The 10 Commandments for Effective Business Development
Tom Boogher, CPSM, and Richard Cilley, CPSM
Even the best professionals need to be reminded on occasion of the sales basics and what is takes to succeed at sales and business development.

"Some people dream of success,
while others wake up and work hard at it."

To really excel at business development requires you to understand that selling is an ongoing process, not an event, and that following some basic selling principles can enhance your success. Below are what we consider to be the 10 Commandments for Effective Business Development. And, we guarantee that, if you consistently follow these commandments, you will be more successful and more effective in your business development efforts.

1) Thou shall plan and prepare for sales calls and meetings.
Many of you think you can just sell and make sales calls with seat-of-the-pants planning and preparation. You know you have the gift of gab and often wing it when calling and meeting with clients or prospects. But are you getting optimal results? Be honest and ask yourself if you really are planning and preparing the best that you can for each client meeting and sales call. Are you using your network, market/client knowledge, and available research tools to fully understand your clients and prospects and what projects they are involved with? Do you know and understand the "players" in your market, and are you involved with them on a business and professional level? Do you use a pre-call planning form to work your way through each call before you go?

It has been proven that those sales professionals who analyze and understand their prospects and clients, and plan their presentations, make more sales—and consequently more money—than those who don't.

2) Thou shall establish specific, measurable, behavioral sales call and meeting objectives.
Sales call or meeting objectives are a way of keeping score. They tell you whether you are succeeding or not. Just like golf or bowling, what fun would it be to play these games if you didn't keep score so that you could determine whether you are getting better or performing up to your capabilities?

A behavioral objective translates into something you want the client or prospect to do or commit to—for example to put you on an approved-consultants list, agree to a next meeting, give you an RFP, award you a project—as a result of the call or meeting. So, make sure you have written down and examined the objectives of your sales call or meeting prior to any call, meeting, or visit with a client or prospect. Then, when you are done, measure your results against your objectives: How are you performing? What's the score? Did you meet your sales call or meeting objective? Or do you need to revise your objectives and regroup?

3) Thou shall be enthusiastic about and understand your firm. 
Enthusiasm is contagious, and clients/prospects can quickly tell whether you are someone who takes pride in the company you work for and enjoys what you are doing. Enthusiasm goes hand in hand with sales success. Enthusiasm fuels the desire to know everything you can about your firm and how you can help your clients succeed. You owe it to yourself, your firm, your prospects, and your clients to really know your services, what your firm does, and how your firm adds value to your clients' businesses.

Also, think about what makes your firm different or special? Why should the client or prospect trust you and give you their business? Why should your firm be hired? What truly differentiates your firm from your competitors? How is working with your firm a better experience for clients? What can you do to separate yourself and your firm from the rest of the pack and make your call or visit memorable? (Hint: Following these commandments would be a great start!)

4) Thou shall ask good questions, listen, and know when to shut up.
The key to effective selling is to be prepared, ask good questions, listen, and then respond. Many times, we have seen salespeople keep talking and talking until they have bored and lost the client and, ultimately, the business. Many of you do this because you like to hear yourself talk, you don't prepare for the sales call, you don't define call objectives and questions to ask, and you are uncomfortable with silence. How do you really determine a client or prospect's needs if you always have your mouth open and are talking? We call this "showing up and throwing up," and this sales technique rarely produces optimum results.

The best way to determine a client's needs is to ask questions. And, yes, you should prepare and write down important questions to ask prior to the sales call or meeting as a part of your pre-call planning! And the correct response after a client says "YES" is to stop talking, thank the client, and explain or discuss the next steps to move forward with the project or assignment.

5) Thou shall emphasize benefits (the "so what?") over features ("the facts").
Guess what? Your clients really don't care that your firm has two offices or offices nationwide, has been in business for months or decades, has dozens or hundreds of employees, has this or that equipment or technology, or has won awards or been written up in a national magazine. The client cares about WIIFM: What's in It for Me? The client cares about saving time and money, getting better quality, the ease of using your company, your responsiveness, your quality of service, and your technology as long as it helps the client improve his or her world.

You may find it helpful to use the transitional phrase "which means" anytime you state a feature or fact about your company to help you emphasize the benefit or the "so what?" to the client or prospect.

For example, "XYZ firm has 100 offices nationwide which means that we can save you time and money by reducing your need to contract with other consultants to handle your project needs throughout the United States." So, whenever stating a fact or feature about your company, use the "which means" transition to highlight a benefit the client or prospect will receive from your fact statement.

