Have you worked out (yet) your Ideal Client?
High net worth?
A vertical market: banking, charities, energy?
Repeat instructions?
Institutional?
Someone who doesn’t complain even when you screw up?
Those people/organisations that you Like (and hopefully like you)?
Frankly, the list of Definitions is endless.
Business Development
Business – something that operates for profit in an open market.
Develop(ment) – moves things forward through a process of innovation, quantification and orchestration (see the E-Myth Revisted by Michael Gerber). In short, something that evolves.
But the reality is that professional practice, even though they may have christened this name, have no strong desire to develop their business. What they actually want is more sales.
Business development (manager) is therefore a misnomer.
I previously spent 5 years recruiting first and second line sales people for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies. The candidature was exceptional and many were on a fast track graduate programme. A lot of them had key or national account responsibility, meaning they would be responsible for some of the biggest grocers in the country like Tesco or Sainsbury. But they were sales people. They had targets, promotions to push and were supported in their endeavours by marketing, product development, R&D and finance.
The Social Media Have Yous
Right now, you would have to be hiding under a (massive) rock, not to hear the thunderous footsteps of social media.
Practically everywhere you look there is some nod in the direction of one platform or another (and no doubt many more to come as investors seek to capitalise on the growth and sale potential - LinkedIn being a good example).
The Trainee Solicitors Toolkit
You start your first day brimming with enthusiasm.
You have just spent the last 4 years (or more) understanding the intricacies of law.
It is likely that you will have some knowledge of the workings of private practice, and you are nervous in anticipation of the career that awaits you.
But in reality you haven’t even got a starter kit. In many ways you are coming to work with an empty bag.
Content is the New Battleground
It is clear to me that professional practice has failed to capitalise on its knowledge. By and large they have poured it down the drain.
What a waste.
Social Media is Not a Cure ALL for Your Woes
If you have been following my blog, you will notice that the style has changed. This is a temporary measure. In the next few weeks I will be going live with a new Theme. Here is a preview in vanilla form. I will also be going live with my own branding. I felt the previous Theme had run its course and caused me a few problems that I hadn’t anticipated. I trust you will bear with me.
