I recently received a great testimonial from a client (you can read it on my LinkedIn profile).

It ended with "Wish he was my full time business development director!".

Now, whilst this is a very flattering comment (thanks, John)... I think it's completely wrong. It's wrong in the sense that for most of our clients, a full-time Business Development Director is actually the last thing that they need.

Before I explain why, let me just clarify who our clients are (this may resonate with some of you).

Our clients are typically smaller consultancies and agencies with flat structures and a high level of delivery by the principals. Sure, they'll have office support staff and also delivery augmented by associates and/or juniors, but the key attribute that they all share is that a large amount of the work is delivered by the owners or Directors of the business.

So, if that sounds like you, why shouldn't you hire a full-time Business Development Director?

Here are 3 good reasons:

1) You can't outsource the pitch. The first trap to avoid is thinking that you can get someone else to pitch for your work, such as hiring a Business Development Director. If you're providing a service which involves your personal expertise and creative input then your clients are essentially buying you. Sure, they accept that you have a team behind you for delivery but that's no substitute for knowing who runs the business.

This fact is true for all propositions which fall into the "smart brains" or "grey hairs" categories. Unless you're in a commodity market then you can't escape the reality that you should never outsource the pitch.

2) You can't afford a good one. What I mean here is that, in many cases, your business probably isn't big enough (yet) to attract the right level of talent you need. I just flipped open a marketing magazine and there are agencies advertising for a full-time Business Development Director with a £60k package. If you're a consultancy in the IT or HR space then you'll need someone who can open doors and pitch at the highest levels... an win the business. That's going to cost at least the same package if not approaching six figures.

And let's not forget, that's just the salary. Fully loaded costs will double these figures.

Now, if you've got big plans and deep pockets then don't be put off by this. However, you need to be absolutely sure that they will bring in the business otherwise this type of hire is notoriously the most expensive mistake you can make.

I find that most clients with a "Business Development Director" have essentially agreed that the role is handled by one of the founders/partners.

Which brings us to the third reason....

3) You don't need a whole one. What you need are bits of a Business Development Director. If you think about it, what does a Business Development Director do? Well, they work out the strategy, help develop marketing plans, network with prospects, make calls and open doors, keep in touch and manage the pipeline and (hopefully) land the big accounts.

In our experience, clients are excellent face-to-face and, as I stated in point 1) they are the best people to put in-front of prospects. It's logical really, since we work with clients who are actually in business, so they must be doing something right.

The parts of the whole biz dev process that they struggle with are a) getting in front of prospects and b) keeping in touch. This latter part is particularly true of clients who are closely involved with delivery.

Be honest, it's not your strong point either, right?

And, truth be told, most Business Development Directors also struggle with the former part of actually getting in front of prospects, because once they're up and running they're usually focused on managing relationships rather than hunting new business.

So the solution is simple, don't try to hire a whole Business Development Director, full or part-time. Outsource the elements that you most need support with - the prospecting and pipeline management.

For many clients, the real value we deliver comes from having someone who is nurturing those prospects until there is a real opportunity.

Labels: business development, new business agency, new business development

I was speaking with a client recently and we were discussing how the business climate seems to be improving.

Budgets are starting to thaw and prospects will at least speak with you... but we both agreed that things are unlikely to go back to "the way it was" anytime soon.

New business in the current climate is best characterised as follows:

1) "Jumping through hoops" - decisions take longer and lower-level investments are attracting higher-level scrutiny.

2) "Show me the money" - ROI is paramount and you need to clearly demonstrate the value you will deliver.

3) "More for less" - clients are re-configuring or watering-down large engagements to mitigate exposure and demand more for their budgets.

Now, whilst none of this may be startling news to any of us running business services firms over the last 12 months, it does throw up an interesting question:

Is this just a passing phase and an example of tactical, survival-based decisions by vendors and clients... or is this "business as usual" for the next few years?

I guess that depends on whether you subscribe to a V-shape recovery or whether you think it's going to be a long slow climb up. If you're in the latter camp, you might see this as an opportunity to re-shape your business to a more sustainable model.

What do I mean by sustainable?

Well, for example, I know of a major consulting firm who, in the last six months, have been over resourcing projects at no cost to the client just to avoid pulling people back to the bench.

This may be a sound short-term tactic to avoid losing talent but it's clearly not sustainable? If business does indeed rapidly bounce back then it could be the right choice since it enables the firm to quickly fulfil demand once the floodgates open.

