The “Give First” Rule Of Business Development
The strongest professional relationships are built by creating value before asking for anything in return. Explore why a give-first mindset remains one of the most effective business development strategies available.
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.
How Your Gardening Skills Can Help Develop Your Business Development Skills
Successful business development has more in common with gardening than selling. Explore why patience, cultivation, focus and long-term thinking are essential ingredients for sustainable growth.
Business development is often described as a funnel-game:
✔️ More meetings
✔️ More networking events
✔️ More LinkedIn posts
✔️ More proposals
And, hopefully, more prospects fall-out of the bottom of the funnel.
But, as anyone who has built a sustainable client-base (rainmaker) will be able to tell you: Business development isn’t about speed and taking short-cuts, it’s about cultivation.
So, for this BD Tips Wednesday post, I’m looking at why, if you want to become that rainmaker, you need to start in your garden!
1. You Can’t Force Growth
When you’re gardening and plant a seed, you don’t dig the seed up every morning to see if it has grown a little overnight. You:
prepare the soil
water consistently
ensure it gets sufficient sunlight.
And then you wait.
Oddly enough, business development works exactly the same way. You
meet someone (at an event)
follow up thoughtfully
share useful insights
stay visible
But, in the same way as you cannot force a seed to grow, you cannot force trust. You cannot demand that a prospect give you an instruction just because you paid for the coffee that morning.
Lawyers who struggle with business development often try to force an issue that is naturally incremental. Just like gardening, business development requires the ingredient of "patience".
2. Soil Quality Matters More Than Seed Volume
In gardening, poor soil produces weak plants. In business development, poor foundations produce weak relationships.
If you:
Deliver inconsistent service
Fail to communicate clearly
Bill unpredictably
Overpromise and underdeliver
No amount of buying coffees will fix it. The best rainmakers understand that retention and reputation are the soil to successful business development.
3. Weeds Compete for Nutrients
As every garden attracts weeds, every unstructured business development strategy will get bogged down in the weeds.
Weeds in business development tend to look like:
Networking without purpose
Coffee meetings with no strategic alignment
Clients who drain margin and energy
Chasing tenders you should have declined
If you don’t remove what competes for nutrients, your best opportunities will starve.
The most effective rainmakers are ruthless about focus. They know which sectors matter. They know which relationships compound. They say “no” more often than "yes".
4. Seasons Exist
No garden produces all year-round at the same intensity.
There are planting seasons.
There are growth seasons.
There are harvest seasons.
Wait, isn’t that a great summary of business development?
There are periods where you invest heavily in visibility.
There are periods where you nurture active opportunities.
And there are seasons when work flows because of seeds planted [sometimes] years earlier.
Rainmakers know: If you only plant when you are hungry, you will starve.
5. Diversity Strengthens the Ecosystem
A monoculture garden is fragile. One pest will wipe it out.
Similarly, a business development strategy built on one:
key client
referrer
sector
government panel
is exposed.
In the legal services world - particularly if you operate with tender-based clients (like fin services or government) - over-reliance on a single revenue source is a huge structural risk!
Resilient business developers cultivate:
Multiple referral channels
Cross-sector relationships
A mix of recurring retainer and project work
Different pricing models
6. Growth Is Often Invisible
I’ve worked in business development for over 30 years. The one thing I have learnt is this:
‘Roots grow before shoots appear’.
In business development, credibility grows long before instructions arrive!
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 Client Retention
Retaining existing clients is one of the most profitable growth strategies available. Discover practical ways to deepen relationships, deliver value and build long-term loyalty.
I have no idea where it comes from, but it is said that a 5% increase in client retention can result in a 50% increase in profitability. While the stat might at first seem like it has been picked out of the sky, the logic that a retained client is more profitable than an acquired one is sound. For that reason, this BD Tips Wednesday post will look at some of the ways you can help retain clients you want to keep!
To get us started
In professional services, the easiest client to win is the one you already have. Retention not only secures recurring work but also creates advocates who refer you new opportunities.
So how do you move from being just another supplier to becoming a trusted, long-term partner? Here are seven strategies that will help you increase client retention.
1. Deepen Client Relationships
Client loyalty starts with meaningful relationships. Go beyond transactional interactions by embedding structured, ongoing conversations. Regular check-ins outside of live projects demonstrate that you’re invested in the client’s long-term success, not just billable hours.
Consider introducing a client listening program - short surveys, structured interviews or even informal coffees, to understand evolving priorities. For larger accounts, build a client account management plan (KAM project) that outlines their goals, potential risks and opportunities for growth. This keeps you aligned and proactive.
