(This is an update to a March 2018 article originally published on Forbes.com.) The role of leadership in any enterprise is fraught with a number of legitimately urgent distractions — especially in a volatile marketplace. A single projection missed, one team assignment blown, a silver bullet misfired can wind up costing precious resources. In short … Continue Reading
Leverage is an often used buzz word when business conversations focus on productivity, growth and profitability. Oxford Dictionaries define it as the exertion of force by means of a lever. In practical and slightly less mechanical terms — it is the use of resources at your disposal to change the equation that shapes the your … Continue Reading
Over the next two-and-a-half months or so you may be among the lawyers, accountants, consultants and other professional service providers taking a long hard look at your marketing, business development and sales initiatives. The dye for 2018 is pretty much cast. Time to focus on market movement, emerging trends, lessons learned, and begin the work … Continue Reading
There is a basic principle in communication theory — shared experiences form the basis for the most effective communication. Even if we did not formally study the science, most of us have first-hand experience with the validity of the principle — in intimate, social and professional settings alike.In the space where experiences of the communicator … Continue Reading
Business development is not complicated. Hard work? Indeed…because effective business development (especially in a professional service firm) is almost always about building productive relationships. And that is no small task. But we shouldn’t confuse the hard work required to build rewarding relationships with the suggestion that business development requires something that is somehow inconsistent with our … Continue Reading
Most professional service providers would welcome a more predictable, consistent and robust flow of qualified new business leads. Scratch that. When it comes to business development and sales, virtually every professional service provider I know is searching for an efficient way to connect with potential new clients. Marketing strategies promise it; the possibility is the siren … Continue Reading
Whether a new enterprise or a venerable brand, the realities of a market in transition are most likely having an effect on your firm. Responses to Altman Weil’s 2018 Law Firms In Transition Survey underscore the magnitude. 49% of responding firms failed to meet billable hour targets in 2017 59% say equity partners are under … Continue Reading
Ask a dozen professionals to define marketing and you might receive a dozen different responses. From retailer to B-to-B enterprise, from service provider to widget manufacturer, from Fortune-listed to start-up — marketing is defined based on what we’re offering the market, who we’ve targeted, and what is required to create appropriate visibility. But all of … Continue Reading
Most professional service providers would welcome a more consistent and robust flow of quality leads. Scratch that. When it comes to business development and sales, virtually every professional service provider I know is searching for a way to connect with potential new clients. So much so that this is the promise of marketing strategies, the siren song … Continue Reading
Vision is the lifeblood of any march toward the future. Without it, the status quo offers a comfort zone that is difficult to give up — especially when things have been pretty darn good for a very long time. Before we go further we should clarify terms. A Vision is not about a 100-word so-called … Continue Reading
The year was 2009. The law firm managing partner was confessing. Not in a contrite or inquisitive manner. The tone was incredulous. He didn’t get it; and he seemed to politely resent the idea that he should invest any time or energy discussing it. Ironically, he was elbows deep in the process of interviewing for … Continue Reading
In his book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek sets the bar for what defines a leader. The book as well as Sinek’s TED Talks should be required for anyone aspiring to a leadership role. In short, the author suggests that the real measure of an effective leader is the degree to which she inspires a … Continue Reading
Ask a dozen professionals to define marketing and you might receive a dozen different responses. From retailer to B-to-B enterprise, from service provider to widget producer, from Fortune-listed to start-up — marketing is defined based on what we’re selling, and who we need to motivate. But all of us, unique perspectives notwithstanding, count on our … Continue Reading
If you wrestle with business development — where to focus, how to start, what to do next, how to make it seem natural — if you struggle with the whole idea , chances are one of the causes for the struggle is an anemic or nonexistent professional network. If this describes you and you’re among … Continue Reading
Long ago, before digital became the state of the art, the print industry hadn’t seen significant change for decades. Actually it wasn’t all that long ago in the scheme of things. Less than twenty-five years. Then someone figured out ones and zeroes. And norms for an entire industry began to shift. Seemingly overnight, what had once … Continue Reading
No one should be surprised. It is, after all, human nature. On the other hand, it is a distraction, a resource drain and a mistake we insist on making over and over. “It” is our seemingly relentless search for a business development Silver Bullet. From the siren call of a social platform to the promises that … Continue Reading
All listening is not the same. Consider the differences in the way you listen to talk radio as you sit in traffic; to the argument of an adversary; and, for the slightest whimper from the new born down the hall. The soundtrack of a day is complex. Most of us are adept at juggling multiple channels … Continue Reading
Business development is not complicated. Hard work? Indeed…because it is, at its core, about succeeding at relationships…and we all know that almost anything having to do with relationships is hard work. But the quest for formulas, fast-fixes and a magic planning template notwithstanding, biz dev success does not reside in a silver-bullet or one-size-fits-all solution. Strategically sound … Continue Reading
Some seem completely comfortable in their own skin in almost any situation. When it comes to business development, this translates to being at ease in any room — able to initiate conversations at the drop of a cocktail napkin. But for everyone who begins to sweat at the idea of the next networking room or … Continue Reading
When the goal is to develop new business relationships in a competitive marketplace, simply being visible — having your name “out there” — isn’t near enough to differentiate you from the crowd. And though there are certainly approaches to visibility that can elicit a Wow, if your marketing focuses solely on name recognition, you will … Continue Reading
Once you have identified the target for a business development pursuit, then what? The answer is simple. Whether you’re considering initial and broad based networking or a single focused pursuit, the success you seek hinges on the (often time consuming) work of building and nurturing professional relationship. Specific action steps will vary depending on the … Continue Reading
Let’s cut to the chase. Why do you need a network? Because your network is your market. Every day many professional service providers wrestle with how to develop new business — not because of inferior work product or poor client service; but because their network is not large enough to supply the connections, generate the referrals, … Continue Reading
We’ve said it before — business development will never be mistaken for rocket science. It isn’t even Algebra I…unless you employ the most basic of formulas — Success = X + Y. But this isn’t to suggest it is easy. Strategic business development requires a combination of factors: focus; tasks and activities that are difficult … Continue Reading
Honest dialogue can change things fast. It creates connections, seeds ideas, and is the critical thread in the fabric of relationship. It is about seeking to understand. The fact that dialogue doesn’t come easy is one reason relationships are so difficult. Self-interest, posturing, and the need to be certain we make our case tend to frame … Continue Reading