Otherwise, it's just delaying the inevitable and handing an advantage to leaner competitors who can offer a more sustainable alternative.

Whatever you believe, there's some merit in looking at your current model and thinking in terms of sustainability.

As an example, at Maine Associates, we've always had a shared-risk engagement model, with some fixed fees and some upside. Sustainability for us means delivering new business revenue for clients within a timescale that allows them to continue their investment with us.

In the current climate that's been tough.

The approach we have taken is to re-configure engagements so that they deliver more "quick wins" and shift more of our fee earnings to a % share new business won. This enables clients to both commit to working with us over a longer period (which is necessary to develop a new business pipeline) and generate short-term revenue from our activities.

Crucially, as a model, this is sustainable for both parties.

It's not a short-term deal that we'll whip away when business picks up. If we do get a V-shape recovery and business bounces back then we'll share in our clients' success.

But if it's a long slow recovery, then our model enables both parties to maintain a relationship that's sustainable.

Labels: new business development

I've started a new group on LinkedIn called ExecPitch: "It's Dragon's Den meets the boardroom... on LinkedIn"

Our business is all about pitching targeted executives direct with new business ideas. Whether it's to get a meeting, a referral, or even funding, this outreach approach is the bedrock of business development.

But, with the rise of social media, I was wondering whether there was another way?

What if you could pitch a global audience of executives with your business idea and inspire some of them to take action?

I imagined something a bit like Dragons Den but pitching to a broader audience than investors and using an online platform rather than face-to-face.

From my experience of pitching senior executives, I know that they are open to hearing new business ideas; the problem is that they are time-poor.

Groups on LinkedIn (like a lot of social media and Web 2.0) are effectively crowdsourcing solutions; the pitches that get the most attention will get the most attention.

Great pitches will get followed most and, because this is social media, there is always the opportunity for your pitch to get accelerated globally both within the group's members' networks and outside of LinkedIn).

The cream rises to the top, as they say.

So, if you're open to discover new vendors with business ideas that could potentially transform your business... or you're a vendor who's willing to put your pitch out there... jump in and join ExecPitch.

Labels: new business development, social media, social networking sites

Anyone who's followed my blog over the years will know that I'm a bit of a F1 fan (see Hooray for the smaller F1 teams back in 2007).

Today we saw a historic moment when Brawn GP, risen from the ashes of Honda, made it a one-two in Australia.

For me, it illustrates perfectly the opportunity for new business in the current economic climate as smaller, more nimble businesses can take advantage of change and outmanoeuvre more established brands.

Whilst Maclaren and Ferrari had their eyes on the championship race last year, Ross Brawn at Honda effectively scrapped their car and started working on building a race winner aimed at the impending rule changes for 2009.

He saw a change in the market and took full advantage of it while his competitors were focused on getting every ounce out of their current model.

Think about these elements in relationship to businesses in the current economic climate:

1) Change - just like the rule changes in F1, there are huge changes happening right now. For many it means a fundamental re-think of their business model. Larger, more established market players find change difficult are always slow to react.

2) Ownership - When Honda pulled out it presented Ross Brawn with an opportunity for a management buy out. No doubt, it wasn't easy, but it enabled a small private company to leverage the R&D might of a world-leading manufacturer.

An interesting article in the Sunday Times today "Picking Over The Scrap" forecasts that "huge numbers of firms and assets will change hands" in the coming months and years. That level of new ownerships will introduce changes that offer a excellent new business opportunities.

3) New Entrants - not only was Brawn GP a new entrant, it pulled in Richard Branson and Virgin into F1. Whilst ING and RBS wind down their sponsorship over the coming seasons, other sponsors will take their place (particularly as F1 looks to reduce its costs). New market entrants bring new opportunities.

So, whether you're a F1 fan or not, buckle yourself in as 2009 looks set to be both a disruptive and entertaining ride.

Labels: new business development, start-ups

I was recently interviewed for a podcast on Telemarketing & New Business Development by Michael Beale.

Michael runs a UK training company and, in the past, I've attended a number of his excellent NLP training courses.

Anyway, as a trainer and consultant, Michael found the interview useful to think through the process of starting a telemarketing campaign, so I thought I'd post a link to the podcast and transcript.

You can either download the podcast here or read the transcript of the interview.

Labels: b2b telemarketing, cold calling, new business development

The other night I attended a client event in London. Most of the attendees were in the digital & new media space and, between the alcohol and canapes, conversation inevitably centered around the recession and deteriorating economic conditions.

