Business Development Is A Confidence Game
Many professionals assume they have a business development problem when they actually have a confidence problem. Learn why confidence is often the missing ingredient in winning more work.
Many lawyers assume they have a business development problem when what they have is a confidence problem.
Most law firms employ highly capable subject matter expert lawyers with deep expertise and insight, strong client outcomes and years of experience. Yet many still struggle with inconsistent pipelines, overreliance on referrals and rainmakers, fee pressure, and a lack of new matters.
Why is this?
In this BD Tips Wednesday post, I suggest it’s because business development is not a selling game — it’s a confidence game.
Capability Does Not Automatically Create Confidence
A common assumption in professional services is that expertise naturally leads to work. Tell me if this sounds familiar:
Do good work → clients recognise value → more work follows.
Sounds logical.
But markets are not logical and rarely reward the most technically capable adviser. Otherwise, everyone who went to Harvard would be a rainmaker (trust me, they’re not!).
What markets do reward are lawyers who are:
visible
easy to engage
responsive
commercially aware
confident communicating value
There is very little subject matter expertise in any of that.
But this creates a frustrating dynamic for many lawyers: ➡️ Strong technical practitioners assume business development happens organically, while commercially confident competitors (who are often not as technically strong) steadily strengthen relationships, are more responsive, ask better questions, stay visible, and steal all the thunder.
The Confidence Gap
Low confidence in business development rarely announces itself directly. Instead, it quietly shows up in behavours that many firm leaders overlook. It appears when lawyers:
hesitate to follow up after meetings
avoid asking for introductions or referrals
feel uncomfortable discussing fees
discount too quickly
avoid commercial conversations
assume good work alone will generate future matters
Confidence Is Built, Not Found
One of the biggest misconceptions about business development is the belief that confidence arrives first. It doesn’t.
Confidence is typically:
After the awkward networking event
After the follow-up call
After the uncomfortable pricing conversation
After asking for the meeting
After hearing “no” more times than you would like to and realising the world doesn’t end.
The lawyer who appears naturally good at business development is often the lawyer who has kept showing up enough to become part of the furniture.
Confidence is not a personality trait. It’s a skill. And like every skill, it improves through repetition and training.
Takeaway: Clients Buy Confidence
Clients are not simply buying your technical expertise; they’re buying the confidence you bring to the matter. Confidence that:
you understand their issue
you have solved similar problems before
you will guide them through uncertainty
you understand commercial realities
you will help them make good decisions
Technical ability matters, but confidence is where trust is created.
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.
The Friday Afternoon Business Development Review Routine
Rainmakers do not leave business development to chance. Learn how a simple weekly review process can strengthen your pipeline, improve accountability and create consistent momentum.
“If next week looks exactly like this week, will my pipeline be stronger or weaker?”
Most lawyers treat business development like a series of random acts:
send a proposal here,
grab a coffee there,
maybe do a follow-up email if they remember.
Then Friday rolls around, they’ve won no new instructions and call it a week in the hope next week will be better.
That’s not business development, it’s a prayer.
So, for this BD Tips Wednesday post I’ll be taking a quick look your Friday afternoon business development review routine.
Start In The Real World
Before you plan anything, look at what happened this week. Not what you were meant to do, but what you actually did.
Ask yourself:
Which conversations moved forward?
Which opportunities progressed?
Where did things stall?
What did I avoid?
This is where most people get uncomfortable, because the gap between intention and execution becomes obvious very quickly.
But this is the most important part of the routine. Because business development is a lagging indicator, if your pipeline feels thin the problem usually started weeks (or months) ago.
Friday business development reviews is where you can catch this early.
Review Your Pipeline
Stop thinking like a technician and start thinking like someone running a business. Go opportunity by opportunity and ask yourself:
What stage is this actually at?
What is the next action item?
Who owns that action?
When will it happen?
If there’s no clear next step, it’s not an opportunity: it’s just a conversation you’re hoping turns into something.
Be honest here, most pipelines are inflated with “maybes” that will never really convert.
