Developing Your Business – Gaining Clients 21 April 2016 Keith Harper B.Soc.Sc. FCIM

Today’s agenda 1. What is Business Development? 2.The business environment 3.Competitive advantage 4.Targeting Clients 5.Selling yourself and your skills 6.Creating a plan

Do you have…? A bit of creativity? A bit of time…? A lot of ability to see the world through the eyes of your clients?

It’s all about C’s Commitment Consistency Collaboration Client focus

What is ‘Marketing/BD’?

What is Marketing? What do you think ?

What is Marketing ? “Marketing is that activity which encourages and facilitates voluntary, mutually satisfying exchange relationships” Gordon Oliver Marketing Today

I looked up ‘Marketing’! “Marketing is to SELL goods in a market or elsewhere” The Concise Oxford Dictionary

Marketing REALLY is... “... ANYTHING you do to get or keep a Client” Harper Professional 2016

Marketing REALLY is... “... ANYTHING you do to get or keep a …………….Client” Harper Professional 2016

Marketing REALLY is... “...ANYTHING you do to get or keep a PROFITABLE Client” Harper Professional 2015

What ANYTHING ? Can you think of 10 activities which could be described as marketing?

Clients’ judgement of value received Service & relationships Legal advice High cost Perceived value =30% Low cost Perceived value =70%

Client service and relationships 80% of law firms’ business comes from existing clients/referrers or their contacts

The Business Environment

Tools & Techniques to review the Environment SWOT analysis PEST analysis

SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

PEST Analysis Professional /Political Economic Social Technological

Competitive Advantage

What is Competitive Advantage?

Competitive Advantage is... Very simple… “The development of a set of actions that will make the firm’s services more valuable to clients than the services of competing firms” David Maister

Three Possible strategies to achieve Competitive Advantage 1. Cost leadership - being cheaper ! 2. Differentiation - being different! 3. Market Segmentation - focus

Which to choose... Chasing cost leadership in a fragmented profession can lead to reduced profitability. Differentiation difficult because of fragmentation BUT... Every professional and firm is different – the secret is to add value as a result.

What are your Competitive Advantages?

Key areas for Competitive Advantage Expertise - specific Experience – specific and relevant Service/efficiency – specifics/examples Approach and attitude Value – NOT THE SAME AS PRICE

Competitive Advantage can be delivered through... Internal focus AND/OR External focus

If you’ve got it…flaunt it Competitive advantage MUST be exploited We MUST recognise it and talk it up to clients Highlight key benefits on all marketing communication Clients must be able to instantly understand why you add more value than your competitors

Your strategy and positioning Target market Services they need, delivered how they want them Competitive advantages

The ‘project management’ approach Treat business development as a project Decide what you want to achieve – set specific objectives Define the resource requirements – especially time and money Create an action plan Review and amend

Marketing’s 6 ‘P’s – how are your ‘P’s? Product Place Price Promotion People Positioning

Targeting Clients

What sort of clients would you like? How will you describe them, and where will you find them?

Platform marketing/selling Buying Platform (existing Clients/referrers-more business-brick walling) Working Platform (activity on ‘current’ prospects) Market Platform (activity to ‘suspects’ - not yet worked on)

Dividing your time budget Buying Platform (60% of time) (existing Clients-more business-brick walling) Working Platform (30% of time) (activity on ‘current’ prospects) Market Platform (10% of time) (activity to ‘suspects’ - not yet worked on)

Which prospects/clients are your priorities? Buying platform Working platform Market platform

Building Client relationships – the key tools P ersonalising L istening U nderstanding C ontacting D elighting

Remember… SERVICE AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE KEY TO LONG-TERM PROFITABILITY!

Selling Yourself and Your Skills

What is Selling? What do you think ?

What is Selling? “The identification of a client’s/prospect’s needs, and the development of the TRUST required for the client/prospect to allow you to satisfy them”

Selling… …is about the Client!!! Turn the telescope around and look at the situation from their point of view.

How does Selling differ from Marketing? What do you think ?

The Selling task Clients are looking for people they can TRUST. They are entering into a RELATIONSHIP Selling task is to EARN Client’s TRUST AND CONFIDENCE Selling and influencing are PERSONAL skills. We sell ourselves before we sell anything else.

Why do Clients ‘buy’ you? You are professional (meetings, organisation, timekeeping etc.) You are personable You are interested in helping them You are well informed about them

The key stages of the sales process There are a number of key stages to the sales process. Their relative importance depends very much on the situation and the relationship with the client/prospect

The sales process - the key stages Prep/Research Building rapport Questioning Presentation Handling objections Closing Follow up

Stage 3 - Questioning To confirm their decision making authority To establish the real nature of their issues To establish their expectations To understand their motivations To demonstrate your knowledge of them and your competence Use open questions - who, why, what where, when, how?

Six honest serving men… I kept six honest serving men, They tought me all I knew. Their names, were How and What and Why And Which and When and Who. Rudyard Kipling

Stage 4 - Presentation You explain your understanding of your client, their issues and their expectations You explain how you would solve their problem and the benefits that would bring to the client You demonstrate your interest in helping the client You demonstrate why you are the right choice to make

Always ‘show’ why…provide evidence! D on’t A ssert D emonstrate

Features and Benefits Features are nothing unless they provide a benefit for the client E.G. Having 20 years experience of writing wills means little to a client. The benefit is that you have dealt with a wide range of matters so that the client can trust you to understand their personal issues.

Marketing Comminication

Marketing Communication Web-sites Social Media Advertising Articles

Now write a Marketing plan…see how it all fits together...