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PM Forum - Bristol
Getting the best results from new business development
Rachael Wheatley of PACE Partners International, a business development consultancy that specialises in helping professional services firms win new business, retain clients and deal with leadership issues, delivered a presentation to PM Forum members on how to get the best results from new business development.
Members were given a brief introduction to the work of PACE Partners and a summary of what the presentation would cover.
Rachael then presented the group with three questions that opened up the room for discussion. The questions were:
- How do you manage the process of building new business?
- What parts of the process do you feel could be more effective?
- What barriers stop you moving things forward?
This break-out session allowed the audience to engage with each other and to address the topic in hand. The member’s contributions created a pool of issues and solutions that were then discussed with Rachael.
Other questions raised were, what framework or strategy works best? What marketing and business development activities can help us earn the right to meet prospects? How can we ensure our prospects are moving through the 'pipeline' towards becoming a client? What will help us keep the momentum going?
Some of the main problems the marketing professionals discussed included: the lack of time fee earners and partners have to contribute to business development plans, the lack of a firm structure and system in place and not having specific targets to ensure new business prospects becomes a new business client.
Rachael went on to discuss the PACE pipeline. A strategy used by PACE to ensure new business success at each level of development. This framework was clear and concise and helped members to visualise how to shape future clients relationships. The diagram included:
- Prospecting – defined prospects not yet marketed to
- Promoting – defined prospects marketed to not yet in dialogue
- Projecting – qualified prospects in dialogue
- Protecting – current key and valued clients
- Pruning – ‘problem children’ clients
Rachael said: “It is important to listen to potential clients, to show genuine interest, to build confidence, trust, reputation and credibility.”
The second part of the presentation consisted of another interactive exercise. Again, this helped the audience to actively engage in the event and share ideas, problems and solutions.
We were each given a set of post-it notes and asked to write down how we felt our business had overcome business development and marketing hurdles.
The contributions included:
- educating our fee earners and staff to ensure everyone is on the same page and is aware of the desired outcome and end goal
- creating a clear strategy for new business communication
- setting specific times and dates to meet with fee earners and partners to ensure their contribution
- setting KPI’s
- regular communication
- identifying a project manager or individual responsible
- using social media to track and record what people are saying about a potential client and how that client responds
- using a variety of different communications tactics (corporate marketing, capability marketing and contact marketing
This presentation provided the right balance of information, audience engagement and constructive problem solving exercises.
Emily Buist
Brandon Hill Communications
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