The start of the year brings optimism, energy, and the smell of new hopes and dreams. It's a natural time to implement a business development plan or revisit an existing plan.
You may right now be ranking prospects as you decide how and where to spend your precious time and energy in the coming year. If you haven't already, check out the RAC-3 for BD–an easy and practical template to help you not only plan, but also calendar, your business development year.
Prioritize Your Relationships. No, Really.
Relationships are the cornerstone of RAC-3 (Relationships, Activities, Calendar). It's common to include a mix of established and aspirational relationships in your BD plan. It's equally common to wonder, as you proceed, just how real some of your hopes and dreams may become.
Good news: Use the REAL tool above to evaluate the quality of your prospects and prioritize your efforts accordingly.
"The story line might make for a good rom-com, but the reality of a bad match in business is seldom amusing."
Review your top prospects and ask the following questions:
Relevance–Does the prospect need what you do? Conversely, do you want to do what your prospect needs? This is not always clear-cut, especially when you are chasing a flashy target and as you and your contact at a company learn more about each other.
Enthusiasm–Do you sense enthusiasm from your prospect about working together? Are you also enthusiastic?
News flash: Enthusiasm can wane upon getting to know a prospect, for any number of reasons. That's okay! Quickly recognize a fading crush so you don't commit to a client relationship you don't actually want. The storyline might make for a good rom-com, but the reality of a bad match in business is seldom amusing.
Access–Does your prospect have access to the right people to make a hiring decision? If the prospect is the decision maker, then you've checked this box. If not, find out who is--and learn about your contact's relationship to decision makers in order to refine your efforts appropriately. (We could do a whole blog post about that topic alone.)
Conversely, are you in a position to ensure that your prospect has access to the right people in your network (your firm or go-to referral outlets) to get the appropriate level of know-how and support? If you are not the 800-pound gorilla your client wants, what level of access can you provide to said gorilla? Self-awareness is key to a healthy match.
Leverage–As you move your prospect toward the client column, can you offer enough of value to keep them warm until buying conditions align? This is the leverage you'll need to keep building your relationship.
BD is a long game, you can only go to lunch so many times. What else would your prospect value? Trend-spotting and analysis? Connections or introductions to other clients or service providers? An internship for their kid?!
Similarly, does the prospect have leverage in their organization to steer opportunities your way? For example, if you've ranked a prospect as a top 3 relationship because you really want to work with that company, yet your contact can't help you get auditions, then do you really want to give that person top 3 attention?
Maybe that prospect moves down a tier and you focus instead on a prospect at a less sexy company yet with better access and leverage to create opportunities for you. Like access, leverage is a critical criteria when you evaluate the health of your prospects.
Mutuality is Key
Finally, look for mutuality across all four REAL criteria. This means that you can objectively assess that they want you as much as you want them--and you both have the desire and means to help buying conditions align.
Just as in rom-coms, positive outcomes rely on two-way communication and shared values and interests. If your prospect isn't loving you back, or if you aren't as keen on that prospect as when you first started out, then maybe it's not real after all. Use the REAL tool to spot such discrepancies and reprioritize efforts accordingly.