2. Deliver Consistent Value
Clients stay when they consistently see value. That means offering more than just services; it means delivering insights, solutions and results that advance their goals.
Proactive insights: Share trends, regulatory updates, or benchmarking data that matter to their business.
Outcome-oriented reporting: Don’t just show the work you’ve done, show the impact, whether that’s reducing risk, saving costs or creating opportunities.
Continuous improvement: Highlight how you’ve improved your processes since the last engagement.
Clients want to know you’re not standing still; they expect innovation and refinement.
3. Personalise the Client Experience
A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it. Personalisation shows clients that you’re paying attention.
Tailor your solutions, communication styles and even pricing models to their specific needs. Document client preferences in a client playbook -whether it’s how they want reports presented, invoicing structures, or communication styles. And don’t forget the human touch: recognising client milestones, from company anniversaries to leadership changes, goes a long way in showing that you care.
4. Build Trust Through Transparency
Trust is the cornerstone of retention. If clients believe you’re hiding information, they’ll quickly look elsewhere.
Pricing transparency: Eliminate surprises. Offer multiple options: subscription, blended, or outcome-based, so they feel in control.
Visibility: Use project dashboards or regular progress reports to keep them informed.
Accountability: If mistakes happen, own them and provide solutions quickly. Clients don’t expect perfection, but they do expect honesty.
Transparency creates confidence, and confidence drives loyalty.
5. Strengthen the Human Connection
Clients don’t just buy services, they buy relationships. Strengthen those connections at every level of the relationship.
Encourage executive alignment by pairing your senior leaders with theirs for high-level strategy conversations. Host client-only events; roundtables; workshops; or appreciation function that go beyond pure business development. And don’t overlook your alumni network: stay in touch with former client contacts who may influence decisions in new roles.
6. Embed Feedback Loops
Retention depends on listening and adapting. Set up clear feedback mechanisms so clients feel heard.
Conduct after-action reviews at the close of each engagement. Simple questions like “What should we start, stop, and continue?” provide invaluable insights. Use metrics like Net Promoter Scores (NPS) or client scorecards to track loyalty over time.
Most importantly, act on feedback and circle back to show what’s been implemented. This demonstrates responsiveness and builds trust.
7. Focus on Outcomes, Not Just Transactions
Finally, remember that clients don’t hire you for services - they hire you for outcomes. Position your work in terms of results, not just deliverables.
Make sure every engagement is tied back to their business objectives. Showcase case studies that reflect real outcomes, not just completed tasks. Track what really drives their retention: whether it’s speed, expertise, price, or innovation, and double down on it.
Further Reading
Finally… …The Retention Mindset
Increasing client retention isn’t about gimmicks or discounts. It’s about building trust, delivering consistent value and becoming an indispensable partner. When clients see you as integral to their success, they stay, grow with you, and bring others along.
Retention is the most cost-effective growth strategy you have. Start treating your existing clients like your most important new business opportunity -because they are!
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!
Traditional business lunches are often overrated. Learn why meaningful engagement, shared experiences and value-driven interactions produce stronger results.
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.
How to Build Trust by Delivering Real Value
Trust is earned through consistent delivery of value. Discover how focusing on outcomes rather than transactions strengthens client relationships and business development results.
"People do not buy goods and services. They buy relationships, stories, and magic."
— Seth Godin
Building trust is the foundation of long-term success in business. At its core, trust is built by consistently providing value to your clients, colleagues and partners.
Whether you're a business development professional or lawyer reading this post, demonstrating value in your interactions is key to strengthening client relationships and driving sustainable growth.
In this BD Tips Wednesday post, I explore how to create meaningful value that builds lasting trust.
Why Value is the Foundation of Trust
As Seth Godin says: Value goes beyond products or services—it’s about creating experiences, offering solutions and providing insights that genuinely improve your clients' life.
When you deliver real value, you send a powerful message: “I care about you.”
This simple act triggers a trust-building cycle, making it easier to foster engagement, collaboration and long-term investment in your expertise.
5 Actionable Ways to Deliver Value and Build Trust
Understand Your Audience’s Needs: To provide meaningful value, you must know your audience. Research their pain points, challenges, and goals. Tailoring your advice, solutions, and content to address real problems ensures a higher impact.
Share Your Expertise Consistently: Position yourself as a thought leader by offering actionable insights through blog posts, webinars, workshops, and one-on-one consultations. High-value content not only builds trust but also enhances brand authority.
Deliver Unwavering Quality: Consistency is key in business development. Regularly demonstrating expertise, reliability and excellence—even in small ways—accumulates over time, reinforcing your credibility as a trusted subject matter expert.