I find these informal events are great at gauging sentiments in the market as people tend to open up much more than usual.

The general feeling I got was that, as expected, budgets are getting tightened and projects deferred. And, whilst I've blogged previously that this represents an opportunity for smaller businesses to disrupt some of their larger, less agile competitors, it also presents real challenges for new business growth.

I've read many blog posts and articles recently with top tips on how to survive the recession (my favourite so far is John Doerr's "How to manage your start-up in the downturn") so I thought it would be useful to provide a few tips on new business in a recession:

1) New business is not an option - if you're a start-up then this is pretty obvious, but it's also true for all companies at all stages. You cannot simply rely on existing business; I guarantee that's going to shrink. Of course, you should maximise existing accounts and ensure you both exploit account growth potential and defend against competition, but that alone will not be enough.

2) Get tough - whether it's an in-house new business team or a new business agency, are they really delivering for you? Sure, it's getting tough out there but that's not an excuse for under performance. You may need to re-calibrate targets in line with market conditions, but make sure those targets get hit! If you're using an agency, make sure some of their fee is pegged to hitting agreed targets; now is not the time to carry passengers.

3) Get real - there's no denying that economic conditions have changed rapidly. Deals that looked sure-fire for Q4 are now sliding into Q1 next year. Get real! Many of those deals in your pipeline are going to disappear. Sit down with your new business team and ask the hard questions.

4) Do more - now is not the time to do less new business activity. Of course, you need to make sure you're getting a real return on your investment, and that could mean re-shaping the marketing mix and dropping less effective activities, but cutting back is suicide. It's not rocket science; if it's getting harder out there then you will need to do more just to get the same result.

So, that's my message: Get tough, get real and do more. And remember, new business is not an option.

Labels: new business agency, new business development

It's always good when you pick up an interesting new phrase. My latest came from a prospect when we were planning their new business campaign: "Conquest Business"

As soon as I heard it I thought, "ooooh, I like that!"

Anyone who's been involved in new business sales will instantly get it too. New business is just that - a conquest.

Unlike selling existing products and services to existing customers, new business is the hardest business to win.

I liked it so much I've updated my new business matrix:

This matrix shows the different types of new business. Selling in the right-hand quadrants is always tougher (and more expensive) than selling to existing customers. Most of our work is focused on the lower right-hand quadrant, which is classic new business (shown above as "conquest").

Occasionally we get involved in real "Pioneering" new business, particularly with start-ups. This is where you're selling new (and usually unproven) services to new customers or clients. This is pretty much as hard as it gets.

It never ceases to surprise me when I'm talking to an entrepreneur who has a service that no-one has ever paid money for and they think it's going to be a walk in the park to win new business. Which is the right attitude for the entrepreneur, I guess, but they're always taken aback when we're less enthusiastic; we know that it's never that easy.

"First mover advantage" always sounds good when you're pitching for investment. But when you're selling to an un-educated market that has no idea about your service (and often about the problem it solves) and you've got no real examples or references to point to... it's a different matter.

How can you spot a pioneer?

They're the ones with the arrows in their back.

Labels: entrepreneurs, new business agency, new business development, start-ups

I've been watching today's Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway (at a civilised time thanks to Sky+) and it was great to see Alonso make it two in a row.

Somehow, I always enjoy it when the underdog wins.

Maybe it's because we're a small agency, or maybe it's because we typically work with clients who are up against larger, more well known, and better resourced competitors, but I get a lot of satisfaction when the smaller guy wins.

Now, whilst Renault would dispute they're a small player, you have to admit they've been running well behind the usual suspects for most of the season.

As I wrote in my last post about new business development in uncertain times, smaller companies can often out-manoeuvre larger ones when the game changes unexpectedly.

And it's that ability to act quickly, re-act to external trigger events and pitch prospects with an unscripted approach that means we can uncover new business opportunities for our clients that, otherwise, they would not have.

For us, getting our clients in pole position is what we're all about.

Labels: new business agency, new business development, telemarketing agency

As Frazer in Dad's Army would say... "We're all doomed!".

Or so it would seem if you've listened to the news today, after record falls on the stock market, job layoffs, banks dropping like flies, etc

It's true we are living through unprecedented times, but I've been through enough burst bubbles, downturns and recessions to know that it's never all doom and gloom.

Sure, budgets get squeezed, but in many cases that represents an opportunity for new business. When you've got to do more with less you start to shop around, right?

