Mark Amtower’s 2009 Thought Leadership GroupAmtower-ism: If you wait long enough….you’ll die. If you do little or nothing during your time here on earth, few people will have cause to remember you. If you want to make a positive impact, you need to become extraordinary, to become outstanding in your field. Fewer than 5% of people in the business world will strive for this level of excellence, and less than 1% make it. Where do you fit? What is The Amtower 2009 Thought Leadership Group? I am Mark Amtower, a leading consultant and spokesperson for the B2G industry. Over the years I have mentored a number of people on various things, including how to carve a niche out for yourself and master it. In 2008 I formalized this process with my first coaching groups. I am now introducing the Amtower 2.0 version on Thought Leadership, a longer and more detailed version than my first thought leadership group from early 2008. The program is available in three segments: Getting PR (January-March), Leveraging Web 2.0 Tools for PR and Thought Leadership (April-June), and the Niche Master/Thought Leadership (July–December). You can take the PR or Web 2.0 sections separately, but only those who go through both will be allowed into the final 6 months of the program –Thought Leadership. The overall length of this program is so you have time to absorb the information and start integrating it into your already busy life. It takes a while to convey this amount of information, then to absorb the information, prioritize it, and then start to use it. I also want some time to understand just where each member fits and see how best I can help them.
Why join this group? I started my company in 1985 when I finally figured out that working for other people often entailed living down to their expectations, not up to mine. I knew there were things I could do well, perhaps better than most. And I knew several things I would do that others would not. Not all these activities would pay money, but they needed doing nonetheless. And the payment came in the form of peer recognition. One of these activities was to start evangelizing about the great market I was in – business-to-government. I selected this market (or did it select me? I am not quite certain…) because when I was at Government Computer News I saw that no one was really treating marketing to the government as a separate and distinct discipline. Here was a market niche I could help create and then occupy. Over the past quarter century, I have started an association, introduced forums, launched a conference that lasted three years, written hundreds of articles, evolved (slowly!) as a popular speaker, volunteered to help several associations and user groups, produced over 100 public seminars, been quoted in over 150 publications, advised hundreds of companies, made several million dollars, helped my clients make tens of billions of dollars, mentored hundreds of people both directly and unintentionally, started 2 radio shows in Annapolis and then was invited to bring my government show to Federal News Radio in Washington, DC, met and worked with some really great people, learned a tremendous amount about the market and myself, written and published two books, and have evolved into a repository for some truly great insights and skills for becoming someone who can make a positive difference in his market. New publications and conferences actively seek my advice and endorsement. People call and email wanting to partner with me on various activities. Companies call seeking advice. I have developed a strong reputation in three overlapping business worlds: B2B, B2B direct marketing, and B2G. In short, I am one of the most recognized people in the government market, one of the most quoted in the trade and broader business press, and a player to be reckoned with. Does any of this mean I am smarter than you? Not necessarily, but I am more visible. The Thought Leader turf comes with lots of responsibilities: the responsibility to be good at what I do and work hard at improving; to be accurate; to publicly acknowledge when I am not accurate; to listen when I should and lead when and if it is necessary, usually by example. So here’s the news: there is plenty of room at this level for qualified people. I would much rather help a select group of qualified people reach these heights rather than sit by and watch charlatans and peacocks claim the high ground and get the interviews, kudos and consulting gigs. Interested? If so, there are also several skills that must be developed or enhanced along the way. Among these are the basics: reading, writing speaking and thinking. Do not take this statement lightly, as we all know people (some in high positions) who are less than fully skilled at each of these. And each of us needs to improve in each of these areas if we are to excel. Once these skills are in place, I will show you how to act