Finding The Sweet Spot

In previous articles I’ve written about why you should be serious about thought leadership if you’re serious about securing investment for your bio- health- or medtech product.

In short, my argument is that building up, and more crucially, demonstrating your authority and expertise - your own personal brand - is key to convincing investors that you and your team as well as your product is investable.

People go with what they know. So making your case publicly and effectively will get you noticed.

That’s all well and good. But if you want to actually make a start in getting your ideas out there and demonstrating your authority, you have to ask:

How can I make my thought leadership cut through effectively?

Anybody can throw together a LinkedIn post in ten minutes. But if you’re thinking seriously about how to make your thought leadership have meaning, these are the points you should have in mind.

White Space

First - what can you talk about that nobody else does?

What’s the white space that you can occupy?

I like to look for the sweetspot. This means looking at the intersection between your customer or audience needs, your solution or innovation and your personal values and interests.

That’s where you’ll find the white space for your thought leadership.

Every founder will know their customer and challenges forwards and backwards, but what about the wider ecosystem challenges at play?

For example, if you’ve developed a fit-for market solution that streamlines patient record management and sharing, you’ll hopefully have a comprehensive understanding of the structural issues in procurement and data security.

Articulating an outside-in view of the broader issues impacting the health system adds depth and authority to your thought leadership and the white space you’re occupying.

Relevance

The best thought leadership is highly focused - speaking directly to your target audience.

Be specific, rather than talking in general terms - the more detailed you can be, the more clearly your expertise will shine through.

Picture a specific person you are talking to, and aim everything about your thought leadership - your tone, your language, your structure - squarely at them.

It helps here to have a view of what your competitors are saying, where they’re saying it, and who they’re speaking to.

Try to avoid adding to the echo chamber - instead, establish a point of difference or contribute a fresh insight to the current discussion.

Vision

And while you want to have a command of detail, you don’t want to get bogged down and miss the forest for the trees.

Knowing the bigger trends and challenges facing your sector is just as important.

Every point you make should be in service of a broader vision.

A good thought leader charts a path for their industry, rather than following what’s come before them.

If you can help your audience understand what’s coming and prepare for it - they will thank you.

One example: the future of patient care involves multiple data platforms, AI and clinical automation working together.

Can you offer a view on how the healthcare industry can prepare for and address interoperability?

Focusing forward gives investors confidence, showing that you think in the long term and are prepared for and ready to mitigate risks down the track.

Trust

When they get it right, businesses have higher rates of trust than non-profits, governments and media organisations.

In the UK, Martin Lewis is a great example - apolitical, trusted on all sides of the argument, rock-solid credibility.

Trust is built over time, and it’s easy to lose.

But thought leadership and content that is truly valuable and consistent, delivered by a business leader, will help you build a strong foundation to developing that trust.

Authenticity

The best thought leadership isn’t cooked up in a lab by a couple of copywriters, graphic designers and an editorial team.

It’s you. It’s what you think, what you believe, what you see in your sector, and what you do every day.

It’s the conversations you’re having with patients, doctors and leaders in the healthcare system.

Audiences can instantly sniff out an inauthentic, unoriginal, written-by-committee post.

It’s fine if you get somebody to help you get your thoughts down into a clear and concise format.

But the underlying opinions need to be your own, informed by your own expertise and experiences.

When audiences see you’re creating your own stuff - they are far more likely to pay attention to it.

Brevity

We all love deep-dives - but the truth is that we often don’t have the time for them!

This is especially true for founders, who need to keep their information easily digestible.

LinkedIn is great for this - it’s not a format designed for long-form posts, and the shorter and more accessible posts are typically the ones that perform better.

If in doubt - cut it out.

Attribution

A high number of impressions/engagements is good. And it feels rewarding when you achieve them.

But - it’s not what you should be focusing on.

For your audience - hitting the bullseye and getting the right type of person seeing your content, even if it’s a smaller number, is so much more valuable.

If you want investment - logically, you want your thought leadership to be seen by investors!

If you’re demonstrating your vision, credibility, and authority to them - that’s all that matters.

Behaviour and relevancy is key, not just the sheer number of eyeballs on your content.

Penny For Your Thoughts

Thought leadership is a type of marketing, but remember - you’re not selling right now.

Focus on contributing something valuable to the debate - solving a problem, predicting a trend, providing a unique perspective on the issues that matter most to your audience and stakeholders.

Thought leadership isn’t about product messaging. In fact, while it can be hard not to shout about your product, it’s best to keep it to a minimum.

The ratio I stick to is 80/20. That means:

• 80% of the time I focus on issues and solving challenges.

• 20% of the time I talk about my product (but usually, only to outline a challenge I’ve faced or explain my perspective on my niche).

The exact split doesn’t matter - as long as you know where to keep your focus.

As always, thought leadership isn’t about quick wins. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Focus on the above points, and you’ll be well on your way.

Until next time,

Chris

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If you’re looking to raise yours, your team’s and your company’s investability, I can help.

My work focuses on helping CEOs, founders and management teams increase their visibility and build their authority in their space, supporting their investment goals.

Just reply to this email, or DM me on LinkedIn, and let’s have a conversation

And just a quick note:

Some of you are seeing this in your inbox because I wanted to connect with my network through my new bulletin.

As you’ve already expressed interest in what I do, I thought you might want the chance to see it.

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