Ep 67: How to Become the Thought-Leader in a Space with David Dulany

Problem: 

David Dulany is the thought leader in the sales development representative (SDR) space. He is also the founder and CEO of Tenbound, a research and development firm focused 100% on the sales development industry. Over the past few years, this industry has exploded. How do you become a thought leader in an industry that is always evolving and growing?

How to monetize on being a thought leader in your industry

David talks about what he did to build his brand as a thought leader in the sales development industry.

Step #1: Brand-Building

David was able to get the word out about his service by utilizing his blog and podcast. While he wasn’t putting out a ton of content at first, he was able to draw upon his vast network of contacts to create content for these platforms. David leveraged his contact list. Each guest he brought to his podcast talked about their expertise and niche.

He came at this problem from a unique angle as well, which made his content stand out. Instead of looking at sales development with the question, “How do I build it?” he came at it with the question, “How do I manage it?” David’s passion for the industry comes out in these conversations. That authenticity is important in a podcast.

It’s such a fascinating, interesting topic and it’s something that I just enjoy talking to people about.

Your podcast can be a vehicle that can drive potential customers and clients to your service. 

Step #2: You’ve Got to Be Creative

The techniques and tricks that used to work ten years ago, aren’t as effective now. These days, you have to get creative in order to get customers and keep their attention.

You’ve got to be creative and utilize all the tools at your disposal.

Step #3: Solicitation and having the right message at the right time

The key is to get in front of your customers. Find what is resonating with your target audience. Make sure you are touching on some sort of pain point or initiative that your target audience is interested in.

You need to strategically think about your outbound and look at some of the tools and services that are available to plug in. 

Step #4: The Tenbound Conference

Despite initial pushback from people in the conference organizing community, David used his passion for sales development to create their own conference. It was a rousing success until “COVID punched them in the face.” They have since organized a virtual conference for this year, which will take place on March 24.

I’ve always been passionate that sales development is it’s own industry.