Do Great Work

The key to business development is doing great work for your clients.

—Sarah Arnot, CEO, SA Leadership Performance
(formerly with Accenture and Stuart Spencer).

Our rainmakers gave the advice, “Do great work,” more than any other.

Selling professional services is different from selling a tangible product. It is impossible to separate the product from the person. In professional services, we are the product. If our product isn't good, no amount of marketing effort will make us successful. Even sloppy practitioners may be successful at fooling a prospective client once, but in the long run, we live by our reputations. Those with stellar reputations ultimately outcompete those with inferior reputations. In professional services, it's impossible to be a great rainmaker without having a reputation for doing great work. Your reputation will precede you. Therefore, “doing great work” must be a top priority for each professional. As Tony Castellanos, global account lead partner and industries leader at KPMG says, “The highest form of business development is delivering quality in everything you do.”

But if doing great work were all that one had to do to become a rainmaker, wouldn't more professionals be great rainmakers? There are lots of talented, smart professionals with deep expertise at their craft, but less common are skilled rainmakers.

“Doing great work” isn't sufficient as a stand-alone business development strategy. It's a necessary but insufficient part of success. To be successful at developing a thriving practice in any profession, there are other important components.

Become Your Own Chief Revenue Officer

January 1, 2017 was an important day in the legal career of Chuck McDonald, a seasoned attorney in Columbia, South Carolina, with twenty-five years of experience, much of that as an equity partner. Chuck had gone to bed on New Year's Eve an attorney with Robinson, McFadden and Moore, PC and awoke the following morning an employee of Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC. Or, as the firm was known locally, Sowell Gray.

Three months earlier, the merger of the two firms had been announced in the local news as a joining of equals. But for Chuck, it didn't feel that way, as he saw his offices closed and the venerable name of Robinson tossed aside.

When we caught up with Chuck, he'd recently departed Sowell Gray, having decided to start his own practice. As you might imagine, he was acutely aware of the importance of being his own rainmaker, even as he seemed genuinely excited and optimistic about his future prospects.

Based on a lifetime of experience, Chuck felt strongly about the need to take responsibility for one's own business development.

I will relay what an older lawyer who worked for a large firm once told me: “Always practice like you're the solo guy in the storefront on the street.” Meaning, build your practice and develop your clients and if you do that, it allows you great flexibility and freedom. If you are dependent upon others for client generation or business coming your way, you're beholden to others. So that resonated with me, and that's what I've passed along to others: that no matter how big the firm, you have to build your own practice and develop our own client base. And if you don't do that, then you're just vulnerable.

There are lots of different personal styles of business development, and it is important to have your own unique style, but it is more important to be actively involved and proactive. Delegate business development to others at your own risk.

That said, being your own chief revenue officer doesn't mean that you aren't a team player or that you must work solo all of the time. In some professions, such as management consulting, new client opportunities are often pursued in a team environment. Reflecting on his time at A.T. Kearney, Arthur Chung said,

I always thought that you have to do business development all on your own. The fact of the matter is that with collaboration, people can achieve similar goals. In consulting, lone wolves are very, very rare. They are out there, but I would say for the most part I feel like most partners and principals ally and work together to sell work.

Independent of what profession you work in or what stage of your career you are at, it is clear from our rainmakers that it is never too early to begin taking responsibility for business development. Clearly, as a senior partner, you're going to have more ownership of your business development than a recent college graduate. That said, now is the time for young professionals to begin laying the groundwork for future success.

Build Your Network

The thing that I learned later in my career that I'd pass along to somebody up and coming, is never underestimate the value of networking and the value of your network. And, when I say network, I don't mean how many people you're connected to on LinkedIn. [It's] not just collecting business cards and saying, “I met somebody,” but actually getting to know them well enough that you can call up and ask a favor. That you know enough about what they're doing so you can maybe send them an article they would find interesting and really value. I think the key thing is networking, making personal connections, and recognizing that there's a lot of value there.