A strong business development review tightens the pipeline, not just updates it.
Check Relationship Depth
This is where most professionals completely miss the point of business development. You don’t win work because you were “busy”, you win work because you are trusted and relevant.
So ask yourself:
Who did I meaningfully connect with this week?
Where did I deepen a relationship?
Where did I add value?
If your week was full of activity but light on meaningful conversations, that’s a warning sign. Next week shouldn’t be “more activity”, it should be better conversations.
Diagnose What’s Getting in the Way
Every stalled opportunity has a reason. A good Friday business development audit will help you identify:
Is it a timing issue?
A stakeholder issue?
A value/pricing issue?
Or have you simply not driven it forward?
Set 3 to 5 Business Development Priorities for Next Week
This is where the routine and consistency truly pays off. Most people enter Monday reacting. But from your Friday business development review you will be able to identify 3–5 priority moves that will actually shift your pipeline forwards.
For example:
Re-engage a stalled client with a specific insights,
Progress a proposal by clarifying scope (not just “checking in”),
Introduce two contacts who should know each other,
Have one strategic conversation with a key client.
Remember, if everything is a priority then nothing is!
Lock It Into Your Calendar (Or It Won’t Happen)
This is the simplest step, and the one most people skip. Take your 3 to 5 business development priorities for the week and schedule them into your Outlook calendar.
When will you do them?
How long will you need?
What preparation is required?
If it’s not in your calendar, it’s just intention again.
End With One Simple Question
Before you finish, ask yourself:
“If next week looks exactly like this week, will my pipeline be stronger or weaker?”
If the answer is weaker, or even just “the same”, you already know something needs to change.
Takeaway
Rainmakers aren’t always the best lawyers in the room. What they do well is:
Pay attention to their pipeline,
Take ownership of movement,
Adjust early, not late.
And regular, scheduled, Friday business development reviews is where that discipline shows up.
Further Reading
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.
Don’t Try to Eat the Business Development Elephant in One Meal
Business development success rarely comes from one major initiative. It is built through consistent, repeatable actions that compound over time. Learn how small steps can create significant growth.
We’ve all been there. You’re looking at next year’s business development and plan and the task list is massive. The pipeline is uncertain. The possible number of tenders keeps climbing.
You’re overwhelmed.
Here’s a truth: Business development fails not because the work is hard, but because people try to swallow the elephant all in one go.
Small Steps Win the Long Game
Firms that grow consistently aren’t operating with superhuman discipline. They’re just doing the right things, at the right times, in small, repeatable increments.
You don’t need a full-day business development workshop every week: You need 15 minutes of pipeline review on a Monday.
You don’t have to build 20 case studies in one go: You need to do one good case study each month that is aligned to your ideal client / target work.
You don’t need to reconnect with 100 past clients in a week: Start with 3 conversations this week.
Momentum is built through tiny, deliberate actions - not grand gestures.
Why This Matters
As you plan ahead, your the natural instinct is to “go big.” But the most sustainable business development is built one bite at a time.
As we have said many times here on BD Tips Wednesday:
Showing up every day is far more productive than doing one BIG thing once a year.
The fix?
Break your business development goals down into small, consistent, high-leverage actions. Try:
🟦3 relationships per week, not 30.
🟪15 minutes of pipeline review, not a 3-hour “business development strategy day.”
🟧1 improvement to your pricing/positioning, not a full reinvention of your go to market pricing offer.
🟩1 case study refreshed at a time, not a whole bid library overhaul.
🟨One conversation with an existing client, because retention beats acquisition every day of the week!
Consistency > Intensity
Remember: business development isn’t a sprint. It’s stacking small actions that compound quietly…
… until they don’t feel small anymore.
Takeaway
If this is to be your year of business development successes, start with one bite:
Reach out to one client.
Update one capability statement.
Follow up one dormant lead.
Get a peer review of one tender response.
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.
Slow Down To Get Better Business Development Results
Business development is not always about doing more. Sometimes the best results come from slowing down, listening carefully and making more deliberate decisions.
