Thought Leadership with Mitchell Levy and Michael Procopio, Episode 23: May 21, 2014

Thought Leadership with Mitchell and Michael

Social seller Jill Rowley (@Jill_Rowley) is our guest this week.

In this episode, Mitchell and Michael hang out with an “amazing, fantastic and full of energy” #thoughtleader Jill Rowley. Jill describes herself as a social selling evangelist, a modern marketer, a workshop leader, a public speaker and a change agent. She defines a #thoughtleader as someone who is known for a specific subject matter and points out that #thoughtleadership is about building communities, engagement and conversation around a specific topic. Jill RowleyHence, it doesn’t matter if a #thoughtleader has original content or curates OPC (Other People’s Content). What is important is to leverage the best content out of a specific subject and pushing for engagement around that subject.

Mitchell notes that he collaborated with Jill during the process of designing the Thought Leadership Funnel (http://www.thinkaha.com/thoughtleadershipfunnel). Jill describes the funnel as an amazing model that frames the progression from marketing to sales. Mainly, it teaches the modern sales professional to veer away from the traditional concept of “Always Be Closing” (ABC) and work towards “Always Be Connecting”. The Thought Leadership Funnel also teaches the sales professional to always think that from the very start, we want a customer to become a “Positive Patty” and not a “Negative Nancy.” Reiterating her definition of the modern buyer, Jill notes that the sales professional needs to develop a one-to-one relationship with the buyer to turn her into an advocate, because nowadays, buyers only buy from people they know, like and trust.

Jill has spent over a decade helping transform the way B2B marketers market to the modern buyer. She always says she hates the traditional “ringing of the bell” whenever a new contract comes in. For her, a celebration is called for only when a customer has actually generated measurable value and positive impact working with the company or your trainers, or from having your product. In the interview, she also explains social selling and why companies should appreciate the importance of evolving along with the evolution of the buyer or customer. And in the last part of the interview, Jill shows how, in today’s business world, a person like her can actually show to the world her true self – as a mother and a wife – and that, as Mitchell notes, we are now living in a world when everybody knows and appreciates your existence outside of the workplace.

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, subscribe to the channel: http://youtube.com/user/thoughtleaderlife.

Here are a couple of aha moments from the episode. See more in the “Aha Moments from Thought Leader Life” books available in the THiNKaha App:http://AhaAmplifier.com/.

* We are no longer in the age of the seller, we are now in the age of the customer. @jill_rowley
* If you do not become customer-centric or customer-obsessed, you will be replaced, become invisible and you’ll not be able to pay your bills. @jill_rowley
* Social selling is not just about social media, it’s about being social. @happyabout
* The modern sales professional may also think like a marketer, but she needs to sell like a superhero or a superstar. @jill_rowley

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Any comments or suggestions for the show please send them. Thank you for listening and if you like what you hear, please leave a review on iTunes! 

This episode was sponsored, in part, by THiNKaha.com, helping experts become thought leaders.

You can connect with Mitchell at MitchellLevy.com, @HappyAbout on Twitter, or join his Thought Leadership Best Practices Group on LinkedIn; and with Michael at MProcopio.com, on Twitter:@MichaelProcopio; or LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/MichaelProcopio.

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Posted by Michael Procopio on 05/21 at 05:30 PM

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