Business development is the process that is used to identify, nurture and acquire new clients and business opportunities to drive growth and profitability:
- Networking
Networking is perhaps the foremost universally used business development strategy. It’s built on the theory that professional services buying decisions are rooted in relationships, and the best way to develop new relationships is through face-to-face networking. It certainly is true that many relationships do develop in that way. And if you are networking with your target audience, you can develop a new business. But there are limitations. Today’s buyers are very time-pressured, and networking is time-consuming. Newer digital networking techniques can assist on the price and time front. But even social media requires an investment of time and attention.
- Referrals
The problem is referral sources often do not know the full range of how you can help a client. So many referrals are poorly matched to your capabilities. Other well-matched referrals go unmade because your referral source fails to recognize a great prospect when they see one. Finally, many prospects that might be good clients rule out your firm before even talking with you. Importantly, there are new digital strategies that will accelerate referrals. Making your specific expertise more visible is the key. This allows people to make better referrals and increases your referral base beyond clients and a few business contacts.
- Outbound Telephone and Mail
Professional services firms have been using phone calls and mail to directly target potential clients for decades. Target the right firms and roles with a relevant message and you would expect to find new opportunities that can be developed into clients. There are a couple of key challenges with these strategies. First, they are relatively expensive, so they need to be just right to be effective. Second, if you don’t catch the prospect at the right time, your offer may have no appeal relevance — and consequently, no impact on business development. The key is to have a very appealing offer delivered to a very qualified and responsive list. It’s not easy to get this combination right.
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