Part 6 (1/2)
Lack of consequences and incentives is a particular chalenge for professional services organizations becauseand business development as a core component of their jobs Client work and bil able hours truot bil able and couldn't do that”
”Wel , I didn't make those cal s [or write that article or attend that board ot busy”
”Sorry, I just didn't do that On to other things”
”Because I got caught up in al the leaders' requests for help with proposals, I didn't get the white paper project done”
If you want people to take yourand sales plans seriously, there have to be both incentives for taking action and consequences for not taking action
People in organizations take on the behavioral traits of the leaders If the leaders take anything,included, seriously, then the rest of the team wil fol ow suit Leaders at service co and new ideas seriously They take client projects and client service seriously They take sel ing deals that are in their pipelines seriously Note to leaders: If you want the rest of your fir and lead generation are often the redheaded stepchildren, pining for, but not getting, the attention they need
Back in the day, police in Great Britain didn't carry guns Robin Wilia a suspect ”Stopor I'l say 'stop' again!” (We're sure the suspects shook in their boots) If you want people to fol ow plans and hit goals, put so When it co, let them know that either they're on the bus or they're not If they're not, there wil be consequences When team menement pretty quickly Can you say the sa commitments?
Incentives are iht sound, you have to reward people who implement wel You'l find treatise after treatise on how to reward successful and productive staff members Find them Read them Reward loudly If you do, the rewards for your business wil be energy, passion, and growth If not, wel , there's always next year
What happens without the right consequences and incentives? Status quo
No incentive compensation: ”Why should I sel ? I need to bil anyway”
No consequences for not sel ing: ”Wel , I guess I'l try, but what's the worst that wil happen if I don't succeed? They are not going to do anything about it”
No consequences for not increasing leads: ”Wel , I work in uess I'l just wait to be told to do so that doesn't produce results”
No consequences for not delivering on any goal: ”We're supposed to create thought leadershi+p, but the subject uess that's off e Have you ever been at a business develop the shohile you sit back and enjoy the ride? How does the newbie seem? Confident in her abilities? Comfortable that she'l win the new client?
And how does she fare running that first ht questions? Folow the orn protocols of first-tieconfident and relaxed?
Raine in order to find and win clients With the right skils, they can walk the client through the new business developht knowledge, they can ask the right questions and craft the right solution set for the client
Marketing skil is no different Without the ability to implement specific tasks with alacrity and a keen eye, you'l not only get anxiety, you'l also get everything that comes with it: poor quality, poor decisions, inaction, and slow progress
The tools ofare a finite list Just because you knohat those tools are doesn't reat heart surgeon becoe, four years of medical school, years of internshi+ps and residency, rotations through ical areas, specialization in heart surgery and years of study under h-stakes successes and failures Then you're ready to let that surgeon work on your heart Many don't ht have their own nuances and time frames, but the paralel works
What happens without skils and knowledge? Anxiety
”Do I real y have to pick up that phone and say so in there; you can't o in there”
”There's no way I knohat to do or say to actual y bring in a new client like you do”
”I a cancoach a professional in business developreat presentation”
Unfortunately, s, so they never deal with their anxieties and n or business developer) could have predicted that this person was not the right fit for the job? There are quite a number of roles that people have to play: the technical expert, the lead generator, the closer, the client relationshi+pspecialist, and so on Whatever the case, you need the right people in the right roles
For exa to be a great rain the solid new clients into the fir: He simply shouldn't (and often won't) succeed at it-it's not the right fit
”It's not just about selecting the right people, it's about ht people over time If you do have to counsel someone out of the firm, I have rarely dealt with that issue where the person doesn't agree that it's right for them to reat position for them and they're thrilled”
-Mike Sheehan, CEO, Hill Holliday What happens without the right selection and assignment? Chronic underachievement
”Twenty years in the business and now they expect nsdevelop PowerPoint slidesattend networking eventsmake cold cal s? I don't think so”
”How do they expect ineer”
”Al ready for my first day in business development! What do you mean my territory is Aroostook County, Maine?”
”Glad to be here as the new ?!? You've got to be kidding me How am I supposed to run that?”
Motives and preferences (attitude) Let's say you take care of the other five influences noted in this chapter: Expectations clear Resources available Coht jobs Al of this is great, and necessary, but you stil need a team with the fire in the bel y You need people with focus and drive to be successful in business development If they're not motivated to build a practice, there's little a firht the fire of focus and drive
What happens without motivation and preferences? Mediocrity
”Nine AM alreadytio home!”
”Look at al the money I can make! Too bad I don't care aboutmethey told me what to do Unfortunately, I just don't want to It's not forto build a culture of business development, make sure you attend to al of the factors that affect human performance Miss one of these factors for any reason-inattention, lack of tiness to invest, political difficulties-and you'l severely limit your success
Fortunately for you, it's the rare services firm that does focus on al six factors If yours is the one that goes the extra s al the holes that would eventual y have sunk the boat-better get ready to hireto coet al the new client work done
Challenge 2: Disconnect with Reality The second factor leading to lack ofand business development performance is a disconnect with reality In most service businesses, leaders are in touch with the daily realities of their client projects and their internal staffing They're often out of touch with (1) how the landscape of their own industries has changed, (2) how the buying cycle at client businesses has changed, and (3) how their own e if they want to grow and stay competitive
A lot of service business leaders feel pressure-froins, fro co and lead generation Unfortunately, they too often take the easy ways out:Throwingtheir web sites just for the sake of changing the look
Delegating bil able staff who are currently not so bil able to becoet so their services rather than truly understanding why clients buy fro tactic after tactic without a clear idea of how the tactic connects to prospects or to real results
Firms also often need a reality check for how et done One of the reasons eneration plans are not implemented is that they have too many priorities When plans have too many priorities, they have no priorities
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH REALITY