Networking vs. Business Development: Why Your Sales Strategy Might Be Broken

Too many agencies and consultancies rely on their network to drive sales, only to find themselves stuck in a feast-or-famine cycle. John Godfrey , Commercial Director at Red Badger and long-time friend, joined me on Higgle: The B2B Sales Club Podcast to talk about the key challenges professional service firms face in scaling business development—and how to fix them based on his extensive experience.

I'm biased as I've known John for over 20 years, however, I think he's one of the most experienced sales/BD professionals I've ever met. Here's a few excerpts from this excellent episode:

The Rainmaker Fallacy

Many founders believe their personal network will drive consistent revenue. But in reality:

• Only 5% of your network is actively looking to buy at any given time
• Even warm relationships only buy when they have a problem to solve
• Over-reliance on rainmakers leads to unpredictable sales cycles and ultimately failure.

The Alternative: Scalable Business Development

Instead of just nurturing existing contacts, agencies must systematically build credibility and trust with new contacts. Here’s how:

1?? Niche Down & Own a Space

• Broad positioning dilutes your impact. Specialization makes you referable.
• Most buyers want niche, so give it to them.
• Your goal? Become the go-to in your category.

2?? Leverage Partnerships

• Partner with non-competing companies targeting the same ideal client profile (ICP).
• Example: Red Badger partnered with Adyen (a payments giant) to leverage credibility and access to their enterprise clients.
• Co-marketing, joint events, and positioning accelerate trust-building.

3?? ABM & Intelligent Outreach

• Cold emails rarely convert. But relevant, personalized invitations do.
• Invite senior execs to exclusive VIP dinners, panels, and private events with thought leaders.

Key Takeaways for Your PS Firm's Sales Growth

• Stop relying solely on your network—it’s not a scalable sales strategy.
• Think long-term: Building relationships and credibility takes years, not weeks.
• Leverage partnerships and industry events to shortcut trust-building.
• Personalized, account-based marketing beats generic outreach.

Scaling sales is challenging, but these strategies have been proven to work.

If you want to hear the full conversation, listen to my podcast episode with John here:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/higgle-the-b2b-sales-club/id1708065394

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1fdu1cEeCmq3rcyRuGeSpI

TuneIn: https://tunein.com/radio/Higgle-The-B2B-Sales-Club-p3876724/

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/fee57727-fbeb-4cfc-bb19-60f341f1a0f5/higgle-the-b2b-sales-club

Piscari website https://piscari.com/podcast/

Thanks again John for being such a great guest.

If you've enjoyed this, please can you do just one thing for me, write a review on Apple Podcasts. It really helps with rankings and findability, which attracts more high quality guests like John, which helps keeps us ad and sponsor free.

?? What’s working for your agency’s sales development? Send me a message.