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Should we buy a CRM tool and will it solve all our Business Development problems?
I have worked with a number of firms recently who have recognised that they needed a CRM tool.
In three instances, the firms chose to heavily invest into expensive Salesforce licences. In all cases the firms have not achieved anywhere near the return on investment that they may have hoped for. So what has gone wrong and how can things be changed?
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You can’t build a great relationship from behind your desk
Before you make excuses......
10 Questions to assess your current situation and target your future efforts
Let’s start this fresh calendar year with some tricky and difficult questions.
When asking these business development questions, challenge yourself to take a frank and realistic approach to evaluating the progress, success or otherwise, of your business.
Thrashing out answers to these questions will also help you highlight achievements, identify gaps and shortfalls, and focus your efforts (time and money) for the financial year.
Use the following list to stimulate debate and (ideally) garner consensus with key players within your firm.
Agenda – 10 questions to assess your current situation and target your future efforts
1. What is our largest business development challenge?
2. How are we dealing with it?
3. How long have we had the problem?
4. What have we done to address it?
5. How is it impacting the firm?
6. What is it costing us?
7. If it continues, what will the effect on the business be?
8. What are we good at and should do more of?
9. What are we poor at and must stop doing?
10. What will we do differently tomorrow to ensure we hit our business development, financial and wider goals?
Don’t underestimate the power of work-shopping these issues as a group. These questions will help you focus, prioritise, and get back on the rails. Simple questions can be a great catalyst for clarity and change.
Business development advice and help
As ever, if you need help to run the session, do get in touch.
WHY? – The Most Powerful Question in Business development
In many of my recent client reviews it has become alarmingly apparent that very basic business analysis is not being performed on a regular basis.
To get you started on this critical process, get your major decision makers together for a meeting and challenge yourselves with the following business development questions.
11 key business development questions for professional services firms
Why have we/have we not reached our revenue goals?
Why is our marketing/Business Development budget set at its current level, and is it producing results?
Why haven’t we been able to implement a business development culture, even though we keep saying it’s a priority?
Why hasn’t our marketing and business development effort worked as well as we might have liked?
Why aren’t we launching/specialising in specific industry sectors?
Why is it that only the management team or a few staff members attract new business?
Why haven’t we been able to win our target accounts, though we believe we can and should have?
Why don’t we seem able to charge more for our products/services?
Why is it we don’t get enough repeat business?
Why have we lost that big client to the competition?
Why are we unable to work out on our own what action to take?
Business development support & expertise
Winners make it happen, losers let it happen.
Unfortunately politics and procrastination can hold you back from finding the answers to these necessary questions. If you need some assistance or external accountability to help you do what you need to do, make sure you get in touch.