The Power of asking 'Why' and other key themes from the PM Forum Conference: a look ahead into 2025

During the recent PM Forum conference various themes were discussed which could give us a glimpse into what will be important for the year ahead for marketing and business development professionals. In this article I will attempt to summarise some of these key themes can be utilised for the rest of this year and into 2025.

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One of which is asking 'why?' in our uncertain world. With recent crisis's across the globe and closer to home, how are marketing and BD professionals going to design the future of professional services and more importantly know what is important to grow, retain and decline. According to the World Uncertainty Index we are in a state of flux, since the biggest spike the Index has seen in 2020, we are still in a higher state of uncertainty than any other recorded time since 2007. As clients try to regain some certainty by performing professional service functions themselves, M&BD needs to disrupt the current state of play by providing added value through innovation. In order to do this we need to understand 'why' our clients do what they do and 'why' we need to provide solutions. Having diversive curiosity and an understanding of what is happening in other sectors as we approach 2025, can facilitate problem solving for our clients and finding these innovative solutions.

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Another key theme that was discussed which could help shape your planning into 2025 is the law of the vital few, otherwise known as the 80/20 Pareto principle. For many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. The recent conference reminded me of this phenomenon and put in a BD and marketing context, in general terms, it has been found that; 80% of sales come from 20% of the clients or sales force. This can be seen across the natural and man-made world in the following examples; 20% of pea pods producing 80% yields, 20% of advertisements generate 80% of sales traffic, 20% population holds 80% countries wealth, and so on. If you apply this to a key account programme, which clients should we be focusing on and providing a differentiated service to ensure we do not lose 80% of our revenue? Of course, growth clients are important too, but to lose a top tier client could mean obtaining 200 growth clients to provide the same revenue. Therefore, analysis and data are king, once you know your top billing clients, you can prioritise and analyse these clients, provide client listening, build campaigns and measure effectiveness in far more strategic way than before.

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Finally, how can M&BD professionals hone their coaching skills to help manage behaviours and expectations into 2025? In order to effectively coach those we work with we must first define the parameters of the request/ issue we are looking to overcome, whether that be reactively or proactively. A model that was presented at the conference was the OSKAR model; Outcome, Scaling, Know-how (resources), Affirm/Action, Review. Firstly, identify the problem that needs to be solved, barriers, goal and objectives (utilising the SMART method). Next, what is the scale of the proposed goal, and what resources are needed to achieve this? The coach then needs to assist the coachee to confirm their beliefs and help create an action plan. At this stage there may need to be a conversation of questions, allowing to coachee to reach their own conclusions whilst helping them assess potential pitfalls, by asking 'why' questions, in the final review stage. By allowing the coachee to take a proactive approach in identification and planning of a solution can allow for greater buy in to the proposed solution. Whilst this technique may be difficult to master in a fast paced environment, it will be one that will nevertheless become important as innovation and key client management become ever necessary into 2025.