Stop asking partners to “do more BD”
Welcome to my video series. Today I want to talk about something I hear quite a lot in professional services firms.
“We need our partners to do more business development.”
And I always think, what does “do more BD” actually mean?
Because if I’m a busy partner with clients to look after, work to deliver and a team to manage, being told I need to do more BD isn’t particularly helpful.
It’s too vague.
So rather than asking people to do more BD, I think we need to make it much more specific and manageable.
The first thing I’d do is narrow the focus.
Don’t give someone a list of 50 target clients and expect them to somehow develop all of those relationships.
Pick five or ten that genuinely matter. Who do they already know? Where is there an opportunity? Which relationships have gone a little quiet?
Suddenly BD feels much more achievable.
Then turn BD into actual actions.
Instead of putting “develop relationship with Client X” on a plan, decide what that actually means.
Perhaps it’s arranging a coffee with someone you haven’t spoken to for six months.
Maybe it’s introducing them to another partner in the firm.
It could be inviting them to something relevant, sharing an article because you know it’s an issue they’re dealing with, or simply picking up the phone.
These are things people can actually do.
And finally, give people some accountability.
I’m not talking about constantly chasing partners and asking whether they’ve done their BD.
But if you’ve agreed three actions, come back to them.
What happened? Did you have the conversation? What did you learn? Is there a next step?
That regular rhythm is really important because otherwise even the best BD intentions get pushed down the list when client work gets busy.
For me, getting partners to do more BD isn’t really about asking them to do more.
It’s about helping them focus on the right relationships, giving them clear actions and then creating enough accountability to make sure those actions actually happen.
Thanks for watching the video. If you like what you’re hearing, please like and share, and I look forward to seeing you on the next video!
Watch the video on my YouTube channel here.
Need help?
If you would like help with your marketing and business development, 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, the UK, and Europe, specialising as a professional services marketing and bd consultant. Please get in touch or book a free 30-minute consultation.
