We have met many business owners and entrepreneurs who rely on one huge client who effectively pays their company overhead and individual mortgages etc. Invariably these companies become so wrapped up in servicing and over-servicing their main client they neglect their business development activities and are vulnerable. When the main client goes elsewhere they don’t have much of a business at all. Don’t let this happen to you – implement the 5 action points below to your business development strategy and ensure that you are constantly generating new business or new customers for your business.
Business Development Strategy – 5 Action Points
1. Networking following up
Send follow up emails or LinkedIn connection requests within 48 hours of any networking event that you attend. In your email or request be specific and refer back to the conversation you had. If there was a genuine opportunity for business refer to that too without being “hard sell”. Tailor your messages and dedicate more time to those that can realistically be converted into business.
2. Mailing list Communication
The days of the monthly newsletter are over. When was the last time someone within your network recommended a newsletter for you to sign up to? Or you mentioned a newsletter that you received? Instead treat your mailing list as you would approach Twitter and encourage more interaction. Shorter messages delivering value and with a greater frequency – weekly being our recommendation. If you are delivering value to your audience this will not be too much.
3. Breaking emails chains with a phone call or short meeting
Here’s a familiar scenario you’ve had a meeting with a big customer or potential client and then during the course of your follow up it has become email tennis. You send an email – they send one back; you send another email and so on. Break this cycle by phoning them or arranging a short catch up over coffee at their convenience. Meetings do not have to be 60 minutes or longer – often they can and should be much shorter.
4. Partnerships
Through the course of your networking you will probably have met companies that you could partner with – be proactive in following up these opportunities and once established communicate with the business owners to evaluate the results. Partnerships could manifest themselves simply as link shares or be structured enough to accommodate joint seminars and workshops or shared exhibition stands.
5. From social media to sales funnel
Social media mentions on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest will not mean anything to your bottom line if you cannot convert them. Work on improving your conversion ratio. This is a challenge faced by a lot of our clients but there are solutions that can be deployed that will convert social capital into leads and sales. We will be happy to discuss these with you.
Also check out our popular blog How do you generate new business? for 5 strategies for new business development.
If you would like our help going for a gold medal in business development feel free to give us a call on
+44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com and we will set up a meeting.
We hope you have found this information useful.We are a leading Marketing Agency in London.
Best regards,
Resident blogger – Mike Pitt – Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd
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