6) Thou shall anticipate and welcome objections and change them into questions.
Objections are really signposts of an interested buyer. If they are voicing objections or concerns, they are engaged in the process and giving you the opportunity to respond. Think of objections as requests for more information. And objections are not to be feared—they are to be anticipated and welcomed.

Anticipate ordinary objections before you go to a meeting and have your planned responses ready. When a client objects or raises a concern or issue, turn the objection into a question and answer it. It is much easier to answer a question than an objection. And don't get angry or lose your composure. Often when a client is saying "no," they are simply saying "not now" or "not this way." Ask questions to clarify their objections and empathize with the client, be honest, and offer solutions or answers to the questions and sell more!

7) Thou shall listen actively.
Everyone likes to talk, and everyone likes to be heard. Some business development professionals don't recognize this. Active listening is paraphrasing what has just been said by the client/prospect and repeating it back to them in different terms. Sometimes you may have been interpreting an objection or issue inaccurately, and it can be clarified through active listening. It is a compliment to be listened to actively. Statements like, "I want to make sure I understand what you are saying..." or "This is an important issue, and I want to make sure I heard you correctly..." and then paraphrasing or repeating succinctly what you heard from the client is active listening. Try this and practice it, and it will improve the effectiveness of your sales efforts.

8) Thou shall never fail to close or ask for the job.
Sometimes managers and sales people are reluctant to close a sale because of their fear of rejection. Don't forget that selling is a numbers game. The more people you talk to and ask for work, the more people you are going to get to say that wonderful word we all love to hear: "Yes" and its synonyms "all right," "OK," "let's do it," or "when can you get started?"

If you've done your job throughout the sales process, you have the right and the responsibility to ask for the job or project! Always ask for the job, and you will increase sales and build your business. The more clients and prospects you ask for work, the more work you will get! Never forget these five words: "May we have your business?" Or perhaps a variation of these five words: "May we have this project?" Or: "May we do this job?" Just make sure to ask!

9) Thou shall always define a next step and follow up, follow up, follow up!
You cannot be truly successful at sales and business development unless you practice and commit to excellence in following up your contacts. Follow-up starts with always having a specific next-step action defined for all of your sales and client development efforts. Define the next step or action required to move the prospect or client forward and then do it...meaning follow up!

Follow up with people you meet. Follow up after sales calls or client meetings. Follow up on proposals you submit. Follow up with clients during the job to see how you are doing. Follow up with the client after the project to make sure they were satisfied, to thank them, and to ask for additional work or a referral. The best advertising is a satisfied and loyal client, so follow up continually and consistently with your clients. Never assume your clients are happy or satisfied—ask them!

It is our observation that follow-up is one of the biggest OPPORTUNITIES for improvement in most any firm...follow up to sell more and grow your business!

10) Thou shall recognize that nothing is more important in business than developing sales.
It all starts with sales, and nothing happens until you make a sale. Income is the lifeblood of your company. Sales and business development must be of the highest priority. Everyone within your company must truly understand the importance of sales, followed by an absolute commitment to innovative service and client care. In fact, ALL of the employees at your firm need to focus on the CLIENT. Any employee can make or break a sale or client relationship by how they do or don't do their job...this means everyone!

Just remember: If you (and your firm) believe you can excel at sales and build your business, or if you believe you can't get the work, you are probably going to be right.

So, what are the end results of following the commandments and making them a personal way of life and part of your firm's culture? Our prediction: more wins...more sales...more repeat business...more job satisfaction...more income...and more profit. The choice is yours!

About the Authors Richard Cilley, CPSM, is CEO of Transcendent Consultants (www.transcendentconsultants.com), and Tom Boogher, CPSM, is Executive Vice President of Professional Service Industries, Inc. (www.psiusa.com). Richard and Tom have a combined 50-plus years of experience in marketing and sales within the A/E/C industry.

Hosted by SMPS' Business Development Institute, this column provides tips, best practices, and suggestions on how to excel at sales and client development. Remember that nothing happens in business until you make a sale! The Business Development Institute is a Specific Interest Group of SMPS with the goal to promote, inform, and educate the A/E/C industry on the importance of sales and the necessity for business development best practices.

Your comments, feedback, suggestions and questions are encouraged. Please drop either editor an e-mail with any input. You can reach Tom Boogher at tom.boogher@psiusa.com or Richard Cilley at rcc@transcendentconsultants.com. [ return to top ]