The “Give First” Rule Of Business Development

There’s a quiet truth about business development that many professionals struggle to accept:

Rainmakers, who consistently win work, often appear to chase work the least.

This is not because they are passive or indifferent to growth. Nor is it because they are somehow naturally gifted networkers. More often, they have learned a principle that quietly underpins strong professional relationships:

give value before you ask for value in return.

In this BD Tips Wednesday post, I look at why consistently investing in relationships – more often than not for nothing – is the business development tool you have.

Business Development Starts Earlier Than Most People Think

Most lawyers still think of business development as a sequence of activities tied to winning work: networking events, proposal meetings, lunches and pitches.

Yet most clients do not experience relationships this way. They rarely appoint advisers because of a single impressive meeting. They work with people they trust, remember and value. In short, people they like working with.

Most importantly though, clients choose advisers who have already demonstrated an understanding of their world.

Here’s the crux: trust isn’t something you buy over coffee. It often develops through smaller interactions over time. It may be a helpful article shared after hearing about an industry challenge. A quick phone call to help someone think through an issue. A useful introduction between two contacts who should know each other. Sometimes, it is simply remembering what matters to a client and checking in when something relevant arises.

These moments may seem small, but they compound. Over time, they shape perception and position someone as a trusted adviser rather than simply another service provider.

Giving First Does Not Mean Working for Free

At this point, you may ask:

Does “giving first” simply mean giving away expertise without being paid?

No, not at all.

The “Give First” rule is not about endless unpaid advice or blurring commercial boundaries. It is about creating value without attaching an immediate expectation of return. There is an important distinction between providing value, and giving away your services indefinitely.

Often, value comes in forms that cost little but matter greatly to clients. It may be sharing insight into a market trend, asking thoughtful questions that help clarify a problem, introducing someone to a useful connection or pointing a client in the right direction before an issue escalates.

In many cases, the most valuable thing a lawyer can provide is perspective.

Clients remember the people who helped them make sense of a problem; particularly before it became urgent.

Why the “Give First” Rule Works

Professional services businesses ultimately operate on trust. Clients are rarely buying time alone; they are buying judgement, confidence and reduced risk.

Before engaging a lawyer, most clients ask themselves a simple question:

Do I trust this person to help me solve an important problem?

Giving first helps answer that question long before a formal proposal is ever requested.

First, it makes you memorable. Many professionals disappear between matters, only resurfacing when they need work or have something to sell. By contrast, those who remain visible through relevant and useful interactions stay front of mind.

Second, it demonstrates capability before the pitch. Every helpful conversation, thoughtful observation or useful introduction becomes subtle proof of how you think and how you show up for clients.

Finally, generosity tends to create momentum in relationships. This is not about manipulation or keeping score. It is human nature. People naturally remember those who have been helpful, and when an opportunity arises, whether a referral, a panel appointment or a strategic matter, trusted relationships often come to mind first.

Three Practical Ways to Apply It

The good news is that adopting a “Give First” mindset does not require a complete overhaul of your business development approach.

Start by becoming more intentional about relevance. Instead of generic check-ins, send clients or referrers something genuinely useful: an article, market insight or observation tied to an issue they are likely facing.

Second, make introductions generously. Lawyers who consistently connect people build strong reputations as trusted relationship-builders, often without realising the long-term value this creates.

Finally, ask better questions. Rather than opening with “How’s business?”, ask what challenges clients expect in the next 12 months or what is becoming harder for their team. Better questions lead to better conversations, and better conversations create stronger relationships.

Takeaway: Stop Chasing. Start Helping.

Rainmakers who build strong books of business are rarely the most aggressive marketers. More often, they are the people who consistently show up, stay curious and make themselves useful long before an opportunity emerges.

The “Give First” rule is not about generosity for its own sake. It is about recognising that trust compounds over time. When an important problem eventually lands on a client’s desk, they rarely start searching from scratch.

Instead, they call the person who has already been helpful.

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 Problem Isn’t The Ask. It's The Way You Ask

Most professionals treat referrals like a transaction:

“Hey, do you know anyone who needs this?”

And that is where it falls flat.

Referrals don’t happen at the end of a job, they happen at the peak of value. Right after:

• You’ve solved a problem

• Delivered a great outcome

• Made the client’s life easier

That’s when your client is already thinking: “That was great.” You’re not interrupting. You’re simply continuing the conversation.

That’s why, for this BD Tips Wednesday post, I’m taking a look at ‘How to Ask for Referrals Without Sounding Awkward’.

Shift From “Can You Refer Me?” to “Who Else Is Dealing With This?”

The best referral conversations don’t feel like requests, they feel like insight. Instead of asking for people, ask about problems:

• “Who else in your network is dealing with this right now?”

• “Are you seeing this come up in other teams or organisations?”

• “Is this something your peers are talking about as well?”

This does two things:

1. It keeps the focus on the client’s world (not your pipeline), and

2. It makes the referral feel like a natural extension of the work you’ve just done.

Make It Easy To Say Yes

Awkwardness often comes from vagueness. If your client has to think too hard, they won’t act. Give them something specific:

• “We’ve been helping a few clients with X, happy to have a quick chat with anyone else facing the same issue.”

• “If someone comes to mind, feel free to connect us - no pressure at all.”

Low friction. No pressure. Clear context.

Use The “Permission-Based” Close

This is where most people get stuck, they either push too hard or don’t ask at all. Instead try:

“Would you be comfortable introducing me if someone comes to mind?”

It works because:

• It respects the relationship

• It gives them control

• It removes the pressure of an immediate answer

You’re not asking them to do something now. You’re opening the door for them to help when it feels right.

The Real Lever: Consistency, Not Courage

Most professionals wait for the “perfect moment.” Rainmakers build it into their process: every matter; every project; every positive outcome.

Because referrals aren’t a one-off tactic, they’re a system.

Takeaway

Try this in your next client conversation:

“We’ve been seeing this come up a lot lately are others in your network dealing with something similar?”

Then stop talking. Let them think. Let them connect the dots.

Because that’s where the best referrals come from.

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.

Do You Know When Your Client’s End Of Financial Year Is?

If you are in the UK, you’ve probably just gone through your End of Financial Year process. If you’re in Australia, this process is likely to be kicking off now. And if you’re in the US, you have a way to go before you need to start worrying about this process.