on them, to leverage them to the advantage of the community while at the same time raising your value to that community, and to yourself. What I am offering in this: access to my sources of enhancing the basic skills and exposure to the really long list of tips and tactics I have learned and used over the past 25 years - tips and tactics that have led to big consulting opportunities, my radio show, speaking slots at seminars and conferences (including keynotes and lunch speeches), and more than 150 press interviews - including quotes in the LA Times, NY Times, Forbes, Investors Business Daily, Network World, BtoB magazine, Federal Computer Week, Government Computer News, Washington Technology, Government Executive, Federal Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, and many others - including profiles in Entrepreneur, Federal Computer Week and Marketing Computers, speaking engagements all over the country and more. The main reason I am able to get as much press as I do has several reasons - but it all starts with me being a nationally recognized expert in a niche. I am a niche master, a thought leader. This has been an incremental and evolving process. And I am far from done. Doubts? Go to my LinkedIn profile and read some of the recommendations. A quick story: The first 10 years I was in business I was an evolving thought leader in a vacuum - no press! My big turn-around started in 1994. In late 1993, I called the editor of Marketing Computers, at the time my favorite magazine. Dave Dix, the editor, had cut my favorite part of the magazine, the 6 month calendar of IT events and the editorial calendars of the major IT publications. He took it out due to space considerations - something had to go. We ended up talking for 45 minutes, with him asking more and more questions. At the end of the conversation, he asked if I minded if he had an editor call me the next week to do an interview. Mind??!! No, of course Dave, I'll take the call. Bronwyn Fryer called me the next week and the result was a several page photo spread and interview in the March 1994 Marketing Computers. When this came out, I KNEW I had made it. The phone was about to start ringing off the wall and I was destined for mega-star status in the very near term. Over the next few weeks, a couple people did call, a couple friends to say, hey, neat article, Click. But what happened? I assumed that all press people read each other magazines and used each others sources! Wrong! If I was news, I was old news. So I sat down and had the Mark-to-Mark talk: what had I done to get the press? Called Dave to give feedback on the part of the magazine I considered important, information I thought Dave needed. And he appreciated the call. Hmmm. Gave feedback to an editor. And he liked it... What if I targeted the top publications in my industry and ...gave editors and reporters feedback on areas involving my expertise when it was germane to THEIR needs??? The results have been spectacular. Since mid-1996, I have been quoted somewhere every month - in some national, regional or very targeted publication, in some web e-zine, I have a string of over 140 months of being quoted somewhere. Not a bad start. So, if you or your business needs more visibility, and you have the brains and ego, and the drive (yes, it takes all three) to call yourself a thought leader - a niche master, and you want to learn the skills, you need to come in and share this limelight. I have no desire to see some of the press go to some fly-by-night shyster. The timid need not apply!So, if you are interested, call me and get the questionnaire. Several spots are already taken. Pick up the phone NOW and call for the Application. 2009 is going to be a tough year. It is time to stack the deck in your favor – apply to join this group today! And, one more thing – when this group is full, it is full. There will another group in 2010. But there will already be 50 Amtower-trained experts out there ahead of you. I think that's it. For now. Connect with me at www.LinkedIn.com How the Group will work. This group will be conducted mainly via telephone, teleseminar or webinar, supplemented by 2-3 live (face-to-face) events in 2009. The live events are all in the DC area. ALL teleseminars will have replays and be downloadable. The Workbook will start with 4 CDs (Amtower's Ultimate PR CDs, part of my Thought Leadership coaching) and end up (with downloads, etc) in all over 30 CDs of material if you are in for the whole year– a virtual Master’s education in all of the components of Thought Leadership. Several bonus programs will be sent to participants during the course of the year. Your workbook will end up with fewer CDs if you opt to take only the PR and/or the Social Networking portion of the program (read on!). I will use my network of niche experts and thought leaders, business authors and other experts, editors and bloggers, radio