The Autumn typically marks a very busy period for many professionals and a careful juggling act of both client work and business development (BD). This year many firms also face a time of political and economic uncertainty in their key markets.
Whatever the changes ahead, those professionals who maintain a regular BD approach will be more effective and successful at supporting clients and contacts, spotting opportunities and converting them into work.
Why a 100 day plan?
Creating a 100 day plan helps you to focus on a short term horizon (next month), but also highlights elements of a longer term (the following two months) vision.
The 100 day timeframe gives a manageable and realistic period to undertake business development and helps keep you on track, despite busy work periods.
Creating your plan
The first thing to do is to write down up to 15 contacts of yours (broken down into the categories such as clients, targets and intermediaries) who you feel it is important to concentrate on over the next 3 months.
The aim here is to think about those people who may be in a position to give or refer work to you or others in the firm within this timeframe.
Assign activities
Next think about the action you can take this month with all of those contacts you have written down. It is unlikely that it is appropriate to have a ‘touch point’ contact with all 15 within the first month. Don’t worry. Think about what you can do in the following month. If it is inappropriate to do anything at this stage, the fact that you have written the contact down, and you will refer to the list as a working document, means that you will have them in your mind when an appropriate ‘trigger’ occurs.
Regular reviews
Review this list for 15 minutes on at least a weekly basis and systematically go through the names to consider what would be an appropriate ‘touch point’ in the short term. Note down the action you will take and make some time to do it. Introduce new names and new activities as your plan develops and opportunities occur in the course of your work.
Raise your profile
You might also want to include in the plan some activities to raise your profile. It is useful to think about things you have in your schedule that will enable you to do this and, if nothing is planned, consider what you might do with the time available. There are plenty of options, from writing to speaking, training to workshops – but remember that the real value (and work) often comes from the one to one discussions as a result of following up these profile-raising initiatives
If you would like more ideas and help with your business development in the months ahead – do get in touch. We have a team of experts who provide training, coaching, webinar and e-learning support.