Helping smarter professional service firms grow

Business development

Business development is a multifaceted animal. To make sure business development delivers results requires the ability to spin a variety of plates.

Uncovering new business opportunities means targeting the right people, utilising current networks, implementing effective referral strategies and making the most of every new meeting and every new contact.

Then, once an opportunity presents itself, your pitch has to be perfect - you need to be able to present your skills and explain exactly how they’ll benefit the client in a dynamic way.

You also need to consider how you manage your current clients. How often do you see them? Where do you see them? Are they aware of all of the services you could provide for them? Do they know why you are better than your competitors?

Do you have an effective key account management strategy that will not only retain clients, but also help you increase the fees you bill them year on year.

Tenandahalf help professional service firms with every aspect of business development, from identifying new client opportunities to managing existing relationships.

People

To ensure you generate the best possible results from your fee earners requires two main disciplines.

Leadership: People need to be led properly and leadership unfortunately is a non-technical skill that is all too often forgotten. Aside from improving performance, real leadership can also lead to improved staff retention and the formation of a strong succession plan that will see the firm continue to flourish for years to come.

Measurement: People need to know what’s expected of them. By setting and communicating goals and measuring achievement, fee earners and line managers can monitor performance and identify areas for praise and areas for improvement. Constant monitoring allows firms to identify potential issues early and deal with them, which in turn contributes to improved results overall.

Tenandahalf deliver leadership development programmes. We also provide proven measurement tools and have assisted firms with setting goals and designing personal development plans.

Innovation

Everyone wants to be considered ‘innovative’ but what does ‘innovative’ actually mean?

We believe being innovative means being able to provide what your clients need tomorrow, today. To do that, all you need to do is listen to your clients. Ask them what they like, what they don’t like, how they define value and what they need to make them become or stay clients.

You then need to act on this information! Refine your service so you meet your clients’ needs. Develop new products that could also meet these needs. Introduce new ways of delivering your service to better meet your clients working practices.

By following this advice you’ll make sure your firm is immediately recognised as being at the forefront of your industry. Better still, your new responsive and innovative reputation will win you new opportunities.

Tenandahalf helps professional service firms conduct client service reviews and use the information gained to develop the level of service their clients’ value and develop the product lines their clients’ need.

Brand

Every firm has a brand, the vision and the values the firm wants to be known for.

Your brand has been defined and created and was probably the subject of many internal discussions as it was perfected. But how are you communicating your brand values to the market? You can have the most perfectly conceived brand but it won’t return any value unless your prospective clients know and understand it.

Just as importantly, you need to be able to illustrate how your firm’s service differs from your rivals’. To many consumers all professional service firms of a similar size and/or in a specific geographic area all look the same – you need to tell them why you’re different. Highlight what you offer that other firms don’t and let them know why they should instruct you rather than one of your competitors.

Tenandahalf help firms identify their true differentiation and promote it in a way that will compliment and reinforce the firm’s core brand values.

Operations

Even the best designed business development strategy can fall short if it’s not executed perfectly. Less than perfect execution can have a negative impact; not only in terms of financial return but also in the way your brand is perceived by your audience.

Direct mail needs to be crisp, inventive, informative and well presented. The design and production of your sales collateral needs to match your brand values. Your presence at events needs to be entirely congruent with the level of service you offer. Even a client’s visit to your offices needs to be a totally positive experience, from the way they’re greeted to the advice they receive.

Every activity needs to be followed up and, with so much pressure on fee earners to deliver billable hours; this is particular area that often needs improvement within the professional services.

Alternatively if you don’t have the required resources to execute your marketing in-house, you could outsource the more tactical aspects of your marketing.

Tenandahalf are experienced in fulfilling direct mail campaigns, lead generation programmes, design briefs and managing event and exhibition presence for our clients. We also help fee earners and support staff with the skills they need to manage tactical marketing activities in-house.

Focus on activity not fees

If you want to embrace change it’s better to implement a change programme that focuses on activity, not results. You can’t make a client instruct you but you can take action that will increase your visibility and stack the odds in your favour for when the client is weighing up whom to instruct.

So, what do you measure? Effective networking should focus on business card generation and on follow up ‘coffee’ appointments secured. The next step is to measure how many coffees lead to concrete business opportunities, pitches, and ultimately new business.

Focus on lead generation, not sales, and the fees will look after themselves.

• Confidence in personal ability and in the firm’s position, reputation and expertise. We also increase an individual’s confidence to undertake effective business development activity, providing the tools they need to recognise, initiate and realise new business opportunities.
• Focus on the right activities – what Tenandahalf term ‘savvy marketing’. Don’t waste time on ineffective networking events or waste money on the same old advertising media. Focus on new opportunities. Focus on keeping your clients and on increasing how much they spend with you each year. Focus on reigniting lapsed relationships. Focus on actions that will build your profile in the right areas.
• Action is what you do with your new skills. Put yourself in situations where you’ll meet the right people, follow up on those meetings the right way, present powerfully, speak at the right forums, gain press coverage, monitor your success and develop a pipeline that will generate fees. In addition, Tenandahalf will help you follow up on opportunities with practical guidelines and tools.