The life expectancy of “no-one-saw-this-coming” as an explanation for stalled business development is going to run out soon. Or at least, wear thin. So for everyone who still has a practice to grow, here is a 4-step plan for the last 4 months of a year none of us saw coming. Buckle up…we’ll make it a … Continue Reading
If the only reason you want to connect with me is because you have a sales pitch to unleash, I hope you’re selling a commodity. Most of us make scores of commodity type purchasing decisions regularly — from toothpaste and soap to phones and computers — and we become experts at filtering the pitches. When … Continue Reading
Does your firm regularly wrestle with measuring return when it comes to business development efforts? If so, you’re far from alone. At least one reason is that for many firms, the pursuit of new business is not aligned with any overall, longer-than-this-year strategic plan — one that is guided by a set of core principles, … Continue Reading
Part 5 in our series on Building a Strategic Business Development Plan focuses on Delivering Value — the first step in establishing a working relationship. We’ve discussed strategy, target identification, building a strategic network, and most recently, becoming relevant (creating visibility) with the targets you’ve identified. But actually securing that coveted engagement, never mind earning … Continue Reading
It creeps into consciousness sometime in mid-to-late September. By mid-November, partners in firms everywhere are feeling either personal or institutional pressure (or both) to come up with a business development plan for the coming year. If you’re in the midst of this planning, you’ve happened onto the fourth installment in a series on building a … 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
How do you build a professional service practice? Where do you begin? How much time do you invest? What constitutes progress? In a previous post on the similarities between business development and planting a tree, we recounted the story of French Marshal Lyautey, who instructed his gardener to plant a tree that would take 100 years … Continue Reading
Two things are often true of professional service providers wrestling with how to build a practice, and we discuss both frequently: an anemic network — which translates to a severe shortage of connections that can either hire you, or refer and introduce you to the folks in a position to do the hiring; and, the absence … 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
To the degree that it is human nature, it is understandable. On the other hand, to the degree that it is a distracting resource drain, it significantly limits effective business development. “It” is the search for a Silver Bullet. From social media to the newest technology, from what’s hot in creative execution to the flavor-of-the-month … Continue Reading
If you’re marketing something, you’re likely investing resources in the development of connections. Social strategies, networking events, content marketing efforts…there is a long cafeteria line of tools, strategies and processes designed to get you connneted. Then what? Business development is about relationships. Not connections. Or fans. Or followers. Real honest-to-goodness-relationships. Today’s tools make establishing a … Continue Reading
Successful business development is not a big mystery. Anyone who has been seriously working on the issue for very long has a good idea what is required. Precise process can vary. Termonology can differ; but it is not rocket science. In substance, in virtually any arena, business development is about the same thing. Create visibility … Continue Reading
Where change is the objective, there is little value in having the same conversations over and over. Eventually, the glazed-over-eyes should be a dead give-away: no one is listening. If the goal is to connect, here are five ideas that will instigate more productive conversations. 1) Avoid the devils you know. These come in all shapes … Continue Reading
If you are wondering what it takes to fill the pipeline with work for the last quarter of the year — nevermind 2017 and beyond — two things may be true about your marketing and business development efforts: your professional network is anemic; and, as a result, you have a shortage of strategic targets. Many … Continue Reading
In spite of mounds of evidence to the contrary, when it comes to marketing, business development and sales we can’t help ourselves. We cling to the hope of a viral happending that will change everything in an “unexpected” instant. Others have pulled it off. Why not us? The luck-of-the-draw . . . the right set of numbers. … Continue Reading
What does it take to make it rain? Real rainmakers — the individuals able to connect with the marketplace in a way that consistently results in business — share three characteristics. They may engage in business development in a variety of ways and employ differing techniques. There are, after all, no cookie-cutter formulas that work for everyone. … Continue Reading
Listening is the last thing on anyone’s mind when the subject is communication. And it’s understandable. From the instant an infant realizes what it takes to get attention, our practical view of communication is shaped by a repeated focus on doing whatever it takes to deliver a message. Experiences reenforce the idea that charisma, wordsmithing and … Continue Reading
A little over a decade ago a small technology start-up was out of money, and about to give up. But a professional service group showed the entrepreneurs a way to convert intellectual property into a revenue stream; and the start-up was reborn. An eighteen month revenue stream that defied even the most optimistic pro forma … Continue Reading
Successful business developers seem to have an uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time; but when it comes to consistently making it rain, this is rarely happenstance. In fact, the epitome of strategic business development and marketing is increasingly about executing a plan that connects with those most likely to buy … Continue Reading
What constitutes appropriate ROI on all that we plow into business development efforts? In a post on the similarities between business development and planting a tree, we recounted the story of French Marshal Lyautey. The story underscores the fact that growing something strong takes time. The practical challenge is that between the planting and tangible signs … Continue Reading