Your business development results will improve the moment you slow down.
Sounds counter-intuitive to say you will get better business development results if you take a little time out to slow down and think things through. After all, aren’t all professionals supposed to be busy all the time? But when you think about it, how often do you hear partners (especially partners of smaller firms with less support resourcing) say:
“I know I should be doing more marketing and business development…but I’m just too busy today.”
Our instinct is to do more work and “find time” for business development between emailing clients and dropping the kids off at school. We then cross our fingers and toes and hope that the results will come in.
So for this BD Tips Wednesday post I’ll take a quick look at why your business development results will improve the moment you slow down.
Better conversations happen when you’re not in a hurry
When you're racing through your day, you rarely give a client or prospect the full attention they deserve. Slowing down gives you space to listen without distraction, ask more thoughtful questions and explore what the other person truly needs.
You’ll start to notice their hesitations, their priorities, their challenges and the opportunities. Importantly, you’ll have time to reflect before responding.
This depth of understanding is what helps build trust – and we know that trust is critical to the success of your business development endeavours as it’s what elevates you from a service provider to a trusted advisor.
The right opportunities present themselves when you hit the “pause” button
A fast-paced business development mindset pushes you to chase every opportunity. Any lead looks like a good lead when you’re in a rush. But when you slow down, you can evaluate an opportunity properly. You can see more clearly if it fits with your firm strategy. You can have an honest evaluation about whether the work is even going to be profitable. Crucially, you give yourself permission to say “no”.
Hitting the pause button on being busy will also help move you from being a price taker to the all-important price setter status.
Consistency comes from routine, not speed
Being busy means you're being reactive. And reactive business development is bad business development.
When you slow down, you create routines instead of relying on adrenaline. A simple 20-minute daily practice suddenly becomes achievable. You remember to reconnect. You take the time to personalise a message properly. You reflect on previous conversations and pick up threads you'd otherwise lose. You stop working from a sense of panic and start working from a sense of intention.
Slowing down reduces business development anxiety
The faster you go, the more overwhelmed you feel. Overwhelmed quickly becomes avoidance, and avoidance kills momentum.
When you slow down, the anxiety eases. You can separate what matters from what doesn’t. You can create a few simple priorities instead of twenty competing tasks. You can make space to prepare, reflect and plan - things that are impossible to do when you're sprinting.
Takeaway: How to slow down without losing productivity
Slowing down doesn’t mean doing less. It means doing fewer things with more intention. It means blocking a small amount of thinking time each day, choosing a manageable number of meaningful business development actions each week; and replacing generic “checking in” with moments of genuine value. It means taking a moment after each client interaction to reflect on what you learned and what the next step should be. It means ending the week with a brief review so you’re not starting Monday in a panic.
At the end of the day, you’ll also feel more in control once you stop trying to do everything at once.
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.
But What If I Fail?
Fear of failure stops many professionals from taking action. Discover why momentum, experimentation and learning matter more than avoiding mistakes.
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.
Tips on How to Reframe Your Business Development Efforts
Business development is most effective when it aligns with firm strategy, focuses on relationships rather than transactions and prioritises solving client problems. Discover nine practical ways to rethink your approach and create more sustainable growth.
In a recent BD Tips Wednesday post, I wrote that if your team mentality is “We just need this one win” you need to take time out to Pause, Rethink and Reset.
I subsequently received a message asking me for some tips and how you might go about reframing your business development (BD) efforts. And I thought to myself: "That would make an excellent BD Tips Wednesday post!". So here we go.
I. Align Business Development with Firm Strategy
First of all, your business development efforts should not operate in a vacuum. Rather they should support, and be supported by, the firm’s broader goals.
Reframe alignment: BD is a strategic function, not a standalone activity.
Action tip: Align BD goals with your firm’s growth plans, client segmentation and brand positioning. Ensure marketing, pricing and service delivery all reinforce your BD efforts.
II. Focus on Relationships, Not Transactions
Many firms make the mistake of viewing BD as a series of one-off deals.