If you’re now thinking: “What in the world has this go to do with business development?” then this BD Tips Wednesday post is for you!

Understanding When Clients Actually Buy Services

There’s a myth in professional services that business development is about always being “on.” Always networking. Always pitching. Always following up.

The reality is, the market doesn’t buy that way. Clients don’t procure legal, consulting or advisory services on a smooth, continuous timeline. They buy in bursts, shaped by their immediate needs, internal budgets, reporting cycles and pressure points.

If you’re not aware and aligned with those needs and timelines, then you are missing a trick in your business development arsenal.

The Financial Year as a Buying System

For most businesses, the financial year doesn’t just represent an accounting construct, it acts as a budget decision-making framework. Budgets are set. Spend is allocated. Priorities are locked in. And, importantly, approvals become easier if the expense is “budgeted for”.

For your business development planning, this typically creates four distinct buying windows:

1. Pre-Budget Planning

This is where future work is shaped. Clients are identifying risks, scoping projects and building the internal case for spend in the next financial year. Legal risk reviews, panel planning, major projects and advisory support often originate here; even if procurement happens later.

Firms that engage at this stage aren’t “selling.” They’re helping define the problem.

That distinction matters. If you’re involved early, you influence scope, pricing expectations and delivery model before the work is formalised.

2. New Budget Activation

This is one of the most active buying periods. Budgets have reset. There’s fresh capacity to spend. Internal stakeholders are under pressure to execute on newly approved initiatives.

This is when:

• Panels are utilised

• External advisors are engaged

• Projects move from concept to action

If you’re not visible at the start of the financial year, you’re often competing for leftovers later.

3. Mid-Year Adjustment

Everyone knows that feeling when reality sets in. Revenue isn’t were it was forecast to be. Projects stall because everyone is “too busy”. And those hard fought for budgets get reallocated to other projects.

This is the Mid-Year Adjustment, where responsive, relationship-driven rainmakers win work. Clients aren’t always running formal procurement processes here. They’re solving problems quickly. Known trusted advisors have significant insight advantage.

4. End-of-Year Pressure

Two competing forces collide:

• “Use it or lose it” spend: Some teams rush to deploy remaining budget before year-end

• Budget tightening: Others freeze discretionary spend in preparation for the next cycle

This creates a highly uneven market. Opportunities exist, but they’re often tactical rather than strategic. Firms that rely solely on this period to do their business development tend to experience inconsistent pipelines.

Why This Matters for Your Business Development Strategy

Most business development activity is poorly timed. Firms push hardest when they have capacity, they focus on what they sell, not when the clients are actually ready to buy.

That’s why you’ll see:

• Strong credentials ignored

• Late-stage pitches lost on price

• Capability statements that don’t land

Not because your offer is necessarily weak. It might not even be because the client doesn’t need what your selling. But because you have misaligned your sell with the client’s buying cycle.

Understanding what your client’s financial year calendar is shifts your approach here from reactive to strategic.

Takeaway

Clients don’t wake up and decide to buy services randomly. They buy when their internal environment allows them to.

If your business development strategy doesn’t reflect that reality, you’ll always feel like you’re chasing work.

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 Most Underused Business Development Tactic: Walk and Talk Meetings

For professional services firms, most business development related conversations happen in predictable settings: boardrooms, cafés or over video calls. They’re typically structured, often rushed, and framed by time constraints that subtly shape how people interact.‍ ‍

But some of the most effective business development conversations don’t happen sitting down at all. They happen when you are out walking.

The “walk and talk” meeting is one of the most underused tools in professional services. It strips away formality, changes the dynamic of the conversation and, done well, can lead to more open, honest and commercially meaningful discussions.

So for this BD Tips Wednesday post I take a look at creating the right conditions for better conversations – when you walk and talk.

Why Walking Changes the Conversation

There is something fundamentally different about walking side-by-side compared to sitting across a table. In a traditional sit-down meeting, the structure is clear:

• There is an agenda.

• There is a start and end.

• There is often an implicit expectation to “get through” topics.

This type of structure can be useful, and it certainly has its place in your business development arsenal; but it can also limit the quality of the interaction and conversations your having with clients and referrers.

When you walk with a client, referrer or prospect, the dynamic shifts. The conversation becomes less transactional and more natural. Without the pressure of eye contact across a table, people tend to speak more freely. There is less interruption, fewer formal pauses and more space for ideas to develop.

In business development, this matters.

Because the goal of business development is not just to exchange information, it’s to truly understand what is really going on behind the surface of a client’s needs. It’s about gaining the trust of the other person in the conversation. And there really is no more natural way of doing that than going for a walk with them!

Better Conversations Lead to Better Work

Most professionals assume that business development success comes from better proposals, sharper pricing or stronger credentials. The reality is those things matter far less than the quality of the conversations that happen before any proposal is written.

Walk and talk meetings create the right conditions for:

• Clients to share concerns they may not raise in formal settings.

• Early identification of risks, frustrations, or internal pressures.

• More candid discussion about budgets, expectations and constraints.

• A clearer understanding of what “success” actually looks like for the client.

• A more informal environment to talk through career moves or advancements.

These are the insights that help you win work.

By the time a formal request or proposal stage is reached, the firms that have had these deeper conversations are already ahead. They are not guessing what the client wants, they already know.

Removing the “Meeting Fatigue” Barrier

There is another, more practical reason why walk and talk meetings work. People are tired of meetings.

Calendars are full, attention is fragmented and another “catch-up” often feels like an obligation rather than an opportunity.

But suggesting a walk reframes the interaction. It feels:

• Less like a meeting

• More like a break in the day

• Easier to say “yes” to

For time-poor clients, that small shift can be the difference between a delayed conversation and one that happens this week. And in business development, timing really matters.

When to Use Walk and Talk Business Development Meetings

Not every conversation should happen on the move. But there are specific situations where walk and talk meetings are particularly effective. They work well when:

• You are building or strengthening a relationship (not pitching)

• The conversation is exploratory rather than transactional

• You want to understand broader business challenges, not just a single matter

• The client is someone you already have a level of rapport with

They are less effective when:

• You need to review detailed documents

• Multiple stakeholders are involved

• The discussion is highly technical or requires visual material

• The client prefers formal settings

Like any business development tool, it is about choosing the right approach for the objective.

