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For many professionals we work with, business development (BD) has to ‘slot in’ around a myriad of other client, staff and other business responsibilities. And yet how successful a professional is in attracting new work greatly influences the status they achieve in other areas of their professional life.

It’s important not to treat BD as a luxury – something to be actioned when more time magically appears in the diary. Instead, the…

Naturally, all firms are keen to retain and develop their current client relationships. Retention makes sound commercial sense and can significantly reduce the cost of sale of new work streams.

To retain their clients though, firms need to continually find ways to add value to them. This is largely dependent on how well the firm understands what their clients want and how client contacts feel about the…

Latest pitching approaches As part of good corporate governance and with an eye driving greater cost-efficiency and value from their advisers, the requirement for competitive pitching skills is always present for professional firms.

In recent years firms have become more professional and robust in their approach to pitches. So much so that we’re often asked how teams can stand out against highly competitive quality firms.

From our research, and day to day work helping teams…

Cross-selling approaches Most professional services firms recognise their existing client base is a key source for increased revenue. Cross-selling additional support to a client is often an easier opportunity to convert and comes with a lower cost of sale.

We do, however, come across professionals who say they are uncertain about how best to cross-sell and, in particular, introduce colleagues into their client relationships. So in this article we’ve shared some of the…

We are now over the half-way point in 2018 and, for many professionals, it’s a good time to take stock of their business development (BD) efforts to date – as well as make plans for the remainder of the year. And with the summer break coming up (and hopefully some quieter moments), we’ve collated some tips to help you review and plan your BD approach in the months ahead.

In particular we’ve focused…

Spotting opportunities in business A key skill of a client-focused professional is the ability to spot opportunities to further support a client – or target client – and then gain the decision-maker’s commitment to work with them.

In this article we focus on some of the skills for spotting new work opportunities in your client base. We have also shared techniques to help you convert those opportunities into business, without the need for you…

Ideas to keep in touch with clients Many professionals we work with recognise the need to keep in touch with clients and contacts, even when they are not currently working with them. The challenge for some is how to do this in a way that comes across as positive and not ‘salesy’. In some cases it puts professionals off reaching out to their contact altogether.

The risk of not keeping in touch

But by failing…

Gaining a contact's commitment In a typical working week professionals conduct several discussions, some of which hold the potential for new work opportunities to be identified and won. Such conversations include those with clients, potential clients, colleagues, intermediaries/referrers, past clients and other people in a professional’s network.

Spotting the potential new work opportunity is just one part of the journey though. To ensure it does indeed convert into an instruction, it’s crucial that both…

With a New Year upon us, it’s a good time to decide on the outcomes you want to achieve in the months ahead.

Having clarity of purpose and ambition is an essential starting point, and will form the basis of any personal plan you establish.

In supporting many professionals over the years to achieve their business development goals, we are all too aware of the pitfalls that can derail the most solid of…

Strengthening overseas client relationships As international business becomes an increasingly strong revenue stream of many firms, some professionals find they now need to manage relationships with clients who are not in the same country or continent.

Just because you are miles away from a client doesn’t mean you can’t build a really valuable long-term relationship with them. To be successful though, and retain and develop the long distance client relationship, a different approach…

Foundation stones for personal business development success in 2019

How client listening can give you a competitive edge in 2019

Pitching – what’s hot and what’s not

Cross-selling approaches which are working in today’s client relationships

How to create new work opportunities for the second half of 2018

Spotting and converting new business opportunities with your client

How to ‘professionally’ keep in touch with clients and contacts

The risk of not keeping in touch

Gaining your contact’s commitment to move forward

Three BD resolutions to make 2018 a successful year

Strengthening your overseas client relationships