Whether it's down-shifting your breakfast cereal or changing suppliers, times like these are a great new business opportunity for smaller, more agile players in the market.

Outsourcing vendors should see the current climate of impending job layoffs as another opportunity. Moving some processes to external outsourcing vendors is an excellent tactic where fixed costs need to be slashed without impacting business performance. In fact, the benefits of outsourcing should be recognised now more than ever.

From a technology stand-point, the main sell has always been saving time and money (always dressed up with an ROI case). Technologies that fail to address board-level agendas and require significant capital costs to implement will struggle.

However, with software-as-service offerings this should be less of an issue.

And what about management consultancies? Again, consultancies typically fill a void where experience is needed to deliver results. Internal changes, such as redundancies and organisational restructures bring about opportunities for all disciplines.

Likewise, shrinking sales revenues in response to changing markets require a difference approach, often one that needs external input.

I'm not saying it's going to be rosy; you'll probably need to trim here & there and jump through a few more hoops to get sign-off, but, c'mon, think of all those new business opportunities...

Labels: new business agency, new business development

I've posted often about our approach to lead generation and appointment setting and how it's different the the way most telemarketing companies work.

But a recent conversation with an associate who's probably written the book on cold-calling made me wonder whether telemarketing as a stand-alone marketing tactic has finally had it's day.

Certainly, in the b2c sector it's days are well and truly numbered, evidenced by the growth of TPS and the Do Not Call Registry in the US. As far as business-to-business telemarketing is concerned, I think the time is also running out.

Now, let me be clear, I'm not saying that prospecting for new business by phone is dead, far from it. But, I do believe that telemarketing on its own is no longer effective.

This typically applies to larger telemarketing agencies and outbound call centres than smaller telemarketing companies, as their entire business model is based upon volume and scripts. Their approach is to keep dialling until they finally reach someone and then deliver a killer script designed to "trick" them into saying "yes".

Excuse me, but that simply doesn't work any more.

For many senior decision makers, telephone is no longer the preferred method of communication. Partly due to the telemarketing industry and partly due to the nature of work (mobility, home-working, meetings, time pressures, etc) business people today avoid incoming phone calls as much as possible.

And if you do get them on the phone, will they really sit through a six-minute scripted pitch? I don't think so.

In business-to-business, lead generation today is about one-on-one marketing, opening a dialogue and using a mix of communication methods.

Here's an example of how large call centres have got it so wrong:

I received a call a while back from a utility company (it was already my utility company as it happens) wanting to get me to switch my electricity to them.

Now, as it happens, I was interested in doing this, but I wanted to see something in writing before I made any decision ("decision strategies" are a whole other area to blog about but basically, many people want to see something before they can make a decision). So, I asked them to send me something. "Sorry, can't do that" was the reply.

If you're from the old school of sales you'd probably chalk up my request as a "time waster" or a delaying tactic and simply move on. But, I don't subscribe to all those "buyers are liars" sales cliches.

No, the reason they couldn't send me anything was because they were sitting in an office in Chennai or Glasgow and were not in anyway joined up with the whole sales process.

So they didn't send me anything. Wasted call, wasted opportunity.

When we work on new business campaigns for our clients we operate as part of their team. We hold collateral, send emails from our clients' domain, and nurture leads through the pipeline.

When we initially approach someone (by phone or email) and they ask for info, what does it tell them when we send it to them and then follow-up? It tells them that we're interested in starting a dialogue.

It may (and often does) take several phone calls, emails & voice-mails over a period of weeks or months until they're ready. Over that period we're demonstrating that we're not a pushy salesperson, we value their time and we want to do business.

When the timing is right, we'll book a meeting (or conference call, or whatever the appropriate next step is).

To me this is simple. Why have most telemarketing companies got it so wrong?

I guess, lucky for us, they have :-)

Labels: appointment setting services, lead generation agency, lead generation company, new business development, telemarketing agency, telemarketing company, telemarketing services

The guys over at RainToday are running an interesting webinar by Dana VanDen Heuvel called "How to Create a Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing Strategy for Your Firm".

Aimed at professional services firms, the webinar promises to "provide you with ideas, examples, and a plan of action for immediately putting these technologies [Web 2.0 & Social Media] to work to attract new clients."

I've been using social networking tools, such as LinkedIn for a number of years now. Back in January 2007 I posted "Is 2007 the year for Business Social Networking sites?"... maybe I was a year early :-)

Certainly social media marketing is getting more and more attention. Recently, I noticed that this year's adtech conference in London is being sponsored by Xing.

