The business world is getting disrupted right now in tremendous ways. Automations, messenger bots, subscription flows, all of these assets designed to make our lives as marketers more convenient are starting to remind us about the value of relationships.

It comes back to the fact that people don’t buy products; they buy promises, feelings, and experiences. As rising thought leaders, we thrive on the ability to exchange our message for the emotions our audience is experiencing or wants to experience right now.

Focus on cultivating long-term relationships with your crowd. One example we’re doing that is actually adding more fields back into our lead generation forms.

I don’t want to just get someone’s email address and think that means they’re a great fit for our message. I’d rather ask for their company name, website address, the size of their team, and what their goals are for 2019 and beyond.

This means the people who will be filling out our forms are better qualified and significantly more interested in what we have to offer than a passing interest.

High-quality relationships developed over a longer period of time are the values we’re seeing moving forward. It’s no longer speed dating your audience; it’s the long game where you get to truly connect with extraordinary people in your crowd who want to know you’re the right fit for them and that they’re the right fit for you.

The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”