Transition from Marketing to Business Development in a PSF
Increasingly, professional services marketers are expanding their roles and transitioning into B2B business development roles. The move from marketing to BD isn’t simply about doing different tasks. It’s about changing your perspective – from promoting the firm to understanding clients, spotting opportunities, influencing professionals, helping to build relationships and contributing to commercial outcomes. This session looks at how to make an effective transition and provides guidance on how to initiate BD mindsets, processes and activities.
Learning outcomes:
- – Explain the difference between marketing and business development
- – Develop a roadmap to transition from a marketing to a business development role
- – Insight into how business development is conducted by similar firms
- – Clarity on key BD functions – centrally and by fee-earners – and how to make an impact
- – An action plan to develop the necessary skills, commercial knowledge and initial BD processes at your firm
Contents
What does business development really mean in a PSF?
- – Different BD roles – Where marketing ends, relationships ignite and selling commences
- – Strategic business development – Aims, focus and new opportunities
- – Tactical BD processes – Sales enablement (activity, opportunity and outcome)
- – From an activity mindset to a commercial mindset
Initiate your transition to BD
- – From internal “push” to the external client “pull” perspective
- – Immerse within sectors and practice groups – engage with fee-earners and stakeholders
- – Analyse client needs, journeys and experience
- – Become a proactive adviser and coach – share BD data, knowledge and skills with fee-earners
Identify opportunities
- – Clarify aims, scope projects and produce initial plans
- – Leverage client research and conduct B2B relationship analysis
- – Develop value propositions (and supporting evidence)
- – Explore the network of influencers, referrers and intermediaries
Target new clients and enhance existing client relationships
- – Extend marketing campaigns to networking and nurturing
- – Use the practical BD toolkit
- – Prepare and brief fee-earners before client meetings
- – Plan next steps after client meetings
Support fee-earners in relationship development
- – Audit BD capabilities
- – Assess opportunities and establish pipelines
- – Coach and motivate fee-earners in relationships and sales conversations
- – Prompt and track progress
Summary and action planning
Why PM Forum training?
PM Forum workshops are designed and delivered by qualified and experienced
MBD professionals who:
- – are subject matter experts in strategy, marketing, business development, selling, client relationship management, digital technologies and interpersonal skills who – through ongoing practice – are familiar with the latest developments
- – understand the nature of professional services marketing at large corporate firms and smaller partnerships across law, accountancy, property and consultancy in a variety of client markets
- – have substantial experience working with both senior and junior fee-earners and MBD professionals
- – possess psychology credentials and/or years of experience in learning and development to ensure an optimum learning experience
- – regularly talk to CMOs and management leaders to keep abreast of the emerging needs of their teams
Delegates receive a productive learning experience because:
- – There is a balance between knowledge transfer and active learning through interactive discussion and group exercises (sessions are not recorded to promote openness)
- – Training is experiential – idea sharing, networking and collaboration are encouraged
- – Progressive – sessions are graded for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels
- – Whilst platform-independent, sessions signpost systems and technologies used most often by professional services firms
- – As well as copies of course materials, delegates receive work sheets and supplementary resources with guidance for further learning (including other PM Forum events) and application
- – Course leaders are experienced coaches who understand and promote career development
- – Certificates of completion are issued for use in Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- – Dialogue can continue after training through members-only LinkedIn communities
- – Participation is restricted to PM Forum members
Cancellations/Substitutions
Due to the restricted number of places, refundable cancellations are only accepted up to one month prior to the event (a cancellation fee of £25 + VAT will be incurred per person). Substitutions can be made at any time. PMI reserves the right to cancel with no liability beyond refund of fees paid.
