As we enter the second half of January, many of us are starting to struggle with our New Year’s Resolutions. Some of you might have looked at our Business Development Resolutions to do some goal setting for your teams. Others may have personal goals that they are looking to achieve.
Losing weight and business development
We know how difficult it is to create lasting change and that got us thinking about what business development has in common with losing weight.
1. Quick fixes don’t exist
Unfortunately, as with dieting, there is no magic pill or one trick that works instantly. One event, one piece of content, one meeting won’t get the work flowing in for a sustained period of time.
If you want to drive growth through your business development activities, you need to think "little and often". It’s the constant touch points with the same audience that will deliver results.
2. Set realistic goals
Rather than focus on something that seems like a million miles from reality (I will bring in an extra £x of work this year), think about smaller and less daunting objectives. This month I will sign up to do one presentation. Next month, I will write 2 articles for the firm website. By setting realistic targets, and achieving those, you are much more likely to achieve the bigger milestones.
3. What works for one person might not work for the next
We are all different. We all have our own strengths, weaknesses and motivators. We each exist in a system and environment which is different from the person next to us. You need to come up with a style and business development plan that draws on who you are and makes sense in the context of the firm to which you belong and your pipeline.
4. Don’t forget the basics
We can often get our heads turned by the latest trend or by what everyone else seems to be doing. However, the foundations of good business development - striving to understand our clients, building solid relationships and listening – have withstood the test of time.
5. We should look to achieve lasting change
The best diets aren’t a diet at all. Changes to habits/routines provide better long term results. For a healthy lifestyle, it might be walking up the stairs rather than taking the lift. For Business Development it might be remembering to follow-up after networking events, setting aside the same 30 minutes a week for business development, or sharing client updates with the team. It’s the changes that you embed and make a habit that don’t get forgotten when work gets in the way.
At Client Talk we believe in creating long-term change. Our business development programmes combine training and coaching so that professionals not only receive the skills they need, they also build the motivation to use them. To find out more get in touch.