Reframe the goal: Build long-term relationships, not just short-term wins.
Action tip: Revisit and develop the relationship plan for your key contacts. Add value through regular check-ins, industry insights and personal touches. Track interactions in your CRM to ensure consistency.
III. Redefine What “Client” Means
Traditional BD often focuses solely on new clients. But the best opportunities often come from those who already trust you.
Reframe the target: Your current and past clients are fertile ground for new work.
Action tip: Reconnect with dormant accounts, introduce additional services to existing clients and ask for warm referrals. Use account mapping to identify whitespace opportunities across divisions or geographies.
IV. Shift from Selling to Solving
Many professionals approach BD with a "pitch-first" mentality. But clients today aren’t just buying services, they’re buying outcomes.
Reframe the mindset: Move from "What can I sell?" to "What problem am I solving?"
Action tip: Spend more time asking insightful questions, listening to pain points and co-creating solutions. This consultative approach builds credibility and positions you as a trusted advisor, not just a vendor.
V. Prioritize Value Over Volume
Chasing every opportunity can dilute your energy and brand. Not all prospects are worth pursuing.
Reframe success metrics: Focus on high-fit, high-value opportunities.
Action tip: Create a qualification matrix to assess fit, profitability, and strategic value before investing time in a pitch or proposal. Say no to work that doesn’t align with your firm’s direction or values.
VI. Modernize Your Tools and Tactics
If your BD strategy still relies on cold calls and golf days, it may be time for an upgrade.
Reframe the toolkit: Use data, digital and automation to enhance impact.
Action tip: Implement CRM systems to track engagement, leverage LinkedIn for social selling, and invest in content marketing (blogs, webinars, case studies) to build visibility and trust at scale.
VII. Tell Better Stories
Facts and figures alone rarely win clients. Stories connect, persuade and stick.
Reframe your messaging: Don’t just share credentials, share impact. Share stories.
Action tip: Equip your team with compelling case studies that demonstrate how you’ve solved problems like theirs. Use narrative techniques to make your pitch memorable.
VIII. Embed Business Development in Everyday Work
In many professional environments, BD is siloed to a few partners or senior leaders. This limits growth potential.
Reframe the responsibility: BD is a team sport, not a solo act.
Action tip: Involve junior staff in client meetings early, encourage subject matter experts to contribute to proposals, and empower all employees to share success stories or ideas from the frontlines.
IX. Make Business Development a Learning Practice
Too often, firms repeat the same tactics without examining what’s working and what’s not.
Reframe your process: BD should be agile, data-informed and iterative.
Action tip: Hold regular BD reviews, capture win/loss insights and experiment with new outreach strategies. Use failures as learning opportunities to refine your approach.
And Finally
Reframing your BD efforts isn’t about doing more with less or more with more, it’s about doing better. By shifting your mindset, updating your methods and aligning efforts across the firm, you’ll move from sporadic wins to sustainable growth.
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.
5 Tips On How To Overcome Business Development Fatigue
Business development fatigue can affect even the most motivated professionals. Discover practical strategies to stay focused, energised and consistent.
In this BD Tips Wednesday post, I share 5 practical real-world ways to reset your energy, sustain momentum and overcome any BD burnout you might have,
1. Reconnect With Your Purpose
Business development fatigue often isn’t caused by “doing too much,” but by forgetting why you're doing it.
Step back and ask yourself:
Who am I helping when I win new work?
What real-world problems am I solving for clients?
What kind of people do I love working with — and how can I find more of them?
Rather than chasing budget targets, realign with your purpose. Revisit client impact stories. Think about the wins this year that made you feel proud.
2. Shift to a Sustainable Cadence
Most BD activities assumes you have unlimited time and energy. You don’t. You’re also delivering work, managing teams and meeting deadlines.
Instead of trying to “do BD every day,” create a weekly rhythm you can sustain. For example:
1 client check-in (past, current, or potential)
1 insight post or article shared on LinkedIn
1 introduction or value-add email sent to a contact
Just three meaningful touches each week — that you can repeat, track, and improve. This approach avoids overwhelm while still building momentum.
