The Golden Glow that Creates Business Development Success

Once a firm has created and established its clear brand distinction it’s time to turn to marketing strategies. These strategies should be specific and measurable and targeted at letting your marketplace know how you can solve their problems. Marketing increases your reputation and presence and raises your visibility. It involves everything your firm does to pay off your brand to make it come alive.

MARKETING

Which of the following #marketing tactics have you successfully implemented?

e????? Develop a website that demonstrates thought leadership while clearly reinforcing how you are distinct and unique from the competition.

e????? Creating a solid social media presence that shares relevant content in your areas of expertise including sharing success stories. Increase your engagement by tagging professionals whom you want to see and comment on your posts. Use research to discover the best hashtags that people are using while searching for your offerings.

e????? E-blasts and occasional electronic sharing of information can be powerful if it is rich in content and offers the information your clients are seeking.

e????? Podcasts and webinars offering easy-to-digest information your marketplace needs can create marketing success.

e????? Be certain to repurpose content on various platforms.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – Where that Golden Glow Happens!

Springboarding from your marketing efforts, it is now time to get face-to-face with clients. That is what successful #businessdevelopment looks like. When you can combine clients with nonclients that golden glow of satisfied clients can be infectious.

There are innumerable ways to get face-to-face with clients and prospects. Which of these few examples have you tried? (We won’t go into depth about some of the more commonly used tactics such as having meals and events with clients and non-clients, having firm open houses, outings, and/or inviting clients to be a part of your firm’s advisory outside team.)

e????? Invite a mix of clients and prospective clients who are like-minded business owners or executives in a common industry to attend a virtual or in-person meeting. Make it a #roundtable, not a webinar, so the attendees can converse, ask questions, and share details that they would like to explore. Open the roundtable by sharing a few minutes of important industry and or legal issue content that the participants need to know about. Create a series of questions to ask to keep the conversation flowing. Capture the critical points discussed in a short summary document and use it to send out as a follow-up.

o?? Turn this summary into a blog, and or social media posts for more marketing success.

o?? Consider repeating this type of roundtable if the interest is there.

e????? Start a group composed of those in similar businesses or industries that will meet quarterly. At the first meeting ask the attendees to share the topics they are most interested in hearing about. Consider having no outside speakers or having some or all outside speakers who can address various issues such as the supply chain, HR problems, financing, or how to expand their client base.

e????? Consider writing an article for an industry journal or for publication on your website or on a social media platform. You can author this with one or more clients and non-clients alike.

o?? A variation on this theme would be to write a series of short interview articles in which you interview and use quotes from clients and prospects alike.

o?? Each article can offer up to 5 to 6 touchpoints with each person interviewed. We know it takes between 9 to 20 touchpoints for someone who is just meeting you to consider hiring you. This process offers many touchpoints from this one strategy. And it provides an opportunity for non-clients to hear about the successes clients have had working with you.

Consider meeting with your partners, other firm colleagues, and marketing professionals to brainstorm unique and novel strategies for combining clients with non-clients. This helps your target marketplace get to know others in their industry or geographic area and expands the relationships for those who already know each other.

With a little time and creativity, you can develop strong business development ideas and tactics that allow you to experience that golden glow by combining clients and prospective clients together. Hearing success stories from clients is truly a golden opportunity too good to pass on.