A few years ago, I had to drive to an important business meeting in an unfamiliar city. I didn’t have GPS in my car then, so I printed out directions before leaving my office and jumped in the car with a good idea of where I was going. The sun was beaming down, my “pump me up” music was blaring, and I was feeling great.
But then I hit an unanticipated obstacle: a road closed due to construction. Unfortunately, the detour wasn’t well marked, and I didn’t know the area. Before long, I was completely lost. Worse yet, looking at the map was useless because I didn’t know where I was. So frustrating!
This story feels all too familiar when I talk with entrepreneurs about business development. We usually have a sense of what we’d like to accomplish (the destination) and even the path to get there (the directions). But when we hit an obstacle, and sometimes even in the absence of obstacles, what had seemed clear seems confusing.
If you want to create a successful business, you must:
- Know where you’re starting. One of my favorite cautions is, “Don’t mistake luck for skill.” If you’ve had success in landing clients, make sure you know why and how to replicate that. If it’s sheer luck, you have to find a way to shift that luck into something you can repeat and transform into skill. What’s going well? What’s broken? What questions do you have, and what resources do you need?
- Know how you’re going to get from where you are now to where you want to be. You need a plan. You must be able to describe your ideal clients and referral sources, and you must know how you can reach those people and businesses. What specific actions will you take to get to your goal?
- Know your purpose. Are your objectives in line with your purpose? Without purpose (or a big “why” that motivates you to act), you’ll find it easy to get pulled off track.
- Know the most effective ways to accomplish the tasks on your list. This is why it’s important to read books and get training on business development topics. You have to master skills such as effective networking, speaking and writing that builds your reputation and gets you clients, and asking for business. This is also where working with a mentor, coach, or consultant can be invaluable. Prayerfully considering your options and getting both education and knowledgeable feedback will help you to move forward efficiently.
- Take action consistently on your plans. What you know is important, but you’ll succeed based on what you do. It is not sufficient to take action occasionally or at random times; you must act consistently and persistently.
- Track your results. What is measured can be improved; what isn’t measured tends to slide into a black hole of poor memory and even poorer effect. Without knowing whether an activity is producing results for you, it’s impossible to know whether you should expand it, keep to the status quo, or discontinue it. Data may be difficult to gather especially if you have a long sales cycle, but you need to have at least a qualitative sense of how successful your activity is at moving you closer to your business development goals.
Having all of these aspects of successful business development in place will allow you to adjust your plans when you encounter an obstacle. Equally importantly, you will know how to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves, and you will consistently move toward your rainmaker goals.
What more do you need to succeed, based on this checklist?
ABOUT JULIE FLEMING
Julie A. Fleming, principal of Lex Innova Consulting, teaches lawyers to use innovative and effective measures to build a strong book of business and a lucrative practice. A former patent litigator, she is the author of The Reluctant Rainmaker: A Guide for Lawyers Who Hate Selling, Seven Foundations of Time Mastery for Attorneys, and the forthcoming Legal Rainmaking Myths: What You Think You Know About Business Development Can Kill Your Practice,as well as numerous articles focusing on topics such as business development, practice management, work/life balance, and leadership development. Before launching her consulting business, Julie practiced law for over a decade in firms of 3 to more than 2100 attorneys, specializing in patent litigation. A graduate of the Emory University School of Law, Vanderbilt University (B.A.) and Georgia State University (B.S.), Julie is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and currently serves as Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Science and Technology Law.
Jory has invited me to write on how to grow a solid business, and I’d love to hear your questions! What frustrates you? What challenges would you like to transform into opportunity? What are you curious about? Comment on this post and/or send your questions directly to Julie@LexInnovaConsulting.com. Please let me know you’re a friend of Jory’s. Can’t wait to hear from you!
Such sound advice, Julie! So many entrepreneurs overlook the importance of knowing their purpose and using their purpose as a compass.
I greatly appreciate your wisdom and insight. So true … so true….
Jory