BD & Marketing insights from across the world.

May 2020 round-up

Welcome to our first round-up of great articles from across the globe. These articles provide in-depth insights into the world of BD and Marketing. The articles selected will always be packed full of practical and actionable advice.

Last month unsurprisingly saw lots of articles covering how individuals and firms can best adapt to the ‘new normal.’ As our economy and ways of working have drastically changed, we will all need to adapt our BD and Marketing approaches if we are to thrive. The articles below give some great insights on how to do that.

Pricing in a pandemic: Navigating the COVID-19 crisis, by Alex Abdelnour, Todd Babbitz, and Stephen Moss, McKinsey & Company.

Unsurprisingly, like pretty much everything McKinsey produce, this is super smart. As we head into a global recession the pressures on pricing and of customers requesting discounts will only increase. For those companies and firms suffering a sharp drop in demand, they rightly point out that “Serving a few bargain-hunting customers at a loss is rarely a route to long-term success.”

Even if you are in an up market because of COVID-19, I’d urge you to read on in the article. Make sure that you focus on the “Five things to get right during the pandemic” section.  Above all, point 4 “Create ‘flex’ in pricing”, is full of practical advice on how to provide one-time offers in the short term, that won’t hurt your business in the long term.

If you’re looking for more advice around pricing in the new normal, this short read in NZ Business Magazine, Giving client discounts won’t help you beat the recession, by our founder Ben Paul also provides some practical advice.

How to manage a bid remotely – Part 1 – effective collaboration at a distance, by Amy Burton-Bradley, Julian Midwinter & Associates.

As the title suggests, this is a series of articles that will help you manage your bid and tender responses remotely. For those who are in bid management or facing an increasing number of RFPs in the months ahead, the series is well worth a read. A real standout in the first article is the “example Communication & Collaboration schedule to manage a bid remotely.” A very practical table that you can easily follow and adapt to run your bid processes smoothly.

4 Questions Sales Leaders Should Be Asking Right Now, by Andris A. Zoltners, PK Sinha and  Sally E. Lorimer, Harvard Business Review.

A short summary of this article would be that now, more than ever, those selling need to be more informative and relationship-focused with their customers. They also need to have sales processes that are more flexible and less focused on closing. We particularly liked this quote at the end.

“Forward-looking sales leaders and managers are emphasizing communication and appreciation, ahead of incentives and performance management, for motivating salespeople.”

Close the Distance Between You and Your Dream Clients, by Anthony Iannarino, The Sales Blog.

In this article, Anthony Iannarino explains that relying on technology is not the answer. People still need face-to-face human interactions. If this is not possible then every interaction has to be as human as possible. This will help you move from transactional relationships to trusted ones, with your clients. He advocates that when prospecting, the more human your contact is, the greater your chance of success is.

In this article he explains the advantages of making calls over sending emails in your prospecting efforts. This quote really stands out.

“What makes a good salesperson is less about their ability to talk, a true differentiator in sales. But what is more important is the ability to listen to another person, to acknowledge them, and to show that you care about what’s important to them. Listening and caring closes the distance.”

How to Use LinkedIn to Build a Stronger Professional Network, by Stefanie Marrone, Stefanie Marrone Consulting/The Social Media Butterfly

There has been a spike in interest in social selling and social networking. More professionals are using LinkedIn to build and develop their client relationships. This is no surprise given we’ve all been in lockdown. Stefanie has been advising law firms for several years on how to use LinkedIn effectively. Her advice applies to anyone in professional services. This article is full of simple and practical advice which you can easily follow, one example being,“Did someone you know just land a new job? Spend a few minutes sending them a quick congratulatory note. I have seen this type of interaction serve as the catalyst to reengaging a relationship, leading to a new client engagement.”.

To get the latest updates and BD & Marketing insights, subscribe to our mailing list.

If you need help with your RFP response planning, grab a copy of our Bid/No Bid tool today.