—Ed Keller, chief marketing officer, Navigant Consulting

Clients hire people that they know, respect, and trust, or who come highly recommended by a friend or colleague whom they know, respect, and trust. This logic implies that the more people you know, the more opportunities you'll have for building respect and trust. Rainmakers tend to know a lot of people, but it is not the number that matters—it is the quality of those relationships.

Frans Cornelius, former chief marketing officer at Randstad Holding NV and managing director at Comarco BV, understands firsthand the power of relationships. When we spoke with Frans from his office in the Netherlands, he offered this insight:

In my consulting practice, new business starts with a connection I have with the person. I have tried it the other way, trying to do business and creating the relationship later, but it doesn't work. If you don't have a good relationship, you are just one of one hundred people dancing around the problem.

Over and over we heard from the pros that it was the quality of relationships that made the difference. We've worked with Dr. Nate Bennett, a highly regarded professor at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. Nate is sought out by a number of global firms as an advisor, many of them professional services firms, and he tells us, “It needs to be a heck of a lot closer than ‘we're connected on LinkedIn, and I buy you an occasional coffee.’”

It's important to note that the term “networking” has a negative connotation for some, almost in the same vein as calling what we do “selling.” To some, networking implies the superficial glad-handing that occurs at some business events.

Peter Bryant, managing director at Clareo, is typical:

I hate the word networking. [Business development is] about connecting and building relationships and nurturing those relationships in a genuine way.

But what if you're not terribly gregarious by nature, more on the introverted side, and find building and nurturing relationships difficult? Many of us in the professional services fall into this camp. Consultants, accountants, engineers, and attorneys are cerebral by nature and not generally the life of the party. Does one's tendency toward introspection imply less future success at building a professional network? According to our rainmakers, the answer is, “no.” There is not one personality type that is best when it comes to business development. The key is being true to one's natural gifts.

Some professionals are really good at cold calls to individuals they think they can help. Some are strong thought leaders and enjoy writing about industry trends. Some enjoy speaking at conferences, and others enjoy meeting “new friends” at industry social events.

Dominic Barton of McKinsey stressed this point.

One of my early mentors built his network through writing. He had perspectives on where the industry was going and what he thought needed to be done. People would call him from his writing. And he wrote a lot, and through his writing established a reputation and then a network where he was always busy. Another mentor of mine would call up new CEOs he didn't know, but felt he had some important knowledge about their situation. He would call them up and say “Look, I'd like to talk to you because I've got some news on what you might be thinking about, or should be thinking about, or I'd like to have a discussion.” I believe everyone has their own model of how they build a network. I think it's got to fit your own style. I think you've got to figure out your own approach that you're comfortable with.

Develop Your Own Style

Because we're never formally taught how to think about business development, it is natural for us to want to copy other successful rainmakers. While it may feel natural, copying another's business development approach is ultimately ineffective.

As you develop in your professional career, it's important to not try to be something you're not. You have to understand what you are, how you do it, what makes you successful, and then don't try to be something you're not.

—Don Scales, CEO, Investis

The veterans we interviewed told us, “To thine own self be true.” No two individuals are alike, and therefore no one business development style is right for everyone.

Peter Bryant says:

Never copy anyone. Everybody has their own style. Too many people get caught up with, “I need to be like that person.” It's really understanding what are the principles by which these people operate and then adapting that to your own personal style and that's what will make you successful. I think if you try and force something, then it kind of looks awkward and disingenuous and that's when you [see] Mr. or Mrs. Slickity Slick, right? You become robotic.

Dedicate Time for Business Development

Cliff Farrah is an early riser. By the time most of us get into the office, Cliff has already called a couple of his clients and spoken with his senior leadership team about the day's events. But he lives what most would consider to be a balanced life. He regularly makes time for his family and time on the water, sailing and racing. As president and founder of The Beacon Group, a successful growth strategy consulting firm headquartered in Portland, Maine, Cliff feels an enormous personal obligation to each of his fifty-five employees:

When I hired my first employee sixteen years ago, it was a huge milestone. And when I hired and relocated my first director and her family across the country to Portland, that changed everything for me. Now I had an obligation to that employee and her entire family.

