But What If I Fail?
It’s a simple five-word question, yet a lot of my clients have confided in me recently: “But what if I fail?”.
My response?
Since going out on my own two and a half years ago; it’s a question I ask myself daily. Every time I submit a pitch or proposal to do some work. Every time someone asks me to reduce my price and I say “no”, possibly losing their work. Every time I go to an event and see no one I know in the room. Every time I see a competitor getting attention on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or wherever else I might be a the time.
But here’s the thing. While the question might keep you up at night, it’s the wrong question to be focussed on.
Failure Isn’t the Real Risk, Inaction Is
Let’s face facts, when you run your own show and do serious business development you WILL fail from time-to-time. It’s a fact of life. However, failure (if that’s the word we are going to use) doesn’t come from a bad proposal - it comes from not having a plan | strategy, from not showing up often enough to be seen.
Too many professionals only do business development when the “perfect” opportunity comes along, or only reach out when they feel 100% certain the person is going to respond. That's because Type A's typically want to protect their reputation and themselves from the sting of rejection; but in doing so, they're only protecting their competitors' market share.
If you never risk a “no,” you never earn the chance for a “yes.”
The Hidden Cost of Playing Safe
For most professionals, hesitation and a reluctance to be seen “selling” has a compounding cost:
Missed momentum: Every unanswered email and phone call delays your pipeline of work.
Brand invisibility: If clients don’t see you regularly, they assume you’re too busy and won’t consider you for work.
Confidence erosion: Each decision not to act reinforces the story that “we’re not ready yet.”
Safety feels rational, but it’s silently expensive.
Reframing Failure as Feedback
Business development is an experiment, not a life-threatening medical exam. Every lost pitch teaches you how clients think. Every pricing conversation reveals where your perceived value sits. Every “no” moves you closer to understanding what earns a “yes.”
The firms that grow fastest aren’t those with perfect hit rates. They’re the ones who measure, learn, adjust and try again quickly.
A Simple Rule: Fail Small, Learn Fast, Win Big
You don’t need to gamble everything on one massive opportunity or a single flagship client. Instead, build a rhythm of small, controlled tasks:
Test your new pricing model on one client, not ten.
Submit one extra EOI each quarter.
Run one webinar to see who shows up.
Make one bolder ask in your next proposal.
Each micro-failure is tuition, not a tax.
The Real Fear Isn’t Failure, It’s Exposure
When professionals say “I’m afraid of failing,” what they usually mean is, “I’m afraid people will see me fail.”
But the irony is: no one is watching as closely as you think. Clients are busy. Your competitors are busy. And, the market has a very short memory.
What everyone does remember is consistency: the lawyer who keeps showing up, keeps improving and keeps asking for work is the lawyer who will win in the long run.
Takeaway
If you want to build a sustainable business development habit, reframe the question.
Don’t ask: “What if I fail?”
Ask: “What will I learn if I try?”
Because in business development: the opposite of failure isn’t success, it’s momentum.
Need Help With Your Business Development?
Get in touch if you want to talk about any of this. We also offer a very affordable BD Audit and Training package.
