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.
Toolbox: The 3-3-3 Method of Time Management to Super-boost your Business Development Efforts
The 3-3-3 Method is a practical framework for balancing deep work, meetings and business development activities. Discover how it can help you achieve sustainable growth.
In this BD Tips Wednesday post, I look at: 'The 3-3-3 Method'.
What Is the 3-3-3 Method?
Let's start with the obvious: What is the 3-3-3 Method?
The 3-3-3 Method is a daily time management framework built on three blocks of activity:
3 hours of deep work – Focused, uninterrupted time on your most important projects/client work.
3 hours for meetings/collaboration session/short tasks – Key meetings and/or to-dos that are necessary but don’t require deep concentration.
3 hours of personal and business development time – Things that keep you and your practice moving forward personally and professionally; such as exercise, learning, writing a blog post, commenting on LinkedIn or having a coffee with a contact.
Why Does It Work?
Firstly, the 3-3-3 Method helps you focus on your priorities for the day. By limiting yourself to three hours of deep work, you push yourself to decide what really matters for that day. This avoids spreading yourself thin across too many tasks.
You achieve progress without burnout. Three hours of deep work is substantial, but it’s also sustainable. Instead of marathon days that drain you, you get consistent, high-quality progress.
You have structure without rigidity. The 3-3-3 Method provides guidance but leaves room for flexibility. Your “3 shorter tasks” could be emails, calls or admin. Your “3 maintenance activities” could be as simple as a having lunch with a colleague who refers you work.
Remember, the 3-3-3 Method is not about perfection. Some days, your deep work might stretch to 4 hours, or you may only tick off 2 maintenance activities. The power lies in the framework; it guides your attention without being a straitjacket.
Final Thoughts: Sustainably Growing your Practice
Making time for business development in your busy day doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes, implementing simple frameworks in to how you structure your day can provide the most powerful ROI on your efforts.
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.
Toolkit: The Ivy Lee Method
The Ivy Lee Method is a simple productivity framework that helps professionals focus on the most important tasks each day and maintain business development momentum.
In this BD Tips Wednesday post I take a look at: The Ivy Lee Method.
The Ivy Lee Method
Named after the productivity consultant who came up with the concept in 1918, the Ivy Lee Method is a simple 5-step task management tool that aims to boost your daily productivity:
At the end of each day, write down the 6 most important things you need to do/achieve/accomplish tomorrow.
Prioritize those 6 items in order of importance.
When you start work in the morning, start with the task you ranked #1 in order of importance. When that task is finished, and only when that task is finished, move to task #2.
As your day progresses, move through your list. At the end of the day, if you haven't finished all 6 items on your list, throw them back in the pot for tomorrow and select a new list of 6 tasks to do/achieve/accomplish tomorrow (which may, or may not, include those unfinished items from today, depending on their residual importance against the new tasks).
Repeat process - every [working] day.
Pros and Cons of the Ivy Lee Method
What I like about the Ivy Lee Method is this: your business development activities need to be pro-active.
What I dislike about the Ivy Lee Method is this: your business development activities need to be pro-active, so you cannot react to opportunities that might arise during the day.
That said, I find the Ivy Lee Method helps me stay focused on what business development activities are important to me at any moment in time.
Staying focused on short-term and longer-term goals allows me to move the dial - to get that 1% better every day that eventually will get me to where I need to be. And,
If the opportunity is going to break my daily routine, then it had better be a very good opportunity and not just chasing another rabbit down a hole.
What's with the number 6?
Sorry to disappoint those in professional services who bill by the hour in six minute increments, but nobody - other than Lee, and good luck asking them - knows why Lee selected 6 tasks per day and not 5 or 7.
Fate?
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.
Use The GROW Model To Grow Your Book Of Business
The GROW coaching model provides a structured framework for setting goals, assessing reality, overcoming obstacles and creating a clear path forward for growth.
In this BD Tips Wednesday post I’m sharing a professional development growth model that has been around since the 1980s and used relatively frequently by coaches such as me. It's called the GROW model, named in honor of the GROW acronym:
Goal
Reality
Obstacles and Options, and
Way forward
Grow
Where:
Goal = The end point. Where you want to get to. Your Goal. This needs to be structured/set-out in a way where it is obvious there is a finish line.
Reality = Warts and all – where are you now? How far do you need to travel to reach the ‘Goal’? Is the ‘Goal’ pie in the sky or a reality?
Obstacles and Options = What Obstacles are in the way of you achieving your ‘Goal’? Once the Obstacles have been identified, do you have Options to deal with these Obstacles that will allow you to achieve your Goal?
Way forward = Last but not least, what action steps need to be put in place in order for you to achieve your Goal. In other words, what is the Way Forward!
Bringing it all together
Using the GROW Model in your business development planning should add a little bit of perspective around the realistic nature of you achieving your Goal(s). It not only identifies what your Goal is - which is a great start in business development, but its also sets parameters around this so you clearly know when you have completed the Goal.
What I particularly like though is it highlights what the challenges will likely be and allows you to start working through how you can overcome those challenges - rather than waiting for the challenge to hit you on the nose!
Don't get me wrong, GROW is not the only business development strategy tool you can use - and we will certainly be covering off others on BD Tips Wednesdays of the future, but it is a very useful tool to keep in your toolkit!
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.