the three things you represent.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
selling is not something you abruptly need to go and do, and it’s not a suit you wear or a personality you adopt. you don’t need to suddenly be nicer or different because you are out of your comfort zone.
more: three questions about conversion | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates
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for you, going forward, selling means a constant quest to build a perception of yourself and your firm. once you buy into that idea, you can relax and realize that selling is not the enemy but the conduit through which you access new areas of business by demonstrating the value cpas bring to clients.
demonstrating your value to any given client makes you not only different but superior to your competition in the client’s eyes.
many base their purchasing decisions on how well they get along with the individual and the outcomes they see as available to them by working with that person.
in those terms, selling becomes an extension of the best of yourself – that part you would want to project in any situation. rather than being a separate discipline, selling is a case of representing:
- what you already are,
- what you stand for; and
- what you can deliver to your clients.
once you realize that, you won’t need to try so hard!
business development tasks
- understand that marketing is the method by which an opportunity is created, and business development – what you used to know as “selling” – is how you will convert that opportunity into a fee-paying client. you may well hire support to handle the marketing, but it’s your job to master business development.
- understand that recurring fees are a double-edged sword. while they do support profitability on one hand, on the other, they create development apathy – which is fatal to your business in the long run.
- failure to implement, or fti, is the accounting profession’s greatest malaise. to begin moving away from fti, identify a simple goal – meet one new buyer, obtain one referral – as your starting point. impose a deadline on yourself to achieve this and, if necessary, enlist someone to whom you will be accountable for doing it.
- figure out who can help you achieve this goal – and reach out for that help.
- schedule specific, non-interruptible time in your day to practice your ability to be entrepreneurial and make things happen.