Ten Thoughts on Business Development
- Smile. Smile when you enter a room. If you exude positivity, you’re more likely to obtain positive results. Just don’t be creepy about it…
2. Talking points. Have preconceived talking points in your back pocket. But avoid canned material. A banker friend recently told me that he ran into the same consultant at back-to-back networking events. The consultant dove into an in-depth and nearly word-for-word analysis of the macroeconomy — both times. Same spiel, different event. Don’t do that.
3. Know your audience. A 50+ year-old portfolio manager mentioned to me recently that opposing decision/deal-makers are increasingly in their 30s. This trend is true whether you’re in private equity, tech, or other verticals. If you’re like my friend, enhance the quality of your business development efforts by co-opting a younger wingman/woman to help you navigate the waters. Use the assets available to you: a good, sociable, responsible (senior) associate/co-worker could be accretive to your efforts and demonstrate to your potential clients, partners or investors that you’re thinking about their future.
4. Find a mentor. My biglaw firm assigned me a mentor when I first started my career. The firm gave him a small mentorship budget to take me to lunch biannually and share lessons learned with me. Instead, he just laughed about it and made fun of it. It became a running joke that we never got together. But, honestly, I don’t blame him: it was on me to hold him accountable and reap the benefits of his experience. I didn’t. That’s my bad. I could and should have found a different mentor who wouldn’t shirk the responsibility. So, two morals: first, if you’re the mentee, make sure you’re getting what you’re supposed to from your mentor or pivot to another. Quickly. You won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. And, second, if you’re wearing the mentor hat, take that responsibility seriously. See #3 directly above: your career may also depend on it.
5. Don’t collect business cards. I regularly see people ask others for a business card within the first minute of meeting. Blunder. That person doesn’t even know you yet and likely hasn’t made up his/her mind that he/she even wants to ever hear from you again. Instead, listen intently to the name and business of the person you’re talking to. Be present (read: don’t look over people’s shoulders). Delay asking for the business card until you’re ready to move on: requesting a business card serves as a subtle end to the conversation. Alternatively, simply jot yourself a note in the minutes after chatting and then research that person’s contact info after the event via LinkedIn or otherwise. Focus on the person. Not the business card.
6. Be interesting.
7. Be open. Don’t be afraid to be a little transparent. If you’re networking for a new job vs. trying to develop your current business, telling people what you want will help them advise you. Then just shut up and listen. If openness works in tech, it’ll work for everyone.
8. Take initiative. Don’t count on your platform — whether that is an online marketplace or a big firm/company — to provide networking opportunities for you. That is rare. You need to take the initiative yourself. Budget a certain amount of time for business development every month. Don’t just rely on the industry conference schedule. There is a lot of noise at conferences. Reach out to people directly. Deploy LinkedIn or, if you’re like me and you hate LinkedIn, be old school: pick up the phone. If you’re in tech, see if you can derive any value out of some of the new networking apps on the market (see Weave, Near, Here on Biz, Annecto). These apps may or may not be achieving a compelling network effect, but maybe you’ll right-swipe into a great contact.
9. Follow up. A connection you don’t follow up with within 48 hours is stale. Follow-up immediately and note something specific about where and how you met. If you prefer email, use a good specific email subject line (read: not “hey”). This has some good tips on follow-up strategy.
10. Look out for new industry trends. Back when I was in law school, “alternative career tracks” were discouraged and biglaw was the focus. Call me cynical but that starting $160k salary obviously puts you in a great position to donate back as an alumnus. In legal there is now a growing movement (out of post-Great Recession necessity, to some degree) towards alternative legal jobs (#altlegal, #legaltech). Research it. Know what your options are. And network towards expanding your options. New trends mean new opportunities.
Business development is hard but necessary — from day one of your career. I hope these tips help.
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