Cliff Farrah started in the trenches after business school at A.T. Kearney. Cliff is the only consultant who ever worked directly for David Maister in Boston. Starting in the 1980s at Harvard Business School and continuing in private practice until his retirement in 2009, Maister was widely acknowledged as the world's leading authority on the management of professional services firms. Maister's classic best-selling books, like Managing the Professional Service Firm (1997) and The Trusted Advisor (2000), provided a generation of professionals with practical advice on leading their firms. Having a boss, mentor, and friend like David Maister is as good as it gets in this profession.

The skill that Cliff's closest colleagues admire most about him is his disciplined approach to business development. To some, it appears that Beacon's success comes without effort. What they don't see is the time and attention to detail that Cliff puts into growing the business. He dedicates time every day to building genuine relationships with clients and prospective clients.

Business development is not an event, and it's not a “sometimes” thing. It is a process that I spend time on every day. If you want your firm to be consistently successful, you have to make a personal commitment to working at it each day.

For Cliff, success is not just calling on prospective clients, but developing the capability of his staff in the art of selling Beacon's strategy consulting services. Cliff's consistent daily dedication to his clients and prospective clients has paid off handsomely. The Beacon Group has grown at over 20 percent per year for nearly two decades.

For many of us, business development ebbs and flows. When work is slow, we'll fire up the business development machine and crank away until we land a project or two. Once we get busy again, we shift our attention to the work at hand. Doing quality work is vitally important, but not to the exclusion of making time for future client relationships. The most successful rainmakers make business development a consistent priority, it is part of every work week, and their success is the proof of this commitment.

Stay Persistent and Positive in the Face of So Many “No's”

Business development is one of the most challenging (and sometimes maddening) things you will ever have to do in your professional life. It's hard. Like when you know a prospective client needs help, you know you're highly qualified to do the work, you've worked hard to build the relationship and demonstrate your capability, and then the client hires someone else.

The thing is to be persistent. Have somebody you can talk to that can continue to encourage you. You have to have thick skin because you're going get a heck of a lot of “no's” or “not interested,” and you can't take them personally. You have to figure out how to motivate yourself, stay up, and stay positive, because, I will tell you, I know several people that this has just bottomed them out.

—Jane Pierce, founder of Pierce Development Group
and former VP of talent and organization
development at ADM and Chevron

The hurdles of business development were wonderfully captured in a famous 1958 McGraw-Hill ad where a grumpy old man dressed in a business suit sits in a wooden office chair. The caption reads:

I don't know who you are.

I don't know your company.

I don't know your company's product.

I don't know what your company stands for.

I don't know your company's customers.

I don't know your company's record.

I don't know your company's reputation.

Now, what was it you wanted to sell me?

Moral: Sales start before your salesman calls.

Walt Shill shared with us this story:

When I was running a startup in my previous job and we were raising money, there was one fund that I thought was a perfect match; it invested in other companies like ours, and we knew some of the same people. I sent numerous emails, but I could not get through. It took forever. And so, when I finally met the guy and the meeting goes really, really well, I said, “Steve, I have to ask you, why did it take so long to get a meeting with you?” He said, “Oh I just wanted to know if you were serious. If you don't have the persistence to call me eight times, you'll never win in this business.”

Being persistent and staying positive is a trademark of all successful rainmakers.

Whatever You Do, Don't Call It “Selling”

During our conversations with senior rainmakers, we inadvertently struck a very sensitive nerve with some individuals in identifying our book's topic as “selling” professional services. To some, the term “selling” gave them great discomfort.

One of the rainmakers we spoke with in writing this book, a partner at McKinsey said,

Selling to me gives me the heebie-jeebies. To me, the notion of selling the types of services that a consultant provides [is wrong]. You do have to generate revenue to stay in business, but if you think about it from your client's perspective, it's not about selling. It's more about solving the problem. And it's about making sure that however you're compensated for solving that problem, it produces a significant economic benefit to them.

So never say “sell.” Instead commit yourself to the idea that your job is to identify a community of companies and executives to which you would like to be of service and then do everything you can to help connect those in that industry with introductions, smart articles, and peer meetings. Along this road to being of service, you will find yourself being called a rainmaker.