Alistair, I don't have time for Business Development!
I hear it regularly from lawyers, accountants, engineers and other professionals.
You're busy, I get it. Blocking out 2 hours every week may be impossible but all of us, no matter how busy, can make 'marketing minutes' pretty much every day.
Time Management
One Marketing Minute:
Send out a LinkedIn request to someone who you think you can add value to.
Drop a note to a client to suggest a coffee catch up.
Send a client satisfaction survey at the end of that project.
Put that potentially valuable new contact into your CRM system.
Five Marketing Minutes:
Call and thank a referral source.
Call a client you have not heard from for a while and see how things are going.
Copy that article you read this morning and send it to to a contact who will be interested to read it.
Email a referral source about an upcoming event you are attending and invite them along.
Ten Marketing Minutes:
Congratulate a contact on a success you noticed, their new deal, new office, new staff member, new client etc
Update your database with personnel movements you have picked up online.
Think about some learnings from a recent project you have just completed. Write them down and email them to select clients and referrers. Maybe send out the findings in a newsletter to your database.
Every little helps as they say. A couple here, a few more there can make the difference between winning and losing.
Those with discipline who make the time for minutes strangely become 'luckier' than those who don't find the time.
What will you do Today with your minutes?