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I’m a Professional: Why Do I Need to Worry about Business Development?

Evan Polin • December 16, 2022

I have been helping professionals with business development (lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, and consultants) for over twenty years.


When I start working with a new firm or a new client, I am almost always confronted with the same excuses and pushback at the beginning of a sales consulting or coaching program “I didn’t go into my field to become a salesperson.”

sales consultant, expert business development, non-selling professionals

I get complaints from professionals that they don’t have time for business development, they don’t know how to do business development, it’s not professional to sell or ask people for the business, or I’ve tried business development and I’m not good at it. Other excuses I’ve heard are "that is somebody else’s job, I’m really good at what I do, and people should just know to call me”, or  “I’m just not comfortable doing business development.”


Unfortunately, the business landscape has changed over the past 10-15 years. 

If you don’t change along with the times, you are not going to have as much control over your career as you would like.  The days servicing the same clients every year for decades and of a company remaining a loyal client for decades strictly because of a relationship have gone away.  Expecting to just inherit a book a business from a retiring partner doesn’t happen that often anymore (and less partners are retiring at 65 to give their book of business away). Professionals are now expected to bring more to their firm than just their expertise; to make partner or start your own firm you need to be able to develop a book of business or (GASP) sell.   


The good news is that you can learn skills to develop a book of business.

It’s not something that you need to be born with.  Although there are not many classes in school on teaching you how to develop a book of business, and there are very few continuing education courses on the subject, it is a skill that you can learn.  You can develop a book of business without devolving into the “stereotypical used car

salesperson”.  Your expertise and natural skill set can be a launching point for your success in business

development. For many professionals, they can successfully develop and grow a book of business by

focusing just 2-3 hours per week on business development.


There is a three-pronged approach to having success in business development. 

  1. The first prong is having the proper mindset.  You need to be open to the fact that business development is important, and you need to consciously decide that you will focus time on generating a book of business. 


   2. Next, you need to create a business development plan that will act as the blueprint to help you

      determine what needs to be done to capture new business.  This blueprint needs to encompass your

      goals, methods to get in front of your ideal clients, and a tracking mechanism to determine what is

      working and what is not working. 


   3. After you develop the plan, you need to learn ways to translate your technical expertise into tactics to qualify           your new business opportunities.  To be successful you must ensure that you limit your free consulting. You               need to learn how to utilize your expertise by asking questions that will demonstrate to potential clients’ ways           that you can help (and to differentiate yourself from the competition). 


Finally, you need someone you can trust to hold you accountable.

You want to put the strategies outlined above into practice. It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and not have time for business development. It can be easy to get easily frustrated and give up.  A business development coach will teach you tactics and techniques to be successful, help you track your progress, and hold you accountable.


There are many benefits to having the ability to grow a book of business. 

It will give you more control over the trajectory of your career, make you more valuable to your current firm, provide you with an opportunity to work with the types of clients you’d prefer to work with, get you out of the office, and make you a more well-rounded professional.


If you need help getting started on your journey, or if you currently have a book of business, and would

like to get to the next level, please reach out to the Polin Performance Group.


~ Evan Polin


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Polin Performance Group provides real-world sales solutions through sales coaching, sales training, business development workshops and speaking engagements. We give you and your team the sales skills needed to maximize sales performance and increase revenue. Let's talk about your sales challenges and together we'll figure out the best solution for your business growth goals. Contact us today.


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