3. Prioritise Your Warm Network
BD fatigue gets worse when you’re constantly trying to chase cold leads, pitch to people who don’t know you, or push uphill. Instead, focus on who already knows, likes and trusts you:
Former clients who might return or refer
Colleagues and referral partners in adjacent fields
Warm prospects who’ve engaged with your content
Reconnecting with your warm network is more energizing, more enjoyable and almost always more effective. A simple “thought you’d find this interesting” message can open the door to real conversations and work.
4. Repurpose, Don’t Reinvent
Creating from scratch every time is exhausting. So don’t.
Turn your daily work into BD fuel:
That advice you gave on a client call? Turn it into a LinkedIn post.
A detailed proposal you wrote? Repurpose it as a whitepaper or service brochure.
An FAQ you always answer? Record a short video or write a blog.
When you learn to see BD opportunities in your existing work, it no longer feels like a separate, energy-draining task. It becomes part of how you serve.
5. Celebrate Small Wins — Especially the Invisible Ones
In professional services, the “sale” often comes months after the first conversation. That makes it easy to feel like nothing is working.
So celebrate:
A positive comment on a post
A “thanks, this was helpful” from a client
A new referral from someone in your network
Don’t measure success only by revenue. Track conversations, connections, compliments and content engagement. These are the early indicators that BD is working — even if the work hasn’t landed yet.
Final Thoughts
BD fatigue is real and nothing to be ashamed of.
But it’s not a sign to quit. It’s a sign to shift:
Shift your strategy from hard-selling to helpful connecting
Shift your expectations from instant results to long-term growth
Shift your focus from doing more to doing it smarter
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.
Like Baseball, Business Development is a Game of Failure — And That’s Why It Works!
Business development is not about winning every opportunity. Learn why resilience, persistence and learning from setbacks are essential to long-term success.
Unfortunately, lawyers are trained in the profession of law over the business of law. Trained to think in terms of precision, structure and predictability.
It’s no wonder then that many lawyers approach business development with hesitation; because, unlike legal work, and much like baseball: business development is messy, uncertain and full of failure.
Yet, it's the most essential skills for any lawyer looking to build a sustainable, growing practice.
So for this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought it would be fun to look at how lawyers can develop their business development skills just by watching a baseball game!
You’ll Hear “No” More Than “Yes”
Hard to hear fact, if you’re just starting out you'll hear "no" more than "yes". But this doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong - it means you’re in the game!
⚾ TIP: Just like in baseball, where hitting .300 makes you an all-star, successful BD often results in failed attempts more than they succeed.
It’s Not About Perfection—It’s About Progress
Business development rewards consistency, resilience and learning. Every rejection teaches you something:
Maybe your messaging missed the mark.
Maybe the timing was off.
Maybe the client wasn’t a fit.
The Bigger Picture
Like baseball, business development teaches us valuable lessons:
Rejection isn’t personal. It’s just part of the process.
Failure is data. Use it to refine your approach.
Patience compounds. Relationships and results both take time.
The only true failure is giving up.
The Mental Game
What separates successful business developers isn’t just charm or a killer network, it's mindset:
The ability to keep going after a dry spell.
The confidence to send another proposal after losing three.
The patience to play the long game, not just chase quick wins.
Play the Long Game
One of the hardest truths about business development is that it rarely delivers instant gratification. You may spend months | years building relationships that never convert into clients. That’s why consistency matters more than brilliance. You don’t need to have the perfect pitch every time. But you do need to show up again and again, staying top of mind through value-driven interactions.
Remember, each touchpoint is a step closer to trust > and trust is what ultimately leads to work.
Final Word
Don’t obsess over failure. Tweak, adjust and try again.
Because the next call, the next pitch, the next conversation could be the one that lands you that job!
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.
The 15-Minute Business Development Checklist
You do not need hours every day to improve your business development results. Discover 20 practical actions that can be completed in just 15 minutes.
