Building a business development culture at a professional services firm
Professional services firms share a range of challenges whether they practice accounting, law, engineering, architecture or management consulting, among other disciplines.
One common issue is business development. In short, someone has to bring in the business but many professionals aren’t interested in this function. They prefer to focus on technical excellence – a worthy calling, for sure – while “someone else” worries about landing the next new client.
Persistence over time
This is a problem for both the individual and the firm. The professional who brushes aside business development will rarely advance up the ladder to become a partner as quickly as a colleague who embraces the BD part of the job. And the firm will obviously grow more slowly if fewer people engage in BD.
The answer isn’t simply to flip the BD switch and tell everyone in the firm to get out there, shake the trees and bring in some new business. BD doesn’t work like that. It takes persistent effort over time to nurture relationships and build trust.
What firms need is a business development culture that systematically engages all the professionals in the firm at some level in BD. Expectations need to be established, goals set and progress tracked.
New hires need to know before they onboard that they will be expected to take part if BD activities. After all, it’s not realistic to hire someone as an entry level professional without any focus on BD, then suddenly tell them when they get promoted to a management role that they now should start doing BD work.
Getting started
Since most firms don’t have much of a BD culture, we’re left with the proverbial truth that you must start somewhere. Getting started may look different depending on the firm and its specific situation, but here are some ideas:
First, as mentioned above, begin to make business development part of the conversation when interviewing potential new hires. You don’t necessarily have to discard a great candidate just because they aren’t interested in BD. But you do want to make sure at least some of your new hires are. If you really want BD to become part of your firm’s culture, make sure prospective hires know about it from Day One.
Talk with each member of your current professional staff and assess each one individually regarding their level of interest in BD and their potential to grow their BD skills. BD isn’t one-size-fits-all – you’ll need to meet each person where he or she is and build from there.
Start a BD training program for your team. Help them learn what BD is and isn’t and the basics of how to do it. Make continuing BD education a requirement for all your professional staff.
Set reasonable BD goals for every member of your professional team and a tracking system to hold everyone accountable for their goals.
Celebrate wins. When someone brings in a new piece of business, show your appreciation and excitement for their success. You could stop by their desk and personally thank them, or have a monthly lunch with everyone who has brought in new business in the past 30 days, or spotlight them in the company newsletter – the list is endless. Also consider financial rewards for securing certain levels of new business.
Staying on track
Building your BD culture with these and other initiatives won’t be popular with everybody. Change is uncomfortable. Some folks may even decide to leave your firm.
That’s obviously not the goal, but it may be an unavoidable consequence. It’s just as likely that some team members will relish the challenge and grow into BD superstars.
Play the long game and recognize that your firm will be better positioned to thrive for years to come when BD becomes as much a part of the firm’s DNA as technical excellence.
If you’d like to discuss your firm’s business development culture or how to create one, let us know at EricW@ThisWGroup.com@thiswgroup.com or 210.240.9041.