How to Structure It (Without Over-Structuring It)

The mistake many professionals make is trying to turn a walk into a “mobile boardroom.” That defeats the purpose.

Instead, think of it as a lightly guided conversation. Have a direction, not an agenda. A simple structure might be:

• Start with something broad: “What’s been taking up most of your time lately?”

• Let the conversation flow naturally

• Ask follow-up questions that explore impact, not just facts

• Only introduce your perspective where it adds value

The goal is not to “cover topics.” The goal is to uncover insight.

A Different Kind of Visibility

One of the recurring challenges in professional services is what might be called the visibility gap: capable firms lose work not because they lack expertise, but because clients don’t clearly see their value early enough.‍ ‍

Walk and talk meetings are a practical way to close that gap. They create space for:‍ ‍

• Demonstrating how you think, not just what you do

• Positioning yourself as someone who understands the client’s broader context

• Building familiarity and trust outside of formal deliverables

This is the kind of visibility that matters.

Not visibility through marketing activity, but visibility through meaningful interaction.

Takeaway

‍Most lawyers and law firms are not short of business development things to do. They attend events, send updates and prepare proposals.

What they often lack are the kinds of conversations that actually shape client decisions.

Walk and talk meetings are a small shift, but one that can materially change the quality of those conversations.

Next time you are scheduling a catch-up with a client, consider a different approach. Don’t default to a meeting room. Suggest going for a walk.

Because sometimes, the most valuable business development conversations happen when you stop sitting across the table and start walking alongside your client.

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 Anticipating Your Client’s Next Problem Is Good Business Development

Most lawyers wait for the phone to ring. Rainmakers make the phone call.

In this edition of BD Tips Wednesday, I take a look at one of the simplest, but most underutilised, business development strategies available to lawyers: anticipating your client’s next problem.

The Shift: From Reactive to Strategic Business Development

Lawyers who build the strongest client relationships think differently. They are not just focused on solving the problem at-hand; they're already thinking about what comes next. This is the fundamental shift needed to succeed in business development: the move from being a reactive lawyer to a strategic rainmaker.

Most lawyers rightly pride themselves on their responsiveness. They deliver good work, turn things around quickly and keep clients informed throughout the matter. All of this is very important, but it is table-stakes in this day-and-age and is not what is differentiating you from the competition.

Lawyers who stand out from the competition are those who demonstrate foresight into their clients’ needs.

Problems Rarely Arrive Alone

Case in point: clients rarely experience legal issues in isolation. A contract dispute today, may lead to a restructuring tomorrow. A new company hire today may trigger employment risks in six months’ time.

When you begin to recognise patterns, something powerful happens. You stop seeing matters as standalone instructions and start to see them as part of a broader commercial journey.

This ability to strategically map what at first might appear to be unconnected events is an important milestone in your business development journey.

Seeing the Business, Not Just the Matter

When you start to look at your client relationships holistically, your perspective changes. Instead of asking:

“What has the client asked me to do?”

You start asking:

“Where is this client going?”

This is where real business development and growth opportunities live.

Because once you understand the trajectory of your client’s business - their growth plans, risk profile, industry pressures, bonus KPIs and internal constraints - you start to identify issues before they crystallise into urgent problems.

From Lawyer to Trusted Adviser

Trusted adviser, the Holy Grail! You are no longer just the lawyer who solves problems when they arise, you become the adviser who helps clients prepare for what is coming.

That distinction matters.

Any lawyer can respond to a brief. Very few lawyers consistently guide clients around corners they cannot see yet. Clients value this insight enormously because it reduces uncertainty and risk. It signals that you understand their commercial environment and not just the legal issue placed in front of you.

When you are able to anticipate your client’s next problem:

• You deepen trust without needing to “sell”

• You create natural pathways for future work

• You position yourself as integral to the client’s decision-making

• You reduce the risk of being replaced by a cheaper alternative.

In short, you move from being a service provider to a strategic asset.

Takeaway

Often, the most valuable sentence a lawyer can say to their client is:

“You may want to start thinking about this next…”

It's simple. But, when done right and in a non-sales way, it also signals foresight, commercial awareness and genuine investment in the client’s success.

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.

Shared Experiences Build Stronger Client Relationships

Ask a law firm partner what business development they did last month, and a top answer will be “having coffee | lunch with a client”. While there is certainly a place for the strategic coffee and lunch meeting, more often than not they go nowhere.

So, in a market where it’s ever more difficult to stand-out from the competition, what can you be doing to be memorable?

As it would happen, that is the topic for this BD Tips Wednesday post: creating shared experiences with clients.

Why Experiences Matter More Than Meetings

Business development is wholly about building trust with your customer. And trust is almost never built through formal presentations across a boardroom table. As one of my clients said to me in the days when I used to pretend to be a lawyer: “trust is built in the trenches” - it's built through shared moments.

When clients and lawyers participate in small close-knit activities together, the dynamic changes. Hierarchies flatten. Conversations become more authentic. People reveal more about themselves and what's important to them.

This is where real relationships and trust begin.

Some Examples of Shared Experiences

• Pizza-Making Classes: Pizza-making is inherently collaborative. It involves creativity, teamwork, and shared outcomes. There is something powerful about creating something together from scratch. It naturally encourages conversation, humour and interaction. Unlike formal meetings, participants are relaxed. Barriers drop quickly. These environments often lead to the kinds of conversations where clients reveal real business challenges, future plans and concerns: all valuable insights that rarely emerge in structured settings.

• Escape Rooms: Escape rooms are very effective for building trust with clients as they simulate problem-solving under pressure. Clients get to see first-hand how you deal with pressure as participants must communicate clearly, think strategically and collaborate efficiently.

• Rock Climbing: Rock climbing introduces an element of trust that few other activities can provide. Climbers literally rely on others for safety and support. This creates immediate and meaningful trust connections.

Whichever you chose, clients often remember these experiences vividly and associate positive emotions with the experience.

Why These Activities Are Powerful Relationship Builders

The delivery of professional services is often intangible. Clients cannot easily evaluate quality until after the work is delivered.

