In this episode of Thought Leader Life, Michael and I share insights with guest thought leader Jay McKeever about creating awareness, winning advocates, and bridging the proverbial sales and marketing divide. Jay has been in the marketing scene for nearly 17 years as the Worldwide Director for Cincom Systems, Inc.. Aside from his regular tenure at Cincom, Jay is known for espousing thought leadership through Cincom’s radio program, Expert Access Radio. Jay thinks of himself as a “thought leader promoter,” which he says is a type of thought leadership where you further develop ideas in a collaborative environment.

Jay helped me formulate some of the concepts behind the thought leadership funnel, and in this episode, Jay explains why he thinks the advocate level in a many-to-many environment is the “nirvana” for thought leaders. Having advocates who tell their friends and peers what a great experience it was to have your product or service, and put their name and reputation on the line for you, is what everyone wants. I turned into an advocate of Jay and his team at Cincom after guesting on their radio show and experiencing how the team did everything right in putting together the show.

Tackling the issue of the sales and marketing divide, Jay explains the role that marketing plays in reaching out to sales and helping them understand the value of delivering the “right” content to the “right” audience across many channels. A strategy they execute at Cincom is to pick out the “early adaptors” in the sales team and help them be successful by teaching them to be active in social media. The marketing team puts together the content for sales and encourages a selected salesperson to connect with people, be active in groups, engage in conversations with future advocates, and establish his or her social presence. In today’s world, when you are in a marketing space, you have to think about keeping up. Before, you had seven avenues to get your message out; today, you have hundreds, if not thousands, to consider, and for each channel, you must have a specific strategy.

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

Here are a few “‘aha’ moments” from the episode. See more in the upcoming book, soon to be a part of the THiNKaha app-only book series and watch the interview below!

Referrals are the lifeblood of selling. @jaymckeever

Learning is a lifelong process; you can never say, “I got it all figured out!” @jaymckeever

What works today might not work tomorrow. @jaymckeever

Facebook helps B2B salespeople warm up their cold leads. @happyabout

Follow Jay on Twitter at @jaymckeever. Tune into Thought Leader Life every Saturday for more thought-leader goodness!