De-Mystifying and Redefining Real World Business Development Strategies

Take some time to read through this workshop descriptor which I stage regularly around the country.  It ticks all the boxes to understand the new sales paradigm about client and customer acquisition through business development………

It’s tough out there…….!

Sometimes reality is harsh and no more than in this recession. Business development is a necessity not an option.  Make no mistake, you don’t have a business if you don’t have account holders and make new sales.  If you have little business development activity there is a good chance you will have fewer clients and customers.   If your client retention and migration metrics are higher than your client acquisition metrics, you are in trouble.

Client & Customer Migration, Business Development & the Sales Wilderness

The biggest reason why companies go out of business is because they have failed to replace migrating clients and customers with vibrant new loyal customers.  Companies are at risk because their business owners don’t understand or miss-use their idea of an effective business development model.  The traditional sales and business development model is defunct and dead.  Using the attitudes and beliefs of the old model will do more harm to your business than you realise.

Business development - 'grasping at the same old straws'

So you think you understand real business development and sales? Business Development is, at best, an imprecise science and art.  For too long we thought we understood the business development and sales process.  Too often, the traditional sales guru’s have told us we need to do more ‘closing’ or adapt SPIN selling, or use the best of the consultative sales model while some say we should retread the old ground of the Dale Carnegie school of Sales development.  That is now defunct and dead.

It is all about will you have the confidence to grow your business?

One thing for sure is that many businesses will not climb out of the recession because they don’t understand the significant change in the business development arena.  They practise old school techniques thinking “doing the same things will lead to different results”.  That’s a sure sign and definition of business insanity.

Being labelled a sales Person in many businesses is considered undesirable

It's true.  People still have negative views of folk in sales and the process of selling.  That's why so many Professional Service Firms avoid Sales and Business Development at all costs.  Many think their analytic technical competence is sufficient to drive new clients to the door.  Pure technical competence whether it is in accounting, finance, risk assurance, external and internal audit, engineering, quality management or whatever is not sufficient to win new clients.  What has to develop a business strategy based on developing superior customer service and win-win solutions to encourage your clients to come back for more.

People prefer to buy rather than be sold to…

The new approach is to appreciate that we ‘don’t sell to people’.  People much prefer to buy services and goods from trusted associates.  That means ‘stop selling’ now and enable and help our potential and existing clients to develop the trust to commit to do business with us.  People only buy when they trust and value the service you offer.  They will buy from you when they understand you have a unique and value added approach to understanding their wants and needs. 

Traditional sales is invading others personal space

When we try and sell them our ‘things’ - we can automatically, however subtly, take on the role of the aggressor and actually start  pushing our customer towards closure - when in actual fact we are forcing them further away from us.  

This is almost like a physical motion invading the other person’s personal space. With the 'I will get that sales' attitude no matter how hard the professional service supplier  tries to 'soften their style' the ‘aggressor’ role often shines through.  It is very difficult to disguise this behaviour if selling is their intent.  Take it from me the buyer knows when he or she is being pushed into a position they don't want to be in and they take the requisite action.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being pushed and that’s what often happens in business development.  Even though some sales people think they are sensitive, gentle and facilitating they are still unconsciously pushing their agenda all the time rather than facilitating the buyer to buy and get a win-win solution.

A new era in Business Development

Philip Atkinson has refined ‘business development and the sale process’ as a ‘buying and personal change process’.  In the workshop session he will be talking through the various business development and sales models and will illustrate that the market and the environment have changed radically in the last few years.  He agrees that the old sales model was always suspect but the recession has really focused people on the ‘buyer’s remorse’ model and changed the ground rules.

New ground rules

Philip knows those ground rules and the beliefs, the behaviours and the skills and the processes which underpin the new approach.  This is the era of the ‘authentic buyer’.  It’s time for business development people to understand that ‘baby boomer’ sales models are out and the new sales paradigm has evolved through Generation X and Millennial consumer and business buying behaviour.

Click here to see ROI on Marketing & Business Development››

Philip Atkinson runs these taster sessions of this new approach.  At the end of the session participants will

• Differentiate the old and the new models of business development, sales and the buying process
• Understand their personal business development style
• Diagnose their personal style of business development and that of their colleagues 
• Assessed their organisation’s attitude to business development and sales
• Review their organisation’s ability to retain clients and customers
• Assess the current organisational ability and readiness to acquire new clients
• Identified organisational and personal barriers to arise to the new ‘buying process’

Who Should Attend

• Entrepreneurs who want to grow their business through market penetration
• Professional Services Advsiors, Accountants to Actuaries, Engineers to Auditor's Quality Managers to Risk Assurance 
• Business Development & Sales Managers – who want to acquire the competitive edge
• Account Managers – retaining existing accounts and seeking new prospects
• Customer Service Managers responsible for customer acquisitions and retention
• Business Development & Marketing professionals

Date: 19 May & June 24 2011, location tba (Central Edinburgh)

Registration: 13.00-1330

Session: 1400-1630

Discussion and drinks: 1630-1730

Investment: £120 + VAT @ 20% (£24) - Total  £144

Email Phil at atkinsonconsult@aol.com or philip@philipatkinson.com for details