Shared activities allow clients to observe how you work and your thought process up close. They get to see:

• How you and your team communicate

• How your team supports each other

• How your team handles challenges

This builds confidence in you and your team – and confidence is the pathway to trust.

Takeaway: Memorable Firms Win More Work

When technical capability is similar, clients often choose service providers they like working with and trust.

But at the end of the day, whether good or bad, memorable firms stay top-of-mind. Again, shared experiences – good or bad - create stories; and stories create recall.

So ask yourself: Do you want to be the firm that stays top of mind because

1. “that’s the firm that helped us escape the escape room”; or

2. “that’s the firm that sent us a 30-page generic capability statement.”

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 Importance of Anticipating Common Client Objections

Most lawyers prepare extensively for their pitch, proposal or client meeting. They refine their capability statements, polish their pricing and rehearse their value proposition. Yet many are caught off guard by the most predictable part of the conversation: objections.

Objections are not barriers, they are signals. They indicate that the client is engaged, thinking critically and assessing risk. The rainmakers who consistently win work are not those who avoid objections, but those who anticipate them and are able to head them off before they are even raised or asked.

So for this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would take a quick look at 5 of the most common objections and how you can fend these off.

1. Pricing Concerns: The Most Predictable Objection

Pricing objections are almost never about the number itself. They are about uncertainty. Clients are worried about:

❌ Unexpected cost overruns

❌ Paying more than necessary

❌ Not receiving sufficient value

If you wait for the client to challenge your pricing, you're already on the defensive. Instead, address pricing proactively. Explain how your pricing works. Clarify what is included. Provide examples of outcomes and value delivered. Where possible, offer structured pricing models that provide predictability.

2. Timing Issues: The Fear of Delay

Clients often worry that engaging you will slow things down rather than accelerate progress. They may be thinking:

• How quickly can you start?

• Will this delay our internal timelines?

• Will we need to manage you closely?

You address timing objections by:

• Demonstrating readiness and structure

• Explaining your processes

• Outlining key milestones

• Showing that you have a clear plan for delivery.

When clients see that you operate with discipline and predictability, timing concerns diminish (although don't usually disappear altogether).

3. Quality Assurance: The Fear of Getting It Wrong

Many clients have had poor experiences with other service providers. They worry about rework, errors and inconsistency. Quality concerns are best addressed through evidence, not promises. This includes:

✔️ Relevant experience

✔️ Case studies and examples

✔️ Demonstrated processes

✔️ Clear review and quality control steps

Clients trust providers who can show, and not just claim, that they deliver high standards.

4. Competitor Comparisons: The Invisible Benchmark

Even when clients do not explicitly mention competitors, they are making comparisons. They are evaluating:

❓ Why choose you instead of someone else?

❓ What makes your approach different?

❓ What reduces the risk of choosing you?

If you do not articulate your differentiation, the client will default to safer or more familiar options. Anticipate this by clearly explaining your approach, your experience and your unique strengths.

Clients do not always choose the best provider. More often than not, they choose the provider they trust most to deliver the outcome they want or need.

5. Trust: The Objection Behind Every Objection

Most objections are not technical, they are emotional. Clients are asking themselves:

❓ Do I trust this person?

❓ Do they understand my situation?

❓ Will they follow through?

Trust is built through clarity, consistency and confidence.

When you anticipate objections, you demonstrate empathy. You show that you understand the client’s concerns before they have to voice them.

Takeaway: Anticipation Creates Confidence

The most effective rainmakers do not wait for objections; they design their conversations to address them naturally.

👉 They explain pricing clearly

👉 They communicate timelines confidently

👉 They demonstrate quality through evidence

👉 They articulate their differentiation

👉 They build trust through clarity

When objections are anticipated and addressed early, they rarely become barriers later. The client no longer feels they are taking a risk. They feel they are making a safe decision.

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.

Having Strong Project Management Skills Will Enhance Your Business Development Performance

Strong business development performance is deeply linked to strong project management capabilities.

The above statement makes it sound like Smithy has finally lost the plot! So for this BD Tips Wednesday post, let me elaborate...

Business development is a process

In the world of busy professionals, business development is often a reactionary relationship-led process. You go to networking events, write the odd legal update, talk to referrals, etc. But rainmakers don't see it like that. To them, winning work consistently, pricing it confidently and delivering it profitably are not intuitive actions; rainmakers apply structure, discipline and repeatable processes to their business development.

To rainmakers, every business development opportunity follows a recognised workflow process:

✔️ Identifying the opportunity

✔️ Qualifying the client and scope

✔️ Developing the solution and value proposition

✔️ Preparing the proposal or pitch

✔️ Managing stakeholders and decision-makers

✔️ Closing, onboarding, and transitioning to delivery

This is not ad hoc, but a multi-step process that involves risk, resources, timelines and decisions.

Project management skills make business development repeatable and scalable

Strong project management capability teaches you how to:

• Break complex opportunities into clear decision stages, making earlier and more confident go / no-go calls

• Define scope and assumptions upfront, reducing pricing anxiety and preventing margin erosion before a matter even starts

• Allocate time and resources deliberately, so business development effort is spent on the right opportunities, not the loudest ones

• Set milestones, responsibilities, and decision points, keeping momentum through long sales cycles and multiple stakeholders

These skills shift business development from hopeful activity to intentional pipeline management, allowing you to scale beyond a handful of opportunistic pursuits without sacrificing quality, margin, or sanity.

Clients buy trust and confidence, not just capability

In-house counsel, management teams and procurement are not just assessing your lawyers' legal expertise, they also assess how well the work will be managed. Here, lawyers with strong project management capabilities can more clearly explain:

• How the matter will be structured

• How communication will work

• How changes and scope creep will be handled

• How timelines and responsibilities will be controlled

In turn, this builds the client's trust and confidence and becomes a differentiator between you and your competitors.

Process creates better business development assets

When business development and delivery are both process-driven, lawyers generate better inputs for future growth.

Well-managed engagements produce:

• Clear outcomes linked to original objectives

• Evidence of value delivered

• Consistent language for case studies and proposals

Business development becomes cumulative. Each project strengthens the next pursuit, rather than every opportunity starting from scratch.

