John Borrowman, CPC
Borrowman Baker, LLC
Gallatin, TN
It’s no secret that climbing the BV career ladder (and earning the big bucks!) requires flexing your business development muscle. But, saying that you’re ready and you “just need someone to point you in the right direction” is lip service.
If you can answer these four questions, you know that you’re serious:
What kind of engagements do you want to sell? Ostensibly, they would be engagements that you enjoy doing, do well, and can discuss the value of with others. Maybe they’re not the engagements you’re doing now but have done in the past. If you have no experience with them, maybe you need to get that experience—or else make another choice.
Who are the buyers for these engagements? Are they large companies? Small companies? Individuals? Are you more likely to be selling to attorneys, for example, who use these engagements as they provide service, in turn, to their clients? Knowing what you want to sell and who to sell it to are two key components of any business development effort.
Where are these buyers? In other words, where will you find them? Are there groups and organizations they tend to join?
How will you connect with those 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 that you can deliver to their groups and organizations? Can you write an article—or be interviewed for—a publication they read?
These may sound like simple questions. And they are. But, if you don’t have the answers, you’ll probably have a hard time convincing an employer that you’re ready to tackle business development.
On the other hand, if you do have the answers and you’re not being given the opportunity to flex your business development muscle, maybe it’s time to contact us for a confidential conversation about your future.
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