If you want to make the big bucks in valuation and litigation support, you have to sell work. That can’t be a secret to you. How do you start? What do you do?

Hi, I’m John Borrowman. I have recruited exclusively in business valuation and litigation support for over two decades. That gives me perspective you won’t find anywhere else.

Making the shift from a doer to being a doer-seller is a challenge for nearly everyone. If you can answer these four questions, you’ll give yourself the foundation you need to get started.

What kind of work do you want to sell? To start with, it’s probably work that you know well enough to be able to hold an intelligent conversation about. If you can’t at least explain it, the client isn’t likely to write a check for it. It’s also probably work your firm is doing already. There might be work you’d like to sell and for which there is a demand. If you stretch too far, however, you can lose the credibility that is important to establish yourself as a doer-seller.

Who buys that work? It sounds like such a simple question. Your list might be shorter than you think, though. Add to your list by thinking about sub-categories within categories. Sure you want to sell to owners of privately-held businesses. However, doing that means being known to the trusted advisors (the attorneys and accountants) that those business owners rely on.

Where will you find those buyers? Again, sounds like a simple question. It does you no good, though, to think only of generic networking groups and organizations. Look for specific professional or trade organizations. Depending on the size of your market, for example, there may be multiple estate tax councils you could join and attend. There might be a particular industry council or association that would be a good place to start.

And finally, how will you connect with these buyers? Can you put yourself in a position to meet several of them at one time? Or, do you have to call on them one at a time? Can you create a presentation you can deliver to their groups and organizations? Can you write an article or be interviewed for a publication they read?

No one is going to hold your hand and show you how to be a smarter business developer. You’ll have to take the initiative. Your answers to these questions can be the foundation—the plan—that will get you going.

Everyone has questions every now and then. Am I in the right place? Am I being paid fairly? When you have questions, I can help you find answers. Give me a call.