Takeaway

Strong business development performance is deeply linked to strong project management capability because it:

• Turns business development into a disciplined, repeatable process rather than a series of ad-hoc, relationship-driven activities

• Improves scoping, pricing confidence and risk control early, before margin is lost and expectations drift

• Builds client trust and continuity from pitch to delivery, positioning you as a safe, commercial, and well-managed choice

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.

Conversations, Not Presentations: Where Business Development Really Happens

Most business development efforts follow a similar tired format:

👉 A polished deck

👉 A rehearsed pitch

👉 A “let me tell you about us” monologue

Afterwards, we tell ourselves it was a “good meeting” because the client seemed engaged and we covered everything we wanted to say. But weeks later, nothing has changed. No follow-up. No new work. No deeper relationship. No momentum. Just another presentation delivered into the void.

And that's because - surprise, surprise, presentations don’t build relationships - Conversations do!

So for this BD Tips Wednesday post I'm going to run through a high-level overview of where business development really happens: In the conversations you have with your clients.

Presentations Feel Safe; Conversations Create Value

Presentations are a comfortable place for many professionals. They’re controlled and they let us stay in familiar territory and show how capable we are.

But they’re also one-way. A presentation broadcasts information.

Conversations are tough. For start, we have to engage with the other person and build a repour. But, conversation uncover insights that presentations never will. And that's because:

👉 clients don’t build trust in you because you have showed them 25 slides about your experience

👉 they build trust in you because they have felt heard, understood and respected. That only happens when the meeting is designed to learn, not perform.

In short: A presentation is about you; A conversation is about them.

The Real Shift: From Impressing to Understanding

As I have said several times on BD Tips Wednesday posts, real business development starts when you stop asking:

“How do I impress this client?”

…and start asking:

“How do I understand this client?”

Understanding goes far deeper than stated needs. It means being curious about:

• The internal pressure they’re under

• The risks they’re quietly managing

• The trade-offs they’re forced to make

• What “success” really looks like inside their organisation

• What internal KPIs they are being measured against

• Whether they like the person they are reporting too!

None of this shows up on a slide deck. It only comes out in conversation.

Why Conversations Change Your Positioning

Presentation-led meetings keep clients passive. They listen politely. They nod. They ask safe questions. Then they go home.

Conversation-led meetings make clients active. They think out loud. They test ideas. They reveal uncertainty. They explore risk.

That’s the moment your role shifts.

You stop being “a supplier”. You start becoming a thinking and trusted partner.

And that shift is where real business development leverage lives. Its not only where you sell, it's where you upsell and cross-sell.

Listening Is Not Soft, It’s Strategic.

The strongest business developers are rarely the loudest or most polished speakers in the room.

They are:

• Comfortable with silence

• Curious without being intrusive

• Patient enough to let the problem surface

• Confident enough not to rush to the solution

They don’t dominate the agenda. They adapt to what emerges.

That’s not passive behaviour. It’s deliberate positioning.

Listening signals confidence. It signals commercial intelligence. It signals that you’re not desperate to sell, which paradoxically makes clients more willing to engage and trust.

Conversations Create Momentum

Presentations create awareness. Conversations create movement.

When a client feels understood, they initiate next steps themselves. They follow up. They introduce colleagues. They ask for your perspective on adjacent issues.

The relationship starts moving without you pushing it.

That’s when business development stops feeling forced and starts feeling natural.

Takeaway: The Question That Actually Matters

So the real question isn’t:

“How good is your elevator pitch?”

It’s:

“How good is your listening?”

Because the best opportunities don’t come from what you present. They come from what you hear and - crucially - what you do with it.

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

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.

How Dependencies Limit Your Business Development Efforts (and How to Overcome Them)

In over 25 years of working with professionals, a reoccurring theme that stalls most of their business development efforts is not of their own doing – it’s relying on dependencies.

So, for this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would do a whistle stop tour of what dependencies are in business development, and how you can overcome these.

What Is A Dependency?

If you’ve ever studied project management theory and techniques, you’ll know that a dependency refers to:

“a relationship between two tasks, activities or deliverables where one relies on the completion, initiation or progress of another.”

Simply, a dependency means something must happen before something else can happen.

Now, what on earth does this have to do with business development?

Well, let’s take a simple example:

How often have you heard a partner say to another partner they'll happily introduce them to their client and then do nothing about it for months on end? Bet it’s more times than you’ve had hot dinners! And that is called a 'dependency' – when one partner is reliant on another partner to do something.

3 Types of Dependencies

In essence there are three types of dependencies that are likely narrowing your growth trajectory and leaving your business development efforts exposed to disruption. These are:

1. People dependencies: The aforementioned reliance on others to assist you achieve your business development goals. They get busy, forget to introduce you to their contacts and you miss your business development goals. Your business development is not reliant on your efforts, but the efforts of others.

2. Systems dependencies: This is an all too common one in professional services, where you rely on an outdated CRM to provide you with answers! More often than not, the partners don’t trust the CRM or simply don’t want to share sensitive client information and so don’t update the CRM with staff movements, promotions etc. In no time at all, the CRM is virtually useless. If you then need to rely on that same CRM system to enable your business development goals, you have a problem.

3. Client dependencies: This is probably the most unrecognised one – where you need the client to actually do something for your business development goal to be achieved. An example here: your contact at the client isn’t the decision maker but promises to put you in touch with the decision maker. This never happens and you are reluctant to push the issue because you are afraid of upsetting the client. But, at the end of the day, your business development goal still isn’t being achieved!

The Hidden Cost of Dependencies

The hidden cost of dependencies can be summed up as:

1. Stalled momentum in your business development efforts

2. Reduced motivation to do business development

3. Lower engagement in the business development process

This is particularly prevalent with lateral hires. At the onset there is a lot of excitement around the onboarding of the lateral hire. The lateral hire is very excited because they have been promised the world. But that world is reliant on dependencies. And those who need to deliver don’t. In no time, the lateral hire is frustrated with the whole business development process and culture and starts looking around for a new home. And your firm has just had a very expensive lesson (although most firms don’t learn and just go through the loop time and time again!).

You Can Only Control What You Can Control

To break free of dependencies, you need to remember that you can only control what you can control. To achieve this, you need to:

1. Take control of the process – own it, don’t wait for others. Map your network of dependencies. List those people who are roadblocks and then either avoid them or find a way of working with them where you control the narrative, not them!

