April 26, 2025

Apply­ing the Dig­i­tal Thought Lead­er­ship Mod­el (DTLM) to cor­po­rate account man­agers in the infra­struc­ture soft­ware sales and devel­op­ment space, such as Bent­ley Sys­tems, would focus on estab­lish­ing them as trust­ed indus­try advi­sors who offer not just solu­tions but also insights that dri­ve cus­tomer suc­cess and indus­try inno­va­tion.

Here’s how each com­po­nent of DTLM can be applied:


1. Personal Branding for Corporate Account Managers

Cor­po­rate account man­agers often need a strong per­son­al brand to res­onate with clients in sec­tors like engi­neer­ing, archi­tec­ture, and con­struc­tion tech­nol­o­gy. Here’s how they can build this:

  • Define Val­ue Propo­si­tion:
    • Unique Skills and Exper­tise: Posi­tion them­selves as experts not only in Bentley’s prod­ucts but also in under­stand­ing the unique needs of infra­struc­ture projects, from trans­porta­tion to util­i­ties.
    • Tar­get Audi­ence: Focus on stake­hold­ers in infra­struc­ture devel­op­ment and man­age­ment, like civ­il engi­neers, urban plan­ners, and project man­agers.
    • Brand Mis­sion State­ment: Craft state­ments that high­light a com­mit­ment to solv­ing indus­try chal­lenges, such as “Empow­er­ing infra­struc­ture lead­ers to lever­age dig­i­tal solu­tions for sus­tain­able, smarter projects.”
  • Devel­op Con­tent Strat­e­gy:
    • Con­tent Themes and For­mats: Devel­op con­tent around dig­i­tal trans­for­ma­tion in infra­struc­ture, asset man­age­ment, and case stud­ies on suc­cess­ful imple­men­ta­tions.
    • High-Qual­i­ty Con­tent: Share insights, white papers, and updates on inno­va­tions in infra­struc­ture technology—backed by Bentley’s exten­sive research and project suc­cess­es.
    • Audi­ence Engage­ment: Use plat­forms like LinkedIn to engage through Q&A posts, quick video insights, or shar­ing rel­e­vant indus­try news, with an open invi­ta­tion for indus­try dis­cus­sions.
  • Com­mu­ni­ty Engage­ment:
    • Par­tic­i­pate active­ly in indus­try forums and groups relat­ed to infra­struc­ture and dig­i­tal twin tech­nolo­gies.
    • Net­work with indus­try pro­fes­sion­als, col­lab­o­rate on webi­na­rs, and sup­port client inter­ac­tions by shar­ing Bentley’s inno­v­a­tive approach to infra­struc­ture solu­tions.

2. Digital Innovation for Enhanced Engagement

Account man­agers in this field can max­i­mize Bentley’s dig­i­tal infra­struc­ture to boost engage­ment with prospects and clients.

  • Cre­ate a Per­son­al Web­site or Dig­i­tal Port­fo­lio:
    • Uti­lize no-code tools to cre­ate a port­fo­lio or mini-web­site that show­cas­es their projects, key clients, and tes­ti­mo­ni­als, if pos­si­ble, as part of their LinkedIn pro­file or per­son­al brand­ing.
    • Fea­ture case stud­ies and high­lights of Bentley’s tech­nol­o­gy appli­ca­tions across var­i­ous projects to illus­trate real-world impact.
  • Inte­grate Dig­i­tal Plat­forms:
    • Con­nect their LinkedIn with Bentley’s main con­tent hub to pro­vide a seam­less flow of infor­ma­tion.
    • Use CRM inte­gra­tions to per­son­al­ize out­reach and ensure brand con­sis­ten­cy, enhanc­ing client expe­ri­ences with Bentley’s tech­nol­o­gy solu­tions and indus­try exper­tise.
  • Enhance Vis­i­bil­i­ty with SEO and Ana­lyt­ics:
    • Lever­age LinkedIn SEO by includ­ing key indus­try terms in their pro­file and posts to attract pro­fes­sion­als search­ing for indus­try insights.
    • Use Bentley’s ana­lyt­ics to mon­i­tor engage­ment lev­els with clients, adapt­ing strate­gies based on inter­ac­tion pat­terns and inter­ests.


4. Conscious Awareness for Ongoing Alignment

To ensure that the account man­agers’ per­son­al brands remain aligned with Bentley’s core mis­sion, reg­u­lar self-assess­ment is key.

  • Review and Reflect: Reg­u­lar­ly assess if their activ­i­ties align with Bentley’s over­ar­ch­ing goals and val­ues.
  • Adapt and Re-align: Adjust strate­gies based on client feed­back and emerg­ing indus­try trends to stay rel­e­vant and ahead in the infra­struc­ture sec­tor.
  • Bal­ance and Growth: Con­tin­u­ous­ly grow by bal­anc­ing per­son­al brand­ing with Bentley’s cor­po­rate mes­sag­ing, evolv­ing as trust­ed thought lead­ers who con­tribute to both client suc­cess and the company’s rep­u­ta­tion.

By fol­low­ing this approach, Bentley’s cor­po­rate account man­agers can cul­ti­vate a dig­i­tal pres­ence that ampli­fies their thought lead­er­ship, aligns with Bentley’s mis­sion, and adds val­ue to their clients’ jour­ney in the infra­struc­ture soft­ware space. This strate­gic align­ment enhances cred­i­bil­i­ty, fos­ters strong client rela­tion­ships, and ulti­mate­ly con­tributes to Bentley’s brand as a leader in infra­struc­ture tech­nol­o­gy.

John Deacon

John is a researcher and digitally independent practitioner focused on developing aligned cognitive extension technologies. His creative and technical work draws from industry experience across instrumentation, automation and workflow engineering, systems dynamics, and strategic communications design.

Rooted in the philosophy of Strategic Thought Leadership, John's work bridges technical systems, human cognition, and organizational design, helping individuals and enterprises structure clarity, alignment, and sustainable growth into every layer of their operations.

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