Actively Listen and Adapt: Providing value isn’t just about offering solutions; it’s about understanding what your audience truly needs. Engage in conversations, ask for feedback, and be willing to adapt. This approach strengthens relationships and boosts loyalty.
Be Transparent and Honest: Trust is built on authenticity. Being open about your processes, pricing, and even your mistakes fosters deeper connections. Transparency reassures clients that your value is genuine—not just a business tactic.
The Ripple Effect of Providing Value
When you prioritise value over transactions, trust becomes a natural outcome. This, in turn, fuels:
✅ Increased Customer Loyalty: Clients who feel valued are more likely to return and become advocates for your brand, services, or expertise.
✅ Stronger Professional Relationships: Business partners and colleagues gravitate toward those who provide reliable insights and practical solutions, creating new opportunities for collaboration.
Final Thoughts: Trust is a Long-Term Investment
Building trust through value is an ongoing journey, not a one-time effort. By consistently providing solutions, maintaining transparency, and listening to your audience, you create long-lasting connections that drive business success.
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.
Understanding the Importance of Your Client’s "Why"
Understanding why clients make decisions allows professionals to deliver more relevant solutions and stronger client experiences. Learn how to uncover client motivations.
Clients don’t just purchase products or services—they seek solutions to their problems from trusted providers. To stand out from competitors and build long-term relationships, it's crucial to fully understand your client’s “Why”—the core reason they need your service in the first place.
In this BD Tips Wednesday post, we’ll explore proven strategies to uncover your client’s "Why" and leverage this insight to drive business growth, customer loyalty, and conversions.
How to Discover Your Client’s "Why"
Uncovering client insights takes time, strategic effort, and active listening. By understanding your clients' motivations, you can offer tailored solutions that enhance customer satisfaction and increase instructions. Here are some effective strategies:
1. Engage in Meaningful Conversations
Customer engagement is key to discovering their needs. Use multiple touchpoints like:
✅ Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) – Engage in industry discussions and polls.
✅ Emails & surveys – Ask open-ended questions like:
“What problem are you trying to solve?”
“Why do you choose us over competitors?”
✅ Face-to-face meetings & calls – Build a direct rapport for deeper insights.
2. Analyse Behavioral Data
Track customer interactions to identify patterns in:
🔍 Website analytics – Pages visited, time spent, and bounce rates.
📩 Email engagement – Open and click-through rates.
🛒 Purchasing trends – Preferred services, pricing sensitivity and decision factors.
Using data-driven insights allows you to refine your marketing strategy effectively.
3. Map the Customer Journey
A customer journey map helps you visualize how clients:
🛍 Discover your brand → 🔎 Research options → 🏆 Make a purchase decision → 💬 Engage post-sale
Identify pain points, motivations, and decision drivers to optimize the customer experience.
4. Leverage Reviews and Feedback
Customer reviews and testimonials offer powerful social proof. To maximise their value:
⭐ Monitor review platforms (Google Reviews, Trustpilot, Yelp).
📊 Analyse common themes in feedback to identify trends.
🗣 Respond to feedback to build trust and credibility.
Implementing this feedback strengthens brand reputation and boosts conversions.
Using Your Client's "Why" to Your Advantage
Once you understand your client’s “Why,” use it strategically to enhance marketing, customer experience, and brand positioning.
1. Craft Tailored Messaging
Develop high-converting marketing campaigns that:
🎯 Address client pain points directly.
📣 Use emotional and practical triggers to connect with audiences.
💡 Incorporate SEO-driven keywords to enhance visibility.
2. Enhance Client Support
Optimise customer service based on their "Why":
⏳ If they value efficiency: Offer fast, automated solutions.
👥 If they prefer personalisation: Provide one-on-one interactions and custom recommendations.
3. Foster Long-Term Loyalty
Loyal customers drive repeat business. Strengthen brand loyalty through:
🎁 Exclusive rewards & VIP training programs.
📩 Personalized content.
🔁 Proactive engagement.
Bringing It All Together
Understanding your client’s "Why" is an ongoing process of listening, analysing, and adapting. Consumer behaviors evolve—so should your business strategies.
By consistently refining your marketing, customer experience, and value proposition, you can:
✔ Increase conversions & sales
✔ Build long-lasting relationships
✔ Establish yourself as an industry leader
Final Takeaway: The secret to a firm's success isn’t just selling services—it’s about deeply connecting with your customers and providing real value that keeps them coming back.
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.
Adopt an ‘Outward Mindset’ to transform the relationship – and results - you have with your clients!
The most successful professionals focus on understanding and solving client problems rather than promoting themselves. Discover how an outward mindset improves relationships and results.