2. Take control of the relationships. Build the relationship independent of any dependency involvement.

3. Take control of the rhythm. Create consistent routines (monthly pursuit reviews, pipeline health checks, relationship audits). Routine equals habits. Habits result in success. Get back to boring to go forward.

4. Take control of the systems. Keep your business development skills, templates and client insights in shared systems, not in people’s heads.

Takeaway

Business development thrives on systems, not superheroes. When you identify and dismantle your dependencies, you free yourself from fragility and create a business development engine that is consistent, collective and compounding.

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.

Two Ears, One Mouth: To Win New Work, You Need To Be Listening

Noise is often seen as being a defining factor of business development: who can pitch best, write the slickest proposal, deliver the most polished presentation, or bombarded the client with the most up-to-date newsletter on recent legislative changes. But the truth is, the best business developers are not the best talkers; they’re the ones who listen the most.

For this BD Tips Wednesday post I’ll be looking at why Listening Wins Trust – and as we know by now, trust is everything in business development!

Listening Wins Trust

Simple really, you feel the same way: When clients feel heard, they feel understood. And when they feel understood, they trust you.

As trust is the Holy Grail of business development, listening skills are they key to unlocking that trust.

However, too many partners and firms go into meetings with an agenda: to tell their story, what they want to hear - their great credentials, their innovative process, their track record.

Here’s a secret: the client already knows. That’s why you are in the room. What they’re looking for now is whether you get them: their pressure points, their KPIs, their constraints. Above all else, they want to know they’ll like working with you; because people work with people they like working with!

Listening Turns BD into Strategy

When you listen deeply, you start seeing patterns. You hear recurring themes about what clients value, what frustrates them, and – importantly - what makes them change providers.

Those insights feed directly into your strategy:

• Product and pricing improvements

• Messaging and positioning

• Talent and culture

• Client-service processes

Listening is the cheapest and most effective market research tool you’ll ever have. Which begs the question: Why don’t more law firms have client listening programs? Go figure!

The BD Discipline of Listening

To turn listening into a competitive advantage, make it a system not an accident.

• Have a client listening program.

• Debrief after every client meeting.

• Share client insights (including news from newspapers and magazines).

• Keep a record of every client interaction and what was discussed.

• Use listening questions: “What’s driving this project?” “What would success look like for you personally?”

And if you really want to be cutting edge, introduce a client account management program!

Takeaway

Winning business isn’t about talking louder, faster, or more confidently. It’s about listening with precision, empathy and intent.

Because in business development, the person who listens best…

…wins.

Further Reading

• Conversations, not presentations: where business development really happens

• Understanding Your Client's Why

• Shared Experiences Build Stronger Client Relationships

• The Most Underused Business Development Tactic: Walk and Talk Meetings

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 Your Firm Needs A Client Charter

Look at almost any professional services firm's website and they'll tell you they are "client centric", "client focussed" and/or any combination in between. But ask those same firms if they have a Client Charter in place, and 9 times out of 10 the answer will be "What's a Client Charter?".

So, for this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would take you through a whistle tour of why your firm/practice group needs to think about putting in place a Client Charter.

What is a Client Charter?

At its core, a Client Charter is an informal statement of promises and expectations. It defines what a client can expect from you and, equally importantly, what you can expect from the client. It creates a shared understanding of how both parties will work together, helping to minimise misunderstandings, reduce friction and align behaviours.

Don't mistake Client Charters for an Engagement Letter. Client Charters provide reassurance that your firm is committed to delivering on service quality and your client understands the role they need to play to ensure this happens. Engagement Letters merely set out the terms of the engagement for that matter.

A Client Charter is designed to:

• Define Expectations: Clearly outline what clients can expect from your services.

• Foster Transparency: Create an open dialogue about how your business operates.

• Build Trust: Demonstrate your commitment to high standards and client satisfaction.

• Enhance Accountability: Specify the responsibilities of both parties to prevent misunderstandings.

What are the key components of a Client Charter?

To be a useful accountability tool, a Client Charter should include the following elements:

• Introduction: Briefly explain the purpose of the Charter and its importance to both parties.

• Scope of Services: Detail the services or products provided, including any limitations.

• Standards of Service: Specify the quality standards and performance metrics you adhere to.

• Client Responsibilities: Outline what you expect from clients, such as timely communication or adherence to project guidelines.

• Communication Protocols: Establish how and when communication should occur, including response times.

• Conflict Resolution: Provide a process for handling disputes or issues that arise.

• Review and Amendments: Describe how the Charter will be reviewed and updated as needed.

Crafting the Client Charter

In crafting your Client Charter look to:

• Collaborate with your team: Gather input from key stakeholders to ensure the Charter reflects the firm’s values and operational realities.

• Engage with clients: Seek feedback from clients to understand their expectations and incorporate their perspectives into the Charter.

• Draft clearly: Use straightforward language and avoid jargon to ensure that the Charter is easily understood by all parties, including people who join after the Charter has been agreed.

Benefits of a well-implemented Client Charter

When implemented effectively, a Charter can:

• Enhance client satisfaction: By setting clear expectations and delivering on promises, you build stronger, more satisfied client relationships.

• Improve operational efficiency: Clearly defined roles and responsibilities streamline processes and reduce the risk of misunderstandings.

• Strengthen your brand: Demonstrating a commitment to quality and transparency enhances your firm's reputation and attracts more clients.

Implementing a Charter begins with a clear understanding of why it matters?

First and foremost, a Charter defines expectations. Instead of vague assumptions, clients will know exactly what they can expect from your services. The document establishes a baseline of quality, timelines, communication protocols and ways to handle unforeseen circumstances. In doing so, the Charter fosters an environment of transparency. Clients see an upfront blueprint of how your firm operates, which installs confidence and reduces uncertainty. In turn, creating a transparent working atmosphere enhances trust. When you publicly commit to standards and then consistently meet or exceed them, clients feel secure and valued. The Charter also enhances accountability. It clarifies the role of the business and informs clients of their own responsibilities. That clarity helps prevent misunderstandings when expectations inevitably meet reality.

A Client Charter should not be a static document. Circumstances change: your services will evolve over time and client needs will shift. Markets are also known to change.

