Why do we always cheer for the underdog? Think about your favorite underdog story. Chances are, you want to see David beat out Goliath. Well, the same thing that gets you to root for Rudy or the Bad News Bears is the same thing that's killing your firm... In this episode, John and Mark break down "the underdog effect" and how it can cause you to chase after projects you have only a slim chance to win, wasting valuable time that could be better spent elsewhere. This episode originated as an artic...
Jul 22, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Your revenue projections are your firm's crystal ball. If your backlog, pipeline, and projections are organized, it can position your firm in a way to do healthy, proactive marketing to win highly profitable work. In this episode, John and Mark break it all down: How marketing can make both a short- and long-term pipeline impact How marketing's goal should be different for active, passive, and future buyers How niche specialization can lead to higher margins How revenue projections can impact re...
Jul 08, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Midway through your fiscal year, any business is faced with one of three revenue pacing scenarios: You’re exceeding expectations You’re exactly where you thought you’d be You’re not meeting original revenue targets On this episode, Mark breaks down different ways to set revenue goals (revenue per employee, calculating potential revenue, and using a net multiplier) and how to factor in weight based on deal stage and opportunity age into the equation. Then, we lay out an example that illustrates w...
Jun 24, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 22
CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot were designed to sell SaaS products. Not professional services. And yet you find yourself face-to-face with a tech salesperson who presents a glimmer of hope: with a new CRM system, you'll grow revenue, your team will be rowing in the same direction, and you'll close deals faster. The reality? You're left with bloated operating expenses and sales pros who don't want (or know how) to use it. On this episode of Breaking BizDev, Mark explains why CRMs absol...
Jun 10, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Your decisions are influenced by natural psychological forces. Whether that's deciding on which coffee size to select, or which firm to work with... cognitive bias is at play. On this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark share 7 cognitive biases that shape new business development, and share how you can use them to help buyers make better, more informed decisions: Anchoring Messenger Effect Loss Aversion Social Proof Decoy effect Pain of paying Optimism Bias Here are some additional resourc...
May 27, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 20
We're not the only ones who think BizDev needs a smack-down. For several months now John and Mark have beaten up and broken down various business development topics like prospecting, content marketing, pricing, events, proposals, referrals, and even job descriptions. A while back, we had this idea to go out and ask some friendly contacts what *they* believe is broken in business development. Their responses spanned nearly the entire marketing <> sales continuum referenced on the show: 🔸 K...
May 13, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 19
How should experts and busy doer-sellers approach prospecting? On this episode, John and Mark share three specific examples of multi-channel prospecting sequences that your firm can put into practice right away using LinkedIn, email, and the phone: A two-week cohort-based prospecting sequence A 120-day, podcast-led prospecting sequence A post-conference follow-up prospecting sequence If you found this episode valuable, please subscribe to the show and leave a rating or review on Apple and Spotif...
May 06, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Whether you believe it or not, lead generation is possible for your firm. On this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark break down 7 content marketing frameworks that can be used to generate leads in professional services: The Email Newsletter The Podcast Flywheel Original Research Influencer Co-Creation Content Darwinism Demand Capture Funnel Content Recycling Read more detail in this blog post by John: www.redcedarmarketing.com/blog/content-marketing-frameworks Connect with Mark on LinkedI...
Apr 22, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Do you really need to hire a full-time role for sales, marketing, HR, finance, or other internal business functions? In this episode, John and Mark break down the benefits of working with fractional consultants in professional services. They discuss the different scenarios in which it makes sense to work with a fractional consultant, and examples of fractional consulting engagements. - Scenario 1: Diversifying into a new area without a full-time hire - Scenario 2: Filling a skills/expertise gap ...
Apr 08, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this episode, John & Mark explore the variety of roles and skills needed for professional services firms to develop new business today. Having strengths across both marketing and sales is essential for driving business growth. This conversation covers: Key marketing roles like digital marketing specialist, web developer, graphic designer, and marketing director Examination of sales roles like closers, sales managers, and doer-sellers "Messy middle" roles like proposal managers and researc...
Mar 25, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 15
John and Mark provide an in-depth look at effective prospecting targets, tools, and techniques for doer-sellers in professional services firms—a critical part of the lead generation toolkit. Here are the key points covered in this conversation: Prospecting involves proactive outreach to uncover new opportunities and lies on the sales side of marketing. Mark uses an iceberg analogy to explain market segments: actively buying, passively buying, and satisfied with their status quo. Prospecting obje...
Mar 11, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 14
On this episode, John and Mark share 10 ways to suck at conferences and events for professional services firms: Just show up Write a big check for a sponsorship and then send a couple people to “network” Don’t set goals Never try to speak or present at a conference Do zero pre-event outreach or post-event follow-up Never, ever research the event audience Don’t build anticipation with your network Don’t look up social posts from the event and engage Don’t leverage your marketing team at the offic...
Feb 26, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Pricing is a major lever for revenue and growth, but most business development professionals are not involved in setting price. In most firms, there are a three main approaches to pricing services: Cost-plus Market-based Value-based In this episode, John and Mark beat up pricing and offer a new perspective to help you guide buyers to making the right decision. You'll hear them discuss: Why it's important to have pricing discussions early in sales process How value pricing presents relieves downw...
Feb 12, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Delve into the importance of *showing* that you understand your buyer in the sales process. Craft a standalone "Statement of Understanding" as a foundation upon which to develop a solution. In this episode, John and Mark break down the importance of understanding. Listen to hear perspective on: The importance of true understanding The power of listening Critical elements of the statement of understanding Implementing a statement of understanding Here are some additional links on understanding: h...
Jan 30, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On this episode, John and Mark beat up a few metrics like "leads" and "win rate" and share 5 marketing and 5 sales numbers professional services firms should be paying attention to if they want to grow their firm. Top 5 Marketing Metrics: Qualified Opportunities by Source Client Lifetime Value Client Acquisition Cost Revenue by Source Return on Marketing Investment Top 5 Sales Metrics: Total Potential Revenue Outreach activities Pipeline - Creating new Opportunities Pipeline - Closed Won Revenue...
Jan 15, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In professional services, people are your biggest asset. Especially when it comes to developing new business. Unfortunately, many firms set people up to fail before they're even hired, which could translate to stagnant growth as a result. It all starts with the job description. In this episode, we beat up disastrous job descriptions for the following roles in professional services firms: BD Managers Marketing Managers Senior Doer-Sellers Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in...
Jan 01, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The client success story can go by many names; case story, case study, use-case, past performance, the list goes on... But how should it be structured? When can it be used? How can it be used for marketing? For sales? In this episode, John and Mark break down the client success story in professional services—what it is, how it’s used, and mistakes to avoid. The Client Success Story Framework: The client's situation The client's problem or need The solution you provided The client's results Read ...
Dec 18, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 8
LinkedIn is the primary social media platform for most professional services firms. But oftentimes, it's not used as effectively as it could be to build visibility, generate leads, and move prospects along a buying journey. In this episode, John and Mark break down how to use LinkedIn for business development (marketing + sales). You'll be sure to pick up actionable strategies and tactics you can put into practice today. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhwainwright/...
Dec 04, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Referrals are a powerful tool to use in lead generation toolshed