For me, LinkedIn remains the key social networking site for any professional service firm; I use it daily.

If you want to know how to use social media, and LinkedIn in particular, to develop new business, read this post on LinkedIn's own blog "From startup mode to being acquired by Yahoo! - The MyBlogLog story". Here's an interesting quote from the post:

"It occurred to me how they did what they did, and I reached out to Eric via LinkedIn - we had Sean Bonner of metro blogging in common. I called him up; he got Todd on the phone"

The key phrase for me is "I called him up; he got Todd on the phone".

You see, social media has changed the game, but it doesn't mean the old rules don't apply.

Sites like LinkedIn help you make a more intelligent approach. You can understand whether your proposition will be of interest before you contact them. This means that you can phrase your message so it doesn't appear as spam or just another cold call. And, where relevant, you can reference other people that you both know.

Essentially, you can warm up a cold call.

Labels: marketing, new business development, social media, social networking sites

For me, one of the interesting things I picked up at the Being Digital event I attended yesterday (excellent event btw) was that consumers don't mind adverts as long as they're relevant.

OK, that may seem obvious, but it came out of a lengthy panel discussion on how to monetise content in a fragmented market without upsetting your audience.

When adverts as relevant (or targeted), such as with Google Adwords, then people don't object to them. In a way, there's this serendipitous effect that the advert appears to reach you just when you were looking.

OK, maybe that's over egging it, but there's no doubt that the more targeted your ads the higher the conversion, or CPR, or whatever metric you're using plus (and here's the real thing) the less you upset your target market.

This is what I've always said about targeted cold-calling for new business.

When you really target your audience, then your hit rate goes up, plus the people you are calling will respect the fact that your call was relevant to them. Even if they're not interested today, they will agree that they could have been.

Think about it. For most telemarketers they're calling you just because you're the next person on their list. How does that make you feel? Now, how different does it feel if someone contacts you because they've actually thought about whether you might be interested before they called you?

Perhaps they've done some research about your business or competitors. Or they've noticed a trigger event that makes them believe you would respond positively to their message.

Approaching any new business campaign in this way is essential to starting a relationship that you can build on for the future.

It's about mutual respect, really.

Labels: appointment setting services, cold calling, lead generation agency, lead generation company, new business development, telemarketing agency, telemarketing company, telemarketing services

Just thought I'd post about an event I'm attending on 10th June called Being Digital.

The format is based on 22 successful mashup* events and, as I've attended a number of shorter formats in the past, I'm excited about this full day event.

Being digital is all about debating the issues that matter when delivering and designing a digital mashup service.

The event has seven themed debates on advertising, identity, content, location, social, retail and search across the important platforms of web, mobile and TV. In each theme there will be leading demo companies showing why it is real and how advanced some actually are.

A couple of our clients are also attending, and another client chaired their TV 2.0 event last year so I know from experience it provides excellent value.

No big company slide deck - just real cutting edge stuff.

A must for any digital entrepreneur. See you there!

Labels: entrepreneurs, networking, new business development, start-ups

I get approached by a lot on online business looking to outsource their ad sales.

Well, I say outsource their ad sales but, basically, they don't have any to outsource.

What they all really mean is... "I want you to sell advertising for my unproven Web 2.0 business but I haven't any cash to pay you".

There's a great article in today's Sunday Times The new dotcom boom which gives some insight into this.

Whilst drawing some parallels with the last dot-bomb bubble, most notably the growth of start-up networking events, it's recognised that there are a some differences this time round.

Today, it's typcial of Web 2.0 start-ups see their exit through a strategic buyer rather than an IPO. VC activity is up but no-where near the feeding frenzy heights of last time around. One reason could be that it's so much cheaper to actually start up a Web 2.0 business today.

"Lastminute used to cost millions of pounds every year in technology," says Hoberman [Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com and wayn.com]. "Now it is far cheaper." How come? "Moore's Law. Everything becomes cheaper and faster." Can you set up for 20,000? "Absolutely," says Clegg [Judith Clegg of the Glasshouse, the company that runs Second Chance Tuesday]. "Less, perhaps."

Add this to the fact that most Web 2.0 start-ups' business model is based solely on advertising revenues and you start to see why we get approached by so many people to sell advertising on commission.

