Ben Paul
March 7, 2022
BD, Sales and Marketing insights round-ups
A great deal happened in the last month, which is reflected in the February 2022 BD round-up. World events (which the majority of us are shocked and stand against) are having an impact on our economic and business environments. As professional services firms begin to cope with the effects of rising inflation, now more than ever, a keen focus on business development, marketing and sales strategies are needed.
So once again welcome to the February 2022 BD round-up, where I’ll be taking you through the best of last month’s articles to help you develop new BD and marketing plans and ideas, and this month we also have an article that looks at how to tackle pricing whilst inflation is rampant.
The February 2022 BD Round-up
Understanding and Building Sales Impact Models by Erica Schultz, Chief Marketing Officer, RAIN Group
When it comes to articulating the services you offer your clients and potential clients, can you answer the “so what?” question? It turns out in the B2B world only 16% of sellers are. Find out how to correct this by using the Impact model that Erica has explained in 5 simple steps in this excellent article.
Another 5 tender trends for the 2020s by Amy Burton-Bradley, Julian Midwinter & Associates
Do you respond to RFPs, tenders and have to submit bids and proposal responses? If so then you’ll need to read this excellent article by Amy, which highlights 5 of the recent trends in the world of bids that have emerged. As an example, do you have a clear strategy in place for the number 4 trend, ‘Virtual tender shortlist interviews by Zoom, MS Teams, video’, if not I’d advice you to read this article immediately.
Five ways to ADAPT pricing to inflation by Alex Abdelnour, Eric Bykowsky, Jesse Nading, Emily Reasor, and Ankit Sood, McKinsey & Company
The starting point of this excellent thought leadership piece is that ‘Simply raising prices amid inflation has the potential to hurt customer relationships.’ Which is absolutely true. The main crux of this article is that now is a great time to go and talk to your clients and find out what the main challenges are that they are currently grappling with, due to inflation. If you can help them with these, the current economic situation is actually a chance to build even stronger client relationships.
Nurturing your firm’s new leads by Helen Cox, Helen Cox Marketing
Most professional services firms’ websites and other marketing activities will produce leads. Not all of these will be red hot and ready to buy your services straight away. This is why it pays to have a nurturing campaign and tactics in place to help develop those colder leads all the way into new clients. The tactics that Helen has laid down in this very practical article are ones well worth following.
27.92% Of Magic Circle Jobs On LinkedIn Have Zero Applicants by Jemma Crutchlow-Porter, Your WingWoman
The great resignation or the great reshuffle is starting to have a big impact on all professional services firms. This research is focused on law firms, but it shows a growing trend that it is increasingly going to be difficult to fill technically specialist roles i.e. lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects etc. This will have an impact on your client delivery and relationship-building activities as this article I wrote with Rob Keating explains. The research in Jemma’s article is well worth a read so that you can start preparing for the scarcity of resources right now.
The February 2022 BD Round-Up Conclusion
Global events are having an impact on all professional services firms, whatever jurisdiction they operate in. Now, more than ever, firms will need BD and marketing tactics for the short term and plans and strategies for the longer term. The articles featured in the February 2022 BD Round-up should help you formulate those tactics and plans.
Good luck! Next month Elizabeth Petersen will once again be providing you with her selection of the best BD and marketing articles for professional services firms.