To reflect all of this, you should constantly be talking to your client and updating the Charter to reflect current thinking. By committing to regular checkpoints (quarterly or annually are best), you ensure that the Charter continues to reflect your operational reality and, more importantly, your clients’ evolving goals.

Final Thought

A Client Charter is a strategic asset that fosters stronger, more transparent and more accountable client relationships. But it is not just a document, it's a mindset. It provides a framework for consistent service, reinforces business values, and signals a professional commitment to excellence.

By investing the time and effort to create and implement a meaningful charter, professional services firms not only enhance their client experience; they position themselves as trusted, reliable and values-driven partners.

And in a profession where trust is the most valuable asset you have, that’s a powerful advantage.

Further Reading

• The importance of client retention

• Voice of the Client: THINK

• Shared Experiences Build Stronger Client Relationships

• Why Being Credible is Critical

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

‍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.

‍ ‍

It’s Okay to Acknowledge Your Limitations – It Helps Build Trust

The title to this BD Tips Wednesday post comes from an article I was read. The article itself had nothing to do with professional services, but in a world full of Alpha high achieving professionals, admitting a short-coming is about as frequent as a cab for hire in a rainstorm!

But the reality is, acknowledging your limitations is an important skill development if you want to be successful. While clients expect us to have the answers to their problems/issues, pretending to be flawless and know everything about anything is not what builds trust.

The building blocks of trust

Honesty, self-awareness and integrity are the building blocks of trust. Professionals have these traits in abundance. But saying you can be all things to all people simply isn't possible. And clients know this. They sense you are faking it, and call you out as a fake.

Ignoring your limitations send the wrong message to your clients. It is far better for you to say: "This is not my area of expertise, but I can refer you to a colleague who is a whiz at this", than it is to try and do the work for fear of losing the work to a competitor. Because in all likelihood, you'll mess the job up and lose the client in any event!

Clarity creates trust

Acknowledging limitations reflects a reality: no one is an expert at everything - not even you! Being able to say, “This is not my area of expertise” shows maturity and strength.

It makes you look stronger. It makes your team stronger.

Why? Because the client has clarity, they know what you can and cannot do. So when you say you can do it, they believe you - they don't wonder if you are telling them the truth and worry they may have made a mistake in appointing you to act for them!

Final thought

The more we pretend to have all the answers, the less trustworthy we become. But when we lead with honesty and humility, we invite real connectivity.

So next time you hit the edge of your expertise, don’t bluff your way through. Say, “Let me check on that,” or “That’s not my strength, but I know someone who can help.” Because acknowledging your limitations doesn’t weaken your reputation. It strengthens it.

In turn, this will make your business development efforts more successful, which will lead to a stronger book of business.

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 Business Development Lunches Don't Work!

Right, I'm going to say from the start that I'm a fan of the business development lunch. But, like all of your business development efforts, there is a time and place. And sometimes, in fact many times, the business development objective you are trying to achieve could be better achieved in another way.

So, for this BD Tips Wednesday post, I thought I would run through a couple of reasons why those long business development lunches you are having to celebrate the end of the financial year may not be getting you the results you were hoping for!

The Problem with the Traditional BD Lunch

You lock in a date—often weeks in advance—to meet a client or a referrer at the hottest new joint in town.

You arrive on time and spend a few minutes catching up over small talk.

Then you awkwardly ask: “So… how’s work?”

You small talk over the remainder of the meal .

You part ways, promising to "keep in touch".

Sound familiar at all?

That's right: No clear agenda ➡️ No clear takeaways ➡️ No next step action items ➡️ No value exchanged = Total waste of time

Just two busy people having a spot of lunch together.

This is NOT a Business Development Lunch because...

It lacked focus and intentionality

The biggest issue I have with BD lunches is that they are very rarely focused. In most cases, there’s no agenda 🗒️. And without direction, the conversation can feel like meandering small talk that achieves little more than keeping your name on someone’s radar. Not saying there is anything wrong with keeping your name on someone's radar, but there are better ways to do it than spending 90 minutes buying them an expensive lunch!

It feels fake

More often than not, a conjured-up lunch occasion becomes a performance: both parties are “on,” carefully managing how they present themselves, rather than honestly discussing problems, needs or opportunities.

3 Better Ways of Doing Business Development

1. Collaborative Working Sessions

One of the best ways to build rapport is not by eating together, but by thinking together.

Invite a client, prospective client, or referrer to a co-creation session—a whiteboard workshop, a problem-solving meeting, or a strategy discussion.

Instead of asking them to take time out of their day for a generic lunch, offer to sit with them and help unpack an issue they’re facing.

You:

• Build trust through shared problem-solving

• Demonstrate your capabilities in real time

• Create a reason for ongoing interaction

2. Short, Purposeful Coffee Catch-Ups

If you still value face-to-face interaction (and I do), opt for shorter, sharper meetings with a clear purpose.

A coffee meeting with a defined topic or objective can be far more productive than a lunch.

It’s also easier for clients and contacts to accept the invitation when you frame it as a brief and focused catch-up, rather than a drawn-out commitment.

The key here is to:

• State your intent clearly (“I’d love to get your thoughts on X” or “I want to share a quick update about Y”)

• Keep it tight (30–40 minutes max)

• Follow up promptly with value (a relevant article, a summary of next steps, or a useful introduction)

3. Deliver Value Before You Ask for Time

Perhaps the most powerful way to build trust is by delivering value without being asked.

Before booking a lunch or coffee, ask yourself: Have I given them something useful? 🤔

This could be:

• A tailored insight or trend that impacts their industry

• A short note with an idea related to a problem they’ve raised

• A thoughtful comment on a piece of work they’ve published

• A proactive suggestion on how you might collaborate

When you show up with something meaningful, you flip the dynamic. You’re not asking for their time—you’re earning it 💼✨.

And then when you do eventually meet, there’s already a foundation of value to build on.

Rethinking What Business Development Should Look Like

We’re a long way past the era where BD meant steak lunches, golf games, and three-hour meetings. Today’s clients are savvy. They want trusted advisors who understand their world and help them make progress.

Business development in modern professional services needs to be:

• Client-centric: Focused on solving their problems, not selling your services

• Efficient: Respecting everyone’s time and attention

• Authentic: Based on genuine curiosity, not rehearsed rapport-building

• Value-led: Every interaction should leave the other person better off

That means we must shift away from rituals and habits that no longer serve us; toward interactions that are truly meaningful.

