Written by: Vickie Sullivan | November 10, 2022
How to Influence the Influencers
Influencer personalities inside a client’s organization can make or break your sales efforts. And if we don’t pay attention to them, your marketing efforts will die. That’s according to a recent article in The Drum, 6 Things B2B Marketers Need to Know About Influencers.
Move past the content marketing focus of the article and focus on the best idea from the article: Influencers need to make your solutions their own. From a message strategy perspective, here’s how you can help them be your advocate.
• Be generous. Influencers love innovative ideas that make them appear to be on the cutting edge. The more “inside scoop” you give them, the more your content lets them shine in front of their peers. Ask yourself, “What can I give that will make others look good if they share it?”
• Give approaches, not methodology. These folks don’t own the problem, but they love to share the solutions. Give them interesting stats and facts that they can easily distribute, but don’t bog them down with a lot of minutiae. Remember, influencers have a visionary approach to content. Save that detailed implementation plan for the buyer.
Listen: The Type of Content that Influencers Love to Share
Conventional wisdom says you should focus your attention on those with the budget to buy. For larger training and advisory projects, however, the sales process is more complicated. The more advocates you have on the ground, the better your chances of keeping your front-runner status.
Now Read This:
- How to Identify Influencers and Advance the Sale
- Your Position of Power: Packaging Your Expertise for High-Fee Markets