For this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would share with you a checklist of 20 business development activities you can do with just 15 minutes of your time!
20 Quick Business Development Wins To Build Your Practice Without Taking Up All Of Your Day
Use this checklist when you have 15 minutes and want to make it count. Print it, pin it, or save it—then start checking things off.
🔗 Relationship Builders
Call a client just to say hello—no agenda, just connection.
Email 5 contacts to check in or share something useful.
Follow up after a recent meeting, event or conference.
Send a thank-you email or handwritten note.
Invite someone in your network to coffee or a virtual catch-up.
🌐 Digital Presence Tune-Up
Refresh one page on your website (bio, services, testimonials).
Update your LinkedIn profile (headline, summary, recent experience).
Connect with 5–10 new contacts on LinkedIn.
Comment on 3 posts from your network with insight or encouragement.
Share a relevant article with a personal message to a client or colleague.
✍️ Content and Visibility
Brainstorm 3 blog or post ideas for future content.
Outline or begin writing your next article or client update.
Read one marketing or industry blog for inspiration.
Read client-specific industry news and forward something valuable.
Record a quick tip or insight you could turn into a post or video.
🛠️ Marketing Foundations
Progress a current project: article, pitch, seminar, or newsletter.
Research a potential lead and add them to your CRM or outreach list.
Improve a frequently used template, checklist, or form.
Delegate a task to a freelance writer, designer, or VA.
Use AI to brainstorm headlines, social media copy, or keywords.
⚡ Pro Tip:
Fifteen minutes each day adds up to over 90 hours of marketing a year. Consistency beats intensity—so pick one and start now.
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.
The Two-Day Rule
Consistency matters more than intensity. The Two-Day Rule helps professionals maintain momentum and avoid losing focus on important business development activities.
If you've been following the BD Tips Wednesday posts to-date, you'll know that business development is as much, if not more, about being consistent with your BD endeavors as it is anything else.
Successful business development doesn't happen overnight. It's more like a daily gym schedule than buying a Hail Mary lottery ticket!
So for this post I thought I would walk through one of my favorite BD Tips: 'The Two-Day Rule'.
What is the 'Two-Day Rule'?
As its name suggests, the 'Two-Day Rule' is a habit-forming principle that recommends you never skip something important - like your business development - for more than two consecutive days.
Tips on how to apply the 'Two-Day Rule' to your Business Development success story
Identify Core Activities: Start out by identifying core activities that drive your Business Development. These can include prospecting, meeting potential clients, attending industry events or engaging on social media. Make a list of these activities and prioritise them based on their importance and impact.
Set Realistic Goals: Understand/acknowledge what you can realistically achieve each day. For instance, if your goal is to grow your network aim to reach out to a select number of people every day of a prolonged period of time (say 3 months). Setting achievable goals that require consistency over time helps ensure you maintain momentum without burning out.
Create a Schedule: The biggest hurdle to implementing a successful Business Development plan is time! Adding the 'Two-Day Rule' into your schedule lets you block-out time for specific business development activities and stick to it.
Stay Flexible: While consistency is key to the success of your business development, it's also important to stay flexible. If an unexpected opportunity or challenge arises, adapt your schedule accordingly. The 'Two-Day Rule' is about maintaining regularity, not rigidity.
Reward Yourself: Who doesn't like a little reward every now and then! So make sure you take the time to celebrate your business development achievements, no matter how small (personally I like to get myself some chocolate from Haig's).
Bringing it all together
Business development is as much about execution as it is about strategy [we l-o-v-e to talk about business development, but we are not so good at actually doing the business development!], so applying the 'Two-Day Rule' can be a real game-changer. While all your competitors are talking, you will be doing!
Remember, the key here is to be consistent. So make a plan, stay committed, track your progres, and remain flexible.
And remember, the brilliance of the 'Two Day Rule' is much the same as a workout at the gym - allowing you to accept you came up short today, but knowing tomorrow you'll need to put in some extra Hard Yards [think Medicine Ball]!
Further Reading
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.