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.
Why Having A Watercooler In Your Office Is Critical For Business Development
Some of the best business development ideas emerge from informal conversations. Discover why watercooler discussions play an important role in networking, collaboration and growth.
You'd be amazed at the amount of work I have won for my partners just standing next to the watercooler chewing the fat!
To many it seems like a waste of time, so for this BD Tips Wednesday I thought I'd outline '5 Reasons You Need To Have A Watercooler In Your Office'.
1. The Icebreaker
The biggest benefit of small talk is that it serves as a buffer, an icebreaker.
Small talking around a watercooler allows you the double-whammy of not only being able to chat freely, but do so knowing that you're very unlikely to be judged for the whacky business development ideas you throw out there!
QED: the watercooler is a great place to road test some of your more bizarre business development ideas!
2. The Power of Small Talk
Everyone loves to chat - it's human nature (trust me, I know - and anyone who knows me well will gladly verify)!
But, small talk is a lot more than just causal chat. It can be the start of a meaningful relationships. It's also the start of great insights. Because chit-chat/gossip helps break down barriers - you become human to others and that makes people more comfortable talking to you - which in turn makes them more comfortable doing business with you!
3. Common Ground
Ever wondered where you're going to turn to next, only to have a chat with some of your colleagues at the watercooler and come away inspired?
Yep, common ground. Common interests. Common desires. Really, really important in the early phases of a business development pursuit.
4. Network
Central to the success of your business development initiatives is the ability to start, develop and grow a network. This network of shared interests starts by developing relationships with people - and a good place to start that is at the watercooler!
5(a). The Trusted Advisor
Every watercooler has a trusted advisor - the person we all wait to go and speak to.
The font of all knowledge is found at the watercooler.
Become that font of all [BD] knowledge!
5(b). Small business enterprises
For the SME firms out there - the watercooler is a coffee shop. It's a chamber of commerce. It's a gathering point.
Because small talk acts as a bridge between formal business objectives and an individual's need to build trust!
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.
Resell Before You Cross-Sell
Before relying on colleagues to introduce your services, look at the untapped opportunities within your existing client base. Discover how the Resell Matrix can uncover hidden revenue opportunities.
Whenever I catch-up with a partner for a chat, at some point the discussion inevitably turns to the issue of "cross-selling". More specifically, a little moan about how their fellow partners don't understand the value the partner can provide to the referring [cross-selling] partner's clients and so don't try hard enough to cross-sell to them.
It's around this time I ask the partner what effort they are putting into reselling their services?
Nine times out of 10, the answer to that is a blank face looking out to space.
So for this BD Tips Wednesday I thought I would quickly highlight how reselling could be doing you a lot more favors in developing your book of business than cross-selling.
"Reselling": refers to the practice of selling a service you provide to clients of yours who currently doesn't use that service.
"Cross-selling": refers to the practice of selling a service you provide to a customer of one of your fellow partners.
The crux here is that in the first instance you are driving the business development activity, whereas in the second instance you need to rely on a third party to help you with your business development activity.
Cross-Selling
In business development we call the act of waiting for a third party to do or act on something for you a "dependency event" - in that you are 'dependent' on them doing or actioning their part before you can fulfill yours.
Cross-selling is a dependency event.
By and large, "dependency events" are not good for building a book of business. The opportunity goes stale. The client moves on. People we need to help us are busy.
So, while cross-selling can be a useful tool to have in your business development toolkit, it shouldn't be the great big hope you have to kick-start your flagging book of business.
Reselling
To "resell":
draw a matrix box.
across the vertical outline all the services you provide to your clients.
across the horizontal list your top 25 clients (assuming you have 25 clients, if not put down as any as you can).
put a tick in each of the boxes where you provide a service to that client.
take a step back.
look at all the areas where you provide a service, but are not providing that service to that client.
It should look something like this:
All of those blank white spaces are your resell opportunities. They are not dependent on any third party - it's down to you!
Now you know all about the Resell Matrix you can get out there do some reselling and stop worrying so much about the cross-selling...
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.