hosts and more as my interview guests on the teleseminars (at least two each month). On most calls there will be some Q&A, depending on how long each guest is available. Questions sent in advance may be used. Among the authors I have interviewed for my groups and on my radio show in the past year are Jason Alba, Ken Blanchard, Jeanne Bliss, Robert W (Bob) Bly, Chip Conley, John Kamensky, Bob Prosen, David Meerman Scott, Michael Stelzner, Larry Tracy and Debbie Weil. I hope to get most of these back for the 2009 group. Exposure to leaders and thinkers like these is fundamental to your development as a niche master and potentially a thought leader. The program is available in three segments: you can take just the PR, just the Social Networking, or the entire program:
There will be a maximum participation of 50 people, with “first come (paid), first served”. Individual one-on-one coaching will be available with me on a very limited basis for an extra fee. Participants will be teamed with 2-3 other members to act as a mastermind group during the course of the program. Each group should meet via teleconference at least once each month to monitor one another’s progress, share ideas, etc. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, first defined the mastermind as a “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” The purpose in this case is to help each other focus. The benefits of having a supportive mastermind group are: 1. You have a group of people available to help you succeed. This will also help you determine the qualities of the people you want as your personal advisors when we discuss this topic in March, 2009. Face-to-face sessions: We will host two live 3-hour meetings, one in the spring of 2009 and one in the fall, in the Washington DC area (venue, tba). We may also host a full-day live event in December 2009 for all participants. There is an application form that must be filled out so I can see where you think you are in the overall process, your history, etc. Email me for the form. First come basis starts with whoever returns the form first.
Fee for entire year-long program (comes with workbooks and CDs for PR, Web 2.0, and Thought Leadership): $547/month for 12 months, payable on the first of each month or 2 payments of $3,000 (payments due Jan 1 and March 1, saves $564);
OR Fees for Segments of the program: Segment One: Jan-March, getting PR (comes with its own workbook and CDs): one-time fee of $1,497 Segment Two: April-June, leveraging Social Networking for PR and Thought Leadership (comes with its own workbook and CDs): one-time fee of $1,497 Call me if the pricing is confusing – 301 924 0058. Highly recommended reading before starting in this group: Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point; Chris Anderson, The Long Tail; Jack Trout/Al Reis, Positioning, The Battle for Your Mind; and my own Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes. SCHEDULE Dec 2008: meet with each TL prospect, via phone, to discuss individual goals & expectations and match those against what I am offering. Set realistic goals. Match each participant with a "team-mate" or a work team (other members) December – 1 bonus teleseminar on Time management January 2009 - 2 teleseminars – Public Relations; establish and evaluate goals; exposure evaluation; develop an initial PR strategy, including venues and reporters to be targeted. February 2009 – 2 teleseminars – focus on PR continued: print, broadcast and web (recommended reading, David Meerman Scott, The New Rules of Marketing and PR) March 2009 – 2 teleseminars – focus on PR continued with emphasis on speaking and writing (recommended reading, Robert W Bly, The White Paper Marketing Handbook) April 2009 – 2 teleseminars – focus on Web 2.0 tactics: mapping the strategy and social networking May 2009 – 2 teleseminars – Web 2.0 continued, podcasts and wikis June 2009 - 2 teleseminars - Web 2.0 continued, blogging July 2009 – 2 teleseminars - define thought leadership; determine your niche, determine others claiming/aspiring to TL roles in this niche; determine main venues (print, web event) for each niche; the importance of reading & thinking; Google benchmark where you are right now (exposure evaluation) Aug 2009 – 2 teleseminars – focus on starting to evolve your “inner circle” (re-read portions of Gladwell) and networking venues – online and offline Sept 2009 – 2 teleseminars – leveraging the resources you have developed – strategy planning; reviewing initial PR strategy, including venues to be targeted Oct 2009 - 2 teleseminars – developing your long-term mastermind group/inner circle; and Web site evaluations – by other members. Nov 2009 - 2 teleseminars – writing a (your!) book and Q&A with Thought Leader (tba) Dec 2009 - 2 teleseminars – Interview with Thought leader (tba) and final strategy wrap-up.
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