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Business Development

  • LinkedIn Spam Reduction Strategy

    LinkedIn Spam Reduction Strategy

    One of the current practices (let's not call it a "best" practice) that people use on LinkedIn, is to reach out to a prospect based on an affinity of some type, and then ask to be a connection. The request to be a contact can start out innocently ("I notice [More]

  • Proposal Triggers: How to Generate More Business

    Proposal Triggers: How to Generate More Business

    So how to solve this problem? The high-level answer is that this is precisely what marketing should be doing: generating leads. And turning leads into proposals is precisely what the business development function is responsible for. So where's the disconnect? Yes, CRM, marketing automation, content strategy, thought leadership, newsletters, advertising, [More]

  • Addressing the Client Bandwidth Issue

    Addressing the Client Bandwidth Issue

    Assuming that this is truly the reason (it sometimes isn't), then what are your options? Here are four ideas: The problem here may not be one of time, but one of prioritization. Work with the client to help them re-quantify the real cost of not going through with the project. [More]

  • CRM Fundamentals to Build your Business

    CRM Fundamentals to Build your Business

    Unfortunately, the answer is rarely found within instruction manuals, YouTube videos, and training, as these are often focused either on configuration, or on the "clickety-here, clickers-there" of how to use each bit of system functionality. Or, management believes the myth that the system will work only if every field must [More]

  • Ten Challenges When Building an Affiliate Program

    Ten Challenges When Building an Affiliate Program

    Unfortunately, launching an affiliate program is far easier said than done. And these programs rarely deliver on their promise; here are ten reasons why, and some clues on how to get them to deliver. Clients are not actually the best affiliates, despite knowing you the best. The best affiliates are [More]

  • When You Lose: Ask and Offer

    When You Lose: Ask and Offer

    It's terribly disappointing, especially since the cost of putting together the proposal, prepping the pitch—let alone the cost of prospecting and pre-sales activities—is huge. So what to do? One alternative is to pretend that the entire episode didn't happen, and focus on the next opportunity. For some people, it also [More]

  • If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get

    If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get

    Two key lessons he learned were directly from the sales playbook, and are ones that we so often forget when we are doing our own business development activities: If you don't ask, you don't get, and small greed succeeds. After his second interview, the company sprang it on him: they'll [More]

  • Derived Personas and Lead Profiles

    Derived Personas and Lead Profiles

    That your personas are accurate? And that you are focussing your efforts (and budget) on the priority personas? Up to a few short years ago, you couldn't. You could guess, you could do some market research, but you couldn't actually know. But today, there is a way to tell. Enter [More]

  • Targeting: From Gut to Segmentation to Individual Targeting

    Targeting: From Gut to Segmentation to Individual Targeting

    The answer lies in segmenting, and how your organization has approached it. Consider these three levels of sophistication: Level I -- "Gut" segment strategy: Otherwise known as not having any segments at all, at this level the business may be doing relatively well, but all of its marketing and service [More]

  • LinkedIn Prospecting — A New Social Contract?

    LinkedIn Prospecting — A New Social Contract?

    Without a doubt, LinkedIn is the premier business networking tool. It has come a long way as a repository for your contacts and an online version of your resume: It has a complete suite of recruitment tools, sales tools (e.g. LinkedIn Sales Navigator), advertising tools, and more. But strangely, not [More]

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