Your Most Effective Business Development
Recently, I heard finance advisor Ramit Sethi say a brilliant thing: “Most people are asking $3 questions, when they should be asking $30,000 questions.”
And since I sit here, writing to you on a Sunday, to that I will say: “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaamen!”
The principle behind this sentiment is at the core of everything we do at Ellevated Outcomes (hello, definition of strategy); but it’s particularly on point for today’s step of our Business Development Playbook. When we get right down to it, doing things effectively means that minimum work achieves maximum outcomes. You invest your time, effort, and dollars where it really counts.
For ease and straight-forwardness, I’m going to keep the prose short and present today’s info in diagrams and homework. Study them, and then you can fill in the blanks to solve for your most effective set-up. In the following weeks we’ll walk you through each piece of this diagram, step by step. But know that this prep work, which creates your structure, is the investment that will remove the guesswork later on.
In its simplest, most effective form, this is your business development funnel. Your steps may look slightly different; for example, you may not have a 1-1 meeting with every prospect (though for the types of clients we serve, this is more often the case than not). But know that this strategy is applicable to nearly anyone.
Now, here’s where the effectiveness trick comes in. We marry our new client goals with conversion rates, to calculate precisely how many people, meetings, etc we need to have, throughout each step of this process.
So to that end, below is a truthful, personal example of my numbers. Of course, every business and every person is different; plus, this will change from year to year, depending on one’s goals. Within our own team, each person has their own version, based on their goals and historical data.
Now, while you’re taking in this info and starting to really think about the numbers, I want to reiterate something I care a LOT about, and it’s often lacking when people talk about generating leads: authenticity.
One could argue that when you look at business development this way, it’s just a numbers game. However, to us, it’s anything but. The numbers and heck – the whole playbook – provides structure. It provides a process. But you still have to fill in the process. And I’d humbly but forcefully : ) request that you fill it with humanity. Authenticity. Integrity.
When you use the same canned language for everyone… try to hit the numbers for the sake of hitting the numbers… or zip through the motions, people can tell. It looks gross. You look like a rehearsed salesperson without emotional intelligence. And guess what? You’re not going to attract smart, high-vibe clients. Smart people can tell the difference between authenticity and trying to close a deal. (Can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine? End soapbox rant)…
In our business each person builds a portfolio of client niches and centers of influence that actually excite them. For example, not everyone loves interior design like I do. On the other hand not everyone loves urban farming and outdoor adventure sports like Nancy does (I sure don’t ha!). And now, we’re lucky to have Sarah, who is fluent in event planning and passionate about racial reconciliation. These are areas where we each really connect with people. So our efforts are sincere. We’re truly interested in the people we meet. All the sudden, work becomes fun!
In fact, in our own Ellevated Outcomes Playbook we use the words “authentic,” “have fun,” and “be yourself” 27 times (I counted). So while we know the numbers we need to achieve our goal, we also know when to throw them out the window. If we can’t do this work in an authentic way, none of this matters. First, we check in with our integrity, then we pursue our goals.
If this way of working has you curious and you’d like our worksheet to set your own targets, get in touch, here. We’ll be delighted to share an hour of our time, getting to know you and getting you started on your own effective business development.
Otherwise, we’re happy to share and answer any questions you have about our process on this platform. Please leave questions and comments below!