The problem is that none of these start-ups have anywhere near enough traction to make a CPM model pay. So, to fill the void, there's this vague idea that someone can just make a few phone calls and drum up a quick ad deal for their "next big thing".

Sure, ad spend is moving rapidly online. However, as the article points out "with lots of social networking sites all seeking advertising money, some kind of shake-out is due."

Web 2.0 businesses typically work on some low value/high volume model (which could be be that a directly listing fee, monthly or annually subscription or CPM ad revenues). The trouble for us is that these models just don't work well with telesales (which needs at the very least a medium value proposition) unless you're prepared to buy business in a land-grab.

If you're looking to self-fund and grow covering your sales costs (outsources or in-house) from revenue then you either need a higher value offering or a small number of partnership deals which will bring the long term revenue scale you need.

So, now you know, please... stop calling me ;-)

Labels: new business development, sales outsourcing, start-ups, telemarketing agency, telesales, venture capital

Can you remember that line from Joe in Reservoir Dogs - "Let's go to work"

What a great film!

There's this theme that runs through some of my favourite films. Films like Ronin, Heat and, of course, Reservoir Dogs.

In all these films there's this core team of experts who come together to execute a plan.

That's something I completely identify with because it's at the heart of what we do; we pull together a team of seasoned experts, usually formed around a core team who we have worked with previously, to make it happen.

Our clients use us because we just "get to work".

It's something I've always enjoyed about people who are real experts at what they do; the straight-forward way they effortlessly deliver.

Whether we're talking about a builder, plumber or sales person, you know when you're with someone who's an expert in their field. And we're not talking about "book smart" here, I'm referring to the seasoned, battle-scarred expert who's earned their stripes in the trenches.

"Workman like" is a good term for it. No fuss, someone who quickly knows what needs to be done and gets organised to do it. Simple.

In fact, one of my favourite client testimonials pretty much sums it up:

"David is easy to work with, he understands how to get results and he delivers."

Let's go to work...

Labels: new business development, sales outsourcing, telemarketing agency, telemarketing company, telemarketing services

A recent book I've been reading is "This Business Has Legs", sub-titled "How I Used Infomercial Marketing to Create the $100,000,000 Thighmaster Craze: An Entrepreneurial Adventure Story".

OK, I'll admit, I have pretty eclectic reading habits :-)

The book is a fascinating insight into the world of infomercials, written by Peter Bieler, the entrepreneur behind the Thighmaster Craze - well worth a read.

Anyway, Peter set out to create a "virtual corporation", outsourcing all aspects of his business from day one, including sales. As Peter writes:

"The nice thing about a virtual corporation is that you don't have to change. You don't have to transform yourself from a frontline manager to a guy that sits at the top of a huge pyramid of employees. The other advantage to a virtual structure is that you can grow rapidly... not only can you grow rapidly, you can shrink - painlessly - if need be"

Given that the infomercial world is driven by instant sales hits with a limited shelf-life, this certainly makes sense.

But, more than this, outsourcing the parts of your business that you don't do well (or don't enjoy!) makes perfect sense.

When we work with business owners they all have a common thread; they're passionate about their product or service, they are typically the creator type... but they all hate sales & marketing.

I'm not talking about meeting with potential customers; all our clients love that part! It's all the peices that run up to and after this single event.

Generating leads, building a pipeline of business, chasing and closing deals - it all takes times and unless you've worked in sales or business dveelopment for any length of time, the knock-backs and rejections that come with the territory can be punishing.

In way, in current Silicon Valley parlance, we "eat our own dog food" here.

We're a classic virtual corporation in every sense. We scale for each client gig with an associate base, bringing a team of telesales, field sales and business development professionals to deliver results. Over time the structure of the team changes to reflect the business stage of each client.

Plus, in a way, we have outsourced our content production. It's almost a reverse-outsourcing, if that term exists :-)

We are the sales engine, but without our clients "content" (ie: their products and services) then we cannot grow our business.

Which makes us an ideal partner for clients seeking to outsource their sales.

Labels: entrepreneurs, new business development, sales outsourcing, small businesses

This really is what blogging is all about...

I picked up a site, Trend Hunter, from Guy Kawasaki's AlwaysOn post "Trendhunter Rocks!".

Trend Hunter is a site which recruits people worldwide to spot trends. It has a global network of 8509 trend spotters and cool hunters collectively publishing 13 online magazines dedicated to trend spotting and cool hunting.

I thought, cool... this would be a great way to spot new business ideas.

So, I blogged about it on Ecademy and one member commented that it was similar to Springwise.

