Marketing Opportunities: Awards can be used in Marketing materials, press releases, and social media to attract new clients and retain existing ones.
Networking Events: Award ceremonies provide opportunities for lawyers to network with industry peers, potential clients, and referral sources.
Cost: Generally, award submissions are cost effective.

Cons

Competition: The process can be highly competitive and there are no guarantees of winning!

But, which should we do?

The decision on whether to do a directory or award submission ultimately depends on your firm’s current brand awareness strategy and goals.

If your firm is looking to improve brand awareness, a legal directory submission might be the way to go.

On the other hand, if your firm’s primary goal is to boost your firm’s reputation and gain recognition within an industry in the short-term, legal award submission can be a much more beneficial tactic.

The fact is that both play a critical role in enabling your firm’s marketing and business development strategy by improving visibility, credibility, and client trust.

In a perfect world, you get to do both.

In an imperfect world: go awards for the short game, and directories for the long game!

Richard & GSJ

📩 richard@gsjconsulting.com.au

Standing out from the crowd

In professional services, we often talk about “standing out from the crowd“. But the truth is, more often than not, we are in the centre of the crowd! So for this week’s BD Tips Wednesday post on LinkedIn we shared what my daughters’ call the ‘3R Test’ when considering/deciding whether a differentiator really is a differentiator and helps that business truly standout from its competition.

Is it Respectful?

The first test is: Is it respectful? Here, what we mean is: Is it honest/true?

More often then not, professional services firms set themselves out as being different to their competitors with motherhood statements and hyperbole. Stress test the point, and it quickly falls apart.

By way of example, how many professional services firms state that they are “client centric”? Do a Google search and I suspect you’ll get a lot of hits!

Now, leaving side the issue for one second if saying such a statement really differentiates you or makes you another in the pack, a broader question arises: ‘Are they being respectful to their clients in saying this?’

Is it Responsible?

A responsible point of difference is one that actually matters to your customers – not you. By having this point of difference, are you trying to make a difference to your clients lives/business, or are you merely trying to standout from the crowd so your business can win more work?

If it is the latter, i.e. you are only trying to win more work and don’t really care about the customer, then this is NOT a responsible point of difference and therefore is not a true differentiator.

An example here would be a claim that your firm provided an ‘efficient‘ services (note, not effective, which would be different). The questions that arise here are: (a) is this actually true?, and (b) who gains from these efficiencies – you or the customer?

Because, assume your claim is actually true, if you – the service provider – are the net winner from the efficient service delivery – at the cost of the overall service delivery to the customer – then it is not a responsible differentiator, and therefore it is not a genuine point of difference!

Is it Resilient?

Is the point of difference resilient? Will it stand being stress-tested – by your customers and competition? Will it survive your competition’s attempts to copy it (if it really is a point of difference)?

In short, will your point of difference stand the test of time?

Brining it all together

Assuming your stated point of difference can pass muster on the ‘3R Test‘, you have yourself a genuine differentiator and so go forth and knock the competition into next week!

As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.

Richard & GSJ

📩 richard@gsjconsulting.com.au