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November 26, 2024
At 10 years old, I sold greeting cards door-to-door in my South Jackson, Mississippi neighborhood. Most of the doors I knocked on belonged to families I did not know. I’d already sold to the ones I knew! Why? I wanted a diver’s watch and the solicitation I received was a barter – if I sold X greeting card sets, I would get the watch. It was a prize.
I was motivated in the way a person just out of single digits can be. Never met a stranger. I was SELLING.
Fast forward: I’m 13 and my mother finally allows me to mow lawns for neighborhood families at +/- $10 each. For a couple hours’ work on a Saturday, this was a financial boon. In the deep south, grass grows from about April through October or later. Then it is leaf-raking season.
I built this cash-based offer by selling AND by WOM (word of mouth). Folks drove by as I mowed the lawn across the street; stopped and asked if I do this on the regular and thus my client list grew. Super low overhead. All I needed was energy (who doesn’t have that at 13?) and gas for the mower. Then I added services like edging, car washing, etc.
I was over 40 before I understood that one could “sell without selling.” I confess, the very term confused me. How can you offer something for purchase if you don’t first explain it; offer a sample, etc.?
I started hearing a term with regularity: #Thought Leadership. In a #B2B context - specifically among #knowledge workers/#professional services. My friend and sage guide Mark Brandon on educated me thusly:
The best Thought Leadership either runs very much counter to conventional wisdom or it supports it with new evidence. It is designed to illustrate prowess on a subject. To be seen as a Subject Matter Expert.
Great, just what these knowledge workers (lawyers, consultants, etc.) need – another White Paper.
My background was about “bringing messages to life.” I wondered how we could lift from the pages of a White Paper and engage our audience differently - under the umbrella of #ThoughtLeadership. I looked back to find a way forward: The Jeffersonian Dinner.
Named for Thomas Jefferson who pioneered the concept, a Jeffersonian Dinner is defined as a get-together over dinner where one meaningful conversation is shared, exchanging different perspectives. These dinners began back in the 1800s in the home of Thomas Jefferson, and two centuries later this format is fantastically helpful for those seeking a thought-provoking dialogue to help make sense of our world.
A thought-provoking dialogue requires an engaging topic that everyone around the table can opine upon. It is necessarily not about you, your brand, any features or benefits. Rather it is a subject of interest for all concerned.
If your invitation list comprises industry peers, you can benefit by having an expert guest-speaker or co-host who can bring gravitas to the topic. This offers two benefits:
It compels attendance – folks usually wonder what an expert is going to say
It adds dimension and credibility to your overall event (plus it makes you/your brand look smart!)
While both the topic and a featured speaker are critical for enticing your target audience to attend the event, the real magic is wielded by the moderator.
The moderator has two roles:
Incite original dialogue – get folks speaking. I had one client who was petrified that we’d gather 25 people at a table, and no one would talk. The solution (also reliant on the moderator) is research: connect your guests’ backgrounds to the topic by forming questions aimed at gaining their input. This kicks off the dialogue and once the proverbial ice is broken, opens conversation.
Play conversation traffic cop – once started, the moderator must ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute to the conversation. It takes a skilled operator who can see or sense that a guest has something to say but may need an opening to get it in. After all, you did not invite these people to sit & listen.
Thought Leadership – LOCC’s “Recipe”
Our approach to the Jeffersonian Dinner consists of the following:
Works best with group of 20 to 25.
Reminder: Make it about your guests – not about you, your brand or your offering.
Show how you align with or stand toe-to-toe with a roomful of your desired clients and that is exactly how they will see you.
WHEN & WHERE:
Dinners like this are usually best executed in conjunction with an industry conference or trade show (b/c most of your target is already there).
WHY:
As Martha Beck said: “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything,” Execution must be high-touch, white-glove – the guests should walk away understanding that if this is how you/your brand holds a dinner, what must working with you be like?
Why do alone? There are vendors who sell participation in their events. These can be useful for a brand on a budget, but it requires recalibrating your expectation. You are under someone else’s tent, not your own. You will only be second fiddle at best.
RESULTS:
At the end of the day, you do this sort of thing because it’s memorable. It illustrates a considered, thoughtful approach. Moreover, it takes that White Paper Thought Leadership piece and delivers an EXPERIENCE around it.
One attorney said it best post dinner: “I’d rather attend a dinner like this any day that sit through a lunch with someone pitching me something.”
Smaller, more intimate settings offer the option to connect and sell without selling.
If you need to bring your concept to life, contact LOCC. We have a history of doing these things differently and generating great results.
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