When it comes to professional services, there is a good chance that you will think that business development isn’t something you need to worry about. Of course, running a professional services firm means that there are always likely to be clients out there who are looking for what you can offer, but that doesn’t mean that you have to sit back and wait for things to happen.  

Within a professional services firm, business development is still something you need to focus on. However, it can be hard to work out precisely what is required and the roles you need to ensure you have.   

To help you work out how best to approach business development, I have put together the main roles that you will need in your professional services firm.   

Researchers  

If you don’t know what you need to do, then how can you ever expect to get there? Researchers are there to ensure you know which markets you need to pursue and how you should be pricing your services.   

Researchers will also learn more about the channels you can use to try and maximise your client base. All things that can be hugely beneficial to the future of your professional services firm.   

Digital specialist   

There have been many key changes to how business works at the moment, and one of the most significant differences is the rise of the digital world. Being present in a digital space has become so important that it can be challenging for your firm to be successful if you cannot master your digital presence.   

Things that a digital specialist can help you with include SEO, website design, marketing automation and also your key analytics too.   

Business development networker  

Networking really isn’t for everyone, but you have to know and remember that it can be hugely beneficial for your firm. If you are not sure you can run social media or face-to-face networking, you may want someone on board.   

They will know what it takes to build connections and how to maximise how well networking can work for you.   

Strategist  

Another critical element of ensuring that your professional services firm has the best chance of succeeding is a strategy. Strategies can be hard to put together and think about. Especially if this side of the business isn’t something that comes entirely naturally to you.   

The person you have as a strategist must be able to look at what you can offer from a different perspective. That way, you know that you will be able to achieve everything you want for your professional services firm.  

Implementation support for business development

Once you have a strategy that you believe will work for your professional services firm, the next step is to implement it. The idea of having implementation support is that they will be there to help with some of the smaller parts (but just as essential parts) of your plans.   

This could be setting key appointments, setting up slides and working on some of the graphic design aspects of your plans. 

Presenter 

Presenting what you want to say and ensuring that your message comes across can be tricky if you are not confident to present. This is where a presentation can really help you as a part of your plans. They can elevate the content you have put together, to showcase it in a way that will appeal to your target audience.  

A specialist in outreach 

As a professional services firm, you must reach out and appeal to as many potential clients as possible. The nature of an outreach specialist is that they are there to do this for you. They need to know where will be best to secure placements and how to build key partnerships too.  

They need to be persistent in their approach, and be incredibly organised, too. This will help them to maximise their time and balance the different aspects.  

A subject matter expert for business development

Whilst it is great to have someone in place who knows more about business development and marketing. It is also essential that you have those within your business development team who understand your professional services firm and what it is that you can do.   

More often than not, this will be someone already settled within your firm, as they will have the background knowledge needed. 

Writer  

There is a good chance that you may not have someone within your firm who is an experienced writer. So, you may need to bring in someone who can take on the important job of writing the content you want to share as a part of your marketing and elevate your message to the next level.   

Close  

When it comes to business development, you must make sure you close your sale. However, while this may seem straightforward, it requires a considerable amount of skill and talent to get right. Having someone known as a closer as a part of your business development team can make a difference in the level of clients you have in your books.   

As you can see, having a business development team on hand can make the difference between just doing well with your marketing plans and making a dent in your work.   

Take a look at some of my other blogs you may be interested in:

Business Development Strategies for your professional services firm

Playing the long Business development game in professional services firms

Need help?

If you would like help with your marketing then bringing on a marketing consultant with a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. I work with B2B businesses and professional service firms in London, Kent, UK and Europe as well as specialising as a Legal Marketing Consultant. Please get in touch or book a free 30-minute consultation.