Now, Springwise really is cool.

Springwise tracks over 400 online and offline resources for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion, partnering, investments or cooperation. Plus it enlists more than 8,000 spotters in over 70 countries worldwide.

Springwise publishes a fee monthly newsletter.

Check it out.

Labels: entrepreneurs, new business development, start-ups

I was reading an interview in F1 Racing with Mike Gascoyne the other day. Mike the CTO of Spyker F1, one of the smaller F1 teams.

I was struck by some of Mike's comments on how smaller F1 teams try to outmaneuver rivals with larger budgets and better cars.

"Even when we were at the back [with Tyrell] we went into every race thinking we were a going to score a point. We were convinced that we could come up with a strategy, make the call or do it better than our rivals."

According to Gascoyne, it's the thrilling bite of competition against the odds that drives him.

I get that. Absolutely.

Having worked with smaller companies up against larger, global competition, I know that it's all about finding smart ways to do more with less.

I've worked with people from larger companies who, when they make the transition to a start-up or emerging company, they just don't cut it without a huge marketing budget behind them and a string of warm accounts to farm.

Gascoyne calls it trench warfare - "I'll blow the whistle and we'll all pile over the top. Of course, it's going to be shitty at first, but you can guarantee I'll still be leading from the front."

Let's see how they fare when the F1 season starts next Sunday.

Labels: new business development, small businesses, start-ups

I had a meeting today with a client that is just about to come out of "stealth-mode" with their beta launch.

We were talking through their go-to-market plans and the work that I am doing. The CEO was giving me the run-down of his new team, who he had in each position and what role they were to play in the overall strategy.

This is the bit I love when working with start-ups.

It always reminds me of one of my favourite films, Reservoir Dogs.

Or come to think of it, any "heist" film where the team comes together to pull "the big job". Films like Heat, Ronin, etc... just love 'em.

The bit I like is when they're putting the team together, everyone's got their bit to play. They're specialists.

You know, there's a "grease-man", a "hacker", a "driver"...

I guess, I just like working in teams where everyone had their bit to play, we're all there for our particular slice of expertise; we all know the stakes are high and we have to deliver.

And we're working together for our own slice of the action ;-)

Labels: entrepreneurs, new business development, sales, start-ups

I recently took the Roger Hamilton's Wealth Dynamics profile test online. Roger runs XL Results Foundation, Asia's leading entrepreneur and social enterprise network.

The "Wealth Dynamics" profile test is designed to match your personality, natural style and talents with strategies to create wealth. It's a bit like a Myers-Briggs test with a focus on how to leverage your natural "profile" to create wealth.

OK, maybe it's just a bit of fun, but I thought I'd give it a try.

The test gave me an number of personal insights, and overall, the greatest learning I came away with was the concept of teaming up with complimentary "profiles" to leverage each others' talents.

I came out as a "Star" profile, with strong "Dynamo" and "Blaze" frequencies. Here's my profile.

According to the system, "leaders of the most successful new start-ups are always Creators and Stars with dynamo frequency. The leaders of companies that are acquiring market share and market presence in a consolidating industry are always Supporters and Deal Makers with blaze frequency."

Having worked with so many start-ups and companies with a focus on acquiring market share and new business, this made perfect sense to me.

As a "Star", apparently, my strengths are "quick to deliver; quick to connect; can take an idea and run with it; can think on their feet; can improvise quickly in tricky situations".

And, "Great Stars have entrenched themselves in their niche, so anyone with a new product or promotion is likely to be attracted to that Star to support them."

Also, to build wealth I should align myself with "creators & deal-makers" (read: CEO's & Entrepreneurs) to give me the catalyst of content & deals that I can promote.

In a nutshell, if you want to rapidly grow your start-up... just add a Dynamo!

Labels: entrepreneurs, new business development, sales, start-ups

Can you remember that Kevin Costner movie from 1989, "Field of Dreams"? It's about the Iowa corn farmer who, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields.

I'm not sure whether every dot-com startup watched that film, but the phrase "Build it and they will come" seems to have passed into the collective entrepreneurial unconscious.

So when Jackie Bassett told me about her new book "So You Built It and They Didn't Come. Now What?", I just had to read it.

If there was ever a book that should be compulsory for entrepreneurs to read, this is it (and Guy Kawasaki's "The Art of the Start").

Jackie shares her own experiences, as well as stories from CEO's and Investors on what to do when the wheels have fallen off. Does this sound familiar?

