The Art of (Not) Selling: A Different Take on Business Development

If you asked me to choose between a networking event or the dentist, I would take a root canal every single time.

In the early days of Goldbeck Recruiting, when word of mouth, cold calls, and door-to-door were the way to get business, my introversion was a growth obstacle. Sales is difficult for me — and I'm sure for many others — because of the element of rejection that comes with it. This terrified me, so I had to find an alternative that prioritizes increasing value for clients.

If you imagine business development as a funnel with prospective clients coming out of one end, I dreaded all of the classic inputs, such as cold-calling and networking. But as businesses have become more digital, the options for these inputs have grown. In the past decade, I have been able to shift to activities that I am better at and more comfortable with.

While crucial for top-line growth, business development is doubtlessly time-consuming. The biggest challenge for small business owners regardless of their sales acumen is sustaining business development activities while working on existing accounts. With its intensive demands, business development is difficult to juggle with day-to-day business tasks.

Many articles, videos, and workshops can tell you the most effective and statistically proven tactics, but the best strategy for your business is one you will stick to and consistently work on. If the so-called “best” strategy is networking, but you are unable to consistently show up to events, you won't see results.

I have worked out regularly for the past 25 years and have made only minimal changes to my workout regimen. To this day, my biggest pet peeve is when other people share the latest and “best” fitness trends, suggesting that I hop on. While the newest trend might in fact burn more calories or build muscle faster, I will reap the benefits only if I am able and willing to keep at it.

So take it from someone who has lived through the age of newspaper classifieds, weathered the 2009 recession, and thrived throughout the digitization of business: Focus on what is realistic for you and what you're good at.

Here's how I've done it:

1. Differentiate Yourself

Knowing who your competitors are is not enough. It's also important to identify and evaluate what they offer so that you can work on differentiation. What do you offer that they don't? Analyze what makes you stand out, then develop it obsessively.

It is also important to differentiate yourself for the right audience. If you haven't already done so, decide which audience you want to attract, then focus your resources there. You can't be the perfect fit for everybody, so figure out who your people are. This will direct your business decisions toward a more focused growth.

At Goldbeck, our specialty is recruiting for small and mid-sized businesses, so we don't dedicate a lot of resources to attracting multinationals. It makes more sense to focus our marketing efforts on the sectors we can best compete in.

Another example is Pepsi, which, instead of fighting a losing battle over the No. 1 cola spot in the US, decided to focus on a specific market segment: younger consumers. While Coke remains the most popular overall, Pepsi's strategy has made it the cola of choice for its chosen demographic.

2. Establish Credibility

I write an HR and recruitment blog and author guest articles for third-party publications. This creates value for my existing and prospective clients. Offering free advice allows me to warm up leads, build goodwill, and establish industry expertise as my blog and followers grow.

Solid, reliable content builds trust and credibility, which not only keeps existing clients around but also attracts new ones.

Whatever your strategy is, one thing is certain: You cannot win over a client who doesn't perceive you as credible.

3. Ask for Feedback and Flaunt It (or Act on It)

With the popularity of review sites such as Yelp and Google, customers are increasingly turning to online reviews to make purchasing decisions.

A 2018 survey by BrightLocal shows that 86 percent of consumers rely on online reviews when it comes to supporting local businesses. My recruiters have made a habit of asking at least one client or candidate for a review each week.

Since it is the recruiter's choice who the feedback request gets sent to, the odds of a good review are much higher. Still, we get the occasional three-star rating, which we respond to as needed.

It is important that you set up online alerts for your business so you can monitor and respond to reviews. This not only helps you keep tabs on your reputation, but it also ensures you address bad reviews in a timely manner, thereby showing customers you care about them and their business. And who knows — they may just bump the three stars to five due to your excellent customer service.

As word gets around faster with the popularity of social platforms, it is important to maintain a great reputation for execution and service. When your recruiting services shine exactly as portrayed online — through both reviews and your website — clients will stick around.

4. Keep Relationships Warm

A repeat customer is likely to spend more than a new customer — 67 percent more, to be exact, according to a joint study by BIA/Kelsey and Manta.

If you're exhausting your resources trying to get new business, it may be worthwhile to invest more into account retention. The key to strengthening relationships with existing customers is to keep them engaged.

You can do this by sharing useful content regularly, sending notes on special occasions such as birthdays and work anniversaries, and interacting with clients on LinkedIn or Twitter through likes, comments, and retweets. Whatever it is you do, try to show up on a customer's radar at least once a quarter. This helps clients keep your company in mind for future projects.

5. The Early Bird Gets the Worm

The biggest commitment I make to business development is to be hyper-responsive. Lead response time can make or break your prospecting process.

A study by InsideSales.com shows that 50 percent of customers choose the business that responds to them first. This means that the longer you take to contact a lead after they request a quote or information, the less likely you are to close that deal.

At Goldbeck, we have redundant alarms that send inquiries to three different people to make sure that each potential client is followed up on. I try to get back to clients as soon as I receive a quote request, immediately sending them our terms of service within the span of a few hours.

Make your whole recruitment team aware that business development is everyone's responsibility so that prospective clients are quickly directed to the right person.

My take on business development is that sustainability wins on every field. If you can't comfortably commit to 20 cold calls per day, you need to reevaluate your strategy.

If you're inherently sales-shy like me, consider a less aggressive, value-first, marketing-centered approach. What can you do for them?

If you can build a reputation as an industry expert and valuable resource with white-glove service and good delivery, the rest will follow.

Henry Goldbeck

Henry Goldbeck is the president of Goldbeck Recruiting, Inc.