If you play Buzzword Bingo, and frankly who doesn’t enjoy a good game of Buzzword Bingo during a long staff meeting, then there are bound to be some standard ‘go-tos’ you have on your playing card. They’ll likely include: Growth Mindset, Collaborative, Innovative, Synergies, Proactive, Blue Sky Thinking, Shared Goals, to name just a few.
One phrase you probably won’t see on your bingo card however is having an "Outward Mindset”. Yet, if you’re truly going to adopt a “client centric mindset” [another contender for the bingo card], then you’ll need to employ an Outward Mindset to help you get there – otherwise it is all mere talk.
But, if this is so important, what do we mean by an “Outward Mindset”?
In order to help answer that, for this BD Tips Wednesday post I walk through a very high-level overview of what an Outward Mindset is all about and why it is so important you apply this type of strategic thinking to your business development activities.
What is an Outward Mindset?
Let's start off with a general definition of what an Outward Mindset is:
An Outward Mindset is a way of thinking and acting that prioritizes the understanding, needs, challenges and objectives of your clients. It’s about expanding your awareness to prioritize the needs of your clients before yours.
If you’re able to do this, the result will be true collaboration with your client leading to a deeper and more trusted connection.
How applying an Outward Mindset will benefit your business development activities
Enhances your client relationships
When you apply an Outward Mindset, the interactions you have with your clients become more focused and meaningful. Instead of seeing your clients as a means to an end in meeting your KPIs, you start to see them as people with their own KPIs that you need to help them achieve. This mindset shift helps build trust with your clients and strengthens your relationships.
Improves teamwork and staff retention
Collaboration is the Holy Grail of any professional services firm.
Applying an Outward Mindset helps to breakdown silos and encourages all of your firm’s principals and employees to align their efforts towards shared objectives.
Also, seeing how their efforts are directly benefiting their clients results in team members becoming more engaged, more motivated. This helps with staff retention – your team really is doing work that matters for your clients!
Improves your problem-solving skills and makes you more innovative!
Being able to see situations through the eyes of others helps improve your problem-solving skills – skills that are critical to the career development of many professionals and what often stands one professional out from another.
Enhanced problem-solving skills can also lead to a more innovate approach to problem-solving. This leads to enhanced creativity.
Innovation and creativity = two crucial client-facing traits that will help stand you apart from your competition!
Tips on how to cultivate an Outward Mindset
Moving from a growth mindset to an Outward Mindset requires effort.
The first step on this journey starts with empathy. Take the time to understand the challenges and aspirations of your clients. Put yourself in their shoes. Ask them open-ended questions and listen actively to their responses.
Armed with this information, think about how you can help your client(s) succeed.
And so now you have started your journey to an Outward Mindset...
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 Being Credible Is Critical To The Success Of Your Business Development Efforts
Trust and credibility underpin every successful client relationship. Learn the five behaviours that help professionals establish authority, reliability and long-term trust.
A huge part in the success of your business development efforts lies in what I like to call your: 'Credibility Score'.
So in this BD Tips Wednesday post I thought it would be good to go through why credibility is so important to the success of your business development activities.
Before we go there though, why is credibility an issue?
Information overload
The internet has resulted in information overload. We all have access to way too much information.
But 'information' is not the same as 'knowledge' - and professionals work (or should be working!) in a knowledge economy.
Which leads to a bigger problem from the client perspective: with so much information out there, how do I know who to trust?
QED: Credibility!
The '5' Bs on building credibility with your clients
Be ahead of the pack
Industries change and so should your knowledge and skills. Keep up with the latest trends, technologies and practices in your field.
If you can show that you're aware of new developments and can adapt your approach, you'll be seen as a credible forward-thinking partner.
Be transparent
The starting point in any attempt to being credible is open and transparent communication.
Be honest about what you can and cannot do.
Talking up what you can do for a client and under-delivering on that talk damages your credibility. So keep it simple: Deliver on what you say you can deliver on!
Be reliable
The easiest way to building long-term credibility is by consistently delivering on your promises. Reliability and consistency in performance over time create a strong foundation of trust. Make sure you follow through on timelines, deliverables, and commitments.
If something goes pear-shape, take accountability for it and work to quickly resolve it!
Be honest
Always tell the truth, even when it’s difficult or uncomfortable. If you make a mistake, admit it. People respect honesty, and owning up to your shortcomings is an important way to build trust.
Also, always maintain ethical standards in your dealings with your clients.
Be committed
Focus on building relationships rather than simply making deals. The more you invest in your client relationships, the more credible and trustworthy you appear.
Regularly check in on your clients, even when you're not pitching something new.
Being genuinely interested in your client's long-term success will enhance your reputation as a credible partner.
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.