So you've burned thru several million dollars of Venture Capital funds,replaced the VP of Sales three times, added 17 more features that each round of salespeople you hired (and fired) insisted their prospects must have before they would buy-then didn't, now what?

You're certain there is a market for your product. You even have a handful of customers who've paid for it. But those "Wow's" aren't converting into sales.

How did this ever happen? Where did things go so wrong? More importantly, how can this be fixed and f-a-s-t!

Jackie shows you how to identify when you are in trouble, and how to stop and restart your business from a customer-centric perspective.

There is a lot in this book that I recognise from my own client experiences. One of the things about working with startups and new product launches is that you're going to see a lot of misfires.

Every now and then I have to write what I call a "Dear John" report at the end of a pilot campaign. Usually it goes something like "I'm sorry, but we don't think you've got a proposition that's really compelling for your market. Let's stop now before it costs you too much" In essence, we tell our client that they've got it wrong.

It's probably one of the hardest parts of the job, but it's something that's core to my values. If it's not working, I'll pull the plug rather than simply burn my time and my client's cash.

Of course, they can try another method of sales, or even another sales outsourcing company, but usually they go back to the drawing board and come back to us to help them test and refine their new proposition.

Our business is no different.

We tried promoting our services to startups as "market due diligence". Essentially, we'd pilot test a proposition with potential clients. However, we found that there really was little appetite for it. Entrepreneurs are pretty free-wheeling and their due diligence is usually to just launch and see what happens.

It's what we call the ultimate "Live R&D").

Labels: entrepreneurs, new business development, sales, start-ups

I have a new hero...Doug Spong. He runs Cult Industries, a rapidly expanding global surfwear brand.

I read this article about him at the the weekend, Aussie who has board meetings on the beach

Doug's a millionaire that "wears flip-flops, board shorts and a T-shirt" to work and, last month, he and his fellow executives (all veteran Aussie surfers) "took off for a month's surfing and fishing in the Coral Sea aboard Amnesia, his 110ft converted tugboat."

Now this guy has the right attitude.

What I also enjoyed what his view that his business day is like surfing:

"Some days are so exciting, absolutely thrilling; others are the opposite. It's like a big wave, the ups and downs of this business."

Now that I can certainly relate to. Sales prospecting, lead generation...it's about searching for that opportunity. Somedays you get nothing. Other times you get dumped. You just have to recover and get back out there. But when you get that breakthrough, suddenly all the waiting and kick-backs don't matter.

Anyone who's been in this business will tell you - that's what keeps them going.

Labels: new business development, sales lead generation

Risk is something any new venture faces.

As our services help mitigate some of the risk of launching new ventures, whether it be a startup or corporate-backed, it's something we understand and manage every day.

In The Venture Imperative, authors Heidi Mason & Tim Rohner neatly sum up the different attitudes to risk of startups and corporates.

"Because startups change course often and swiftly, they view uncertainty as a normal managed risk. Many critical elements of the business model for a new enterprise can be determined only through active competition in the marketplace, not via analysis based on historical data."

Contrast that with:

"When corporate strategists and other corporate leaders cast their eyes on a proposed new venture, they're often looking for a work of analytical perfection that quantifies every element of the business plan and eliminates all risks."

Our services can certainly help bridge the gap for corporate ventures and new market or product launches; I mentioned this in a previous post on the concept of "Live R&D"

Because we help shape value propositions at that crucial early-phase of the venture, our clients can manage their exposure to risk by testing the market without diverting internal resources.

As the authors of The Venture Imperative ask: "When do you stop analyzing and start executing?"

Labels: new business development, start-ups

A recent post on the Small Business Trends blog caught my attention with a great quote. It's from a US News article:

'If all you know about starting a business came from reading the financial pages during the 1990s, you might think the process works like this: Think up a killer idea, write a business plan, raise money from venture capitalists, launch the business. "Then you pitch the money on a bonfire and hope there's a company there before you run out," jokes Greg Gianforte, CEO of RightNow Technologies, a business software company he founded in 1997.'

The Small Business Trends blog points out that, for the majority of small businesses, bootstrapping (ie, funding your business from customer revenues) is the right, and often only, option. In fact, studies from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor say that only 38 out of 10,000 businesses receive venture funding.

From our perspective, most of our startup and small business clients are "bootstrapping" their businesses and our services are a low-cost and low-risk option for them.

Labels: entrepreneurs, funding, new business development, start-ups