I’ve been doing some research lately and one of the issues that seems to be on everyone’s mind is new business development.
Or, if you like money!
Cash!
CREAM!
Whatevs.
The thing about this research was that it was indicative of the urgency of new business development being a new thing, not an ongoing thing.
But the truth is, business development needs to be a constant focus.
Alan Weiss, The Rock Star of Consulting, says that you should be churning 10-15% of your business every 2 years so that you don’t get stagnant.
I think that is right.
Uncovering and developing new markets and new clients needs to be an ongoing focus, here are a few tips specifically aimed at my friends in the professional services world.
Constantly revisit your USP:
Your unique selling proposition should make the BD conversations and marketing easier.
In the world of professional services, it is easy to get trapped in buzzwords, word of the day, or topic du jour.
That is a quick formula for failure.
You have to stand out.
You don’t want to be one of many, you want to be one of one by defining who you are and what you do…but most importantly, why it is important.
Provide value from the start:
Too often we see ourselves talking about our product or service in fuzzy terms, buzzwords…whatever.
The thing we don’t do is kick off and keep pounding value.
The thing about value is that you need to start delivering it from the very start.
In my view, you pay for the specific but you can get the general for free.
Your strategy needs to be simple:
- What is the value we want to create?
- Who can use it and buy it?
- How do we reach them?