What is the best process for changing the DNA of your firm and turning it toward a corporate culture of business development and marketing? How often does the team meet?
It is not the frequency of meeting, but the content that matters. People are tired of attending meetings where the same thing is discussed and no action is taken. One way to change that attitude is to vary the content. One meeting might look at pipeline and hit rates and the next look at action items like calling on clients.
The pipeline meeting will look at short lists, upcoming interviews, results of past interview debriefs, secured revenue versus goal, etc. The next meeting looks at the status of the contact database, with emphasis on who is doing what. Do your BD people, principals and project managers know when client milestones like birthdays and anniversaries are coming up? Are they helping clients extend their business networks?
Sometimes you need to challenge people to make more calls. A contest to determine who can come up with the most useful information about a client is one way to get action started.
The person making the least calls might be required to bring donuts to the next meeting.
Lastly, your meetings should open discussion about your marketing and the tools that need to be developed to expand marketing opportunities. When your meetings begin to focus on action, you will be surprised at how many new marketing ideas come forward during your meetings.
