A firm with a Business Development Culture has two key characteristics:

1. The majority of client-facing individuals contribute to business development, whether with existing clients, introducers and/or new clients.
2. Business development is part of business as usual; it is a part of daily working life, and it is discussed and reviewed regularly to assess progress and share learnings and outcomes. It is also integrated into other systems and processes within the firm, including appraisals, job descriptions and recruitment.

It means business development will be a constant and consistent focus, based on specific strategies and plans by department/team/practice area which will decrease the risk of relying on a few people to bring in more work (a common issue) and will lead to revenue and profit growth as more people will be contributing in a focused way as there is alignment.

This is a common issue, mainly because many professional services people weren’t introduced to the idea of doing business development during their training or at junior levels. Whilst there will always be some people who remain resistant, many people, once they understand why their contribution is important and valuable to their career and the firm, have a clear plan, the skills and the support, they are willing to play their part.

There needs to be alignment amongst the firm’s leadership that a changed approach to business development is needed, which will require time and financial commitment.

Some key foundations need to be in place by department/team/practice area to establish a Business Development Culture. These include:

1. A business development strategy which sets out the focus services that your firm wants to deliver and the ideal client profile for each.
2. A clear business development activity plan to develop work with existing clients, introducers and/or new clients – it needs to be focused and broken down into manageable actions, so that it gets implemented. It also needs to have responsibilities assigned and agreed measures for activity undertaken and outcomes, so that future decisions can be made and progress monitored.
3. Clear agreement on how to embed the new approach to business development at a department/team/practice area level, as well as looking at where else business development intersects with other processes.
4. Clarity on the expectations of individuals at different levels of seniority.
5. Individuals trained in the skills they need to do business development positively and confidently, taking into account the specific activities agreed in the activity plan, e.g. if certain people are going to attend networking events, then they need to understand how to navigate those well.

It is a journey; it isn’t something that can be established instantaneously. Strategies and plans can be developed relatively quickly (the biggest challenge is relevant team member availability) – within a couple of weeks. The key is to then embed business development well, so it becomes a normal part of business as usual. Within a few months, you could expect there to be more opportunities and some new work brought in, especially from existing clients. As your people see improved outcomes, including more work generated and feel more confident in their own abilities and the results they achieve, business development sophistication will increase.

You could certainly make a start. However, good facilitation skills, including objectivity and incisive questioning, are important skills, as well as external expertise.

Who is involved in the facilitated days to develop the business development strategy and plan depends on the structure of your firm/the departments. As an example, these workshops are typically a day each per department/team.

There is then some time required to engage others who didn’t attend those facilitated days, and additional time required to work on the embedding process by the team and at an overall firm level.

Individuals then attend the training they need to, so they have the skills to do the business development activities they are responsible for in the plan. 

There needs to be a project owner who is my key point of contact for making decisions and discussing challenges that arise. Some administrative support is also recommended to coordinate diaries and arrange room bookings. I also like to meet key stakeholders in an online meeting in advance of the facilitated days.

Working with a department at a time achieves much better results as I can offer more in-depth and tailored support, including specific aspects to consider and ideas. However, some firms choose to combine some of their teams due to budget constraints.

My fees depend on the size of your firm, the number of teams and whether you have any of the key foundations in place already or not. To do a full project to put all the foundations in place for one team, including the project management, would start at around £15,000, with additional costs for training, where required. When additional teams are added, some costs can be shared. All projects are fully explained and costed in a proposal.

There is then the ‘cost’ of your people’s time. This is foundational work that, once set up, can be easily updated internally, so it needs to be viewed in a long-term context. These projects are not only about establishing a strategy and planning, but also upskilling teams so they can do it for themselves ongoing.

This depends on your goals and how important it is to grow as a firm and get more people involved in business development to reduce risk. If you are currently doing a limited amount of proactive business development, then establishing a Business Development Culture is likely to be highly valuable.

One way to think about it is to consider the fees for your lowest and highest priced services, then how many extra clients you need to bring in for each of those services to cover the project cost in year one. Remember that when done well, a Business Development Culture will pay back many times over in the years ahead.

Sometimes firms do have these in place. I would review them for you and then decide whether they need to be redone or whether only a more limited amount of time is required to improve them to get the results you want. I help you to understand the gaps and close them. In this case, my Business Development Accelerator Programme would be the appropriate one for your firm, rather than the Business Development Culture Programme.

A project to establish a Business Development Culture is typically the right approach for firms that are manageable for me to work with in terms of the number of fee earners and departments. The benefit of this approach – having one person deliver the whole project – is that there is a uniform baseline approach that is tailored to departments, and I can identify any firm-wide barriers and provide feedback on those, as well as support dealing with them as appropriate. Ultimately, to set the project up for success and maximise the business outcomes from establishing a Business Development Culture.

Yes, I can is the short answer. The key foundations are fundamental, but ensuring people continue to implement the plans and adapt their behaviours to focus on business development is an ongoing process. People’s sophistication and business development skills should continue to develop. There are a variety of ways I can continue to support, including leading review meetings to ask incisive questions, offering guidance and support for further improvements and working with individuals, including heads of department, to help them directly or to help them keep their teams motivated, focused and continuing to develop their skills. Another important factor is ensuring new joiners have the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to your firm’s business development culture.

Are you achieving your financial objectives? If you’re not, are they realistic? It is important to assess this as well as who is contributing to business development and whether it is achieving positive outcomes. It’s about understanding what isn’t working now, especially if you believe you have the right foundations in place. With my Business Development Compass Programme, I come in and do some assessment work to help you understand where you need to focus to improve your business development outcomes.