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.

Stop. Look. Listen. Business Development Safety Tips for Professionals

I was teaching my 3 year old the 'Stop. Look. Listen.' road safety rules. If you're old enough, like me, these used to be called the Green Cross Code Man rules. While trying to teach the child how to cross the road safely, it occurred to me that this is actually an important business development skill.

So for this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would take a look at the 'Stop. Look. Listen.' road safety rules of Business Development.

🟥 STOP

Pause before you pitch. Avoid BD autopilot.

In professional services it’s easy to fall into the trap of reactive selling. Any of this sound familiar:

responding to inquiries, chasing every opportunity or sending out templated credentials.

High performing business development professionals know when to stop wasting time on this.

✅ STOP and:

• Revisit the client’s current context, pain points and recent changes.

• Reflect on what value you’re actually offering: aka what’s in it for them?

• Sense check internal capacity, readiness and alignment.

• Confirm you’re solving a problem, not just one you happen to have a solution for

💬 “Busy is not the same as effective. Stop long enough to be strategic.”

🟨 LOOK

Observe before you act. There’s always more to see.

Looking isn’t just about reading an RFP or LinkedIn profile. It’s about being curious and analytical, gathering insights that help you position yourself more effectively.

✅ LOOK to:

• Understand the client's world, including external pressures and internal dynamics.

• Decode buying signals and decision processes.

• Review past engagement history or similar work.

• Map your competitors’ positioning and messaging.

💬 “If you don’t know what the client is dealing with, you’re just guessing.”

🟩 LISTEN

Real listening beats rehearsed pitching every time.

Professionals often hear, but rarely listen. Listening means being present, curious and responsive. It shows respect and builds trust.

✅ LISTEN to:

• What clients are saying, as well as what they’re avoiding.

• The tone behind the words: frustration, urgency, hope.

• Buying signals, objections and subtle cues.

💬 “Listening is the fastest way to stand out in a noisy, sales-heavy market.”

Final Thoughts

Business development isn’t about speed. It’s about impact.

• When you Stop: you avoid rushing into the wrong opportunity.

• When you Look: you see the full picture, not just the surface.

• When you Listen: you hear what your competitors miss.

In professional services, that’s how you build trust.

That’s how you win work.

That’s how you grow.

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.

Is your Business Development looking a little like Little Miss Helpful?

Recently, my 3 year old asked me to read him Little Miss Helpful from Roger Hargreaves Mr. Men series for his bedtime story. Now I have to admit, it has been some time since I last read the Mr. Men series, so for those who may have forgotten (like me!):

Little Miss Helpful is always eager, enthusiastic and full of ideas about how to help people; but, more often than not, leaves a trail of unintended chaos in her wake.

When auditing your Business Development efforts: Does any of that sound familiar?

Lawyers business development efforts often resemble a parade of well-meaning “Little Miss Helpfuls.” We try to jump in, lend a hand and make something happen. Without always considering the strategy, alignment or impact of our business development actions!

So, for this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would take a quick look at how to avoid making your business development efforts look like you're the next Little Miss Helpful of Business Development.

1. Helping without asking: The BD equivalent of sweeping under someone’s feet

Little Miss Helpful once tried to clean the floor while someone was still standing on it. In business development, we sometimes do the same: Offering to help before fully understanding what the client actually needs.

Better approach: Ask. Listen. Diagnose before you prescribe. Tailor your offer to the client’s situation.

2. Doing too much, too soon

In the stories, Little Miss Helpful often acts quickly, thinking more is better. She’ll water plants that don’t need it, rearrange things that were already fine. Likewise, some lawyers' business development campaigns throw everything at the wall - emails, webinars, coffee meetings - without clear prioritisation or strategy.

Better approach: Start with one or two high-impact activities. Test, learn, refine. Business development should be deliberate, not frantic.

3. Mistaking activity for progress

She’s always doing, but rarely achieving. In Business Development this shows up in endless pipelines or chasing “maybes” that were never viable. We stay busy and call it growth.

Better approach: Focus on meaningful progress: Relationships advanced, proposals submitted, problems solved.

4. Ignoring the follow-up mess

Little Miss Helpful always means well but after the chaos, someone has to tidy up.

The business development parallel?

Promising more than can be delivered, failing to follow through or creating noise with no substance.

Better approach: Under-promise and over-deliver. Set realistic expectations and follow through consistently.

5. Be Strategic, Not Just Supportive

The lesson from Little Miss Helpful is not that help is bad, it’s that good intentions need direction.

With your business development efforts, enthusiasm is only effective when combined with:

• Relevance

• Intentionality

• Follow-through

• Collaboration

Instead of “being helpful,” aim to be strategic. Replace random acts of business development with meaningful, client-aligned action.

Final Thought

Don’t be Little Miss Helpful. Be Ms. Strategic Growth. Be the professional who understands before acting, connects before pitching and delivers before being asked.

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.

Add the personal touch to your business development with a handwritten Christmas card

There are few more personal ways to thank a person for the support they have shown you and your business over the past 12 month than to send them a handwritten Christmas card.

Unlike e-cards, which to be honest I have never been a massive fan of (but can see both the financial and ecological savings if you are sending several hundred/thousand), a handwritten note in a Christmas card adds that personal touch to the message that, to me, enhances the gratitude being shown.

Some tips

If you're going to send a handwritten note in a Christmas card to a key contact or referrer this year, make sure to:

1. Provide context: to why the card is being sent. For example: "it been a pleasure working with you over the past 12 months and we look forward to supporting you in the future".

2. Personalise it: include a private note about something that happened this year.

3. Keep it professional: remember, it’s a Christmas card to a client/referrer, so be personal but keep it professional - no saucy joke cards you can find in some stores please!

4. Keep it brief: again, it's professional, so keep it brief. The recipient of the card doesn't have a lot of time to read this card and probably has a few more cards than just yours to read, so make sure to keep this to a couple of well-thought-out sentences at most.

The simple, relatively inexpensive, gesture of sending a handwritten Christmas card can leave a lasting impression on your client. It could well be the small differentiator that you are looking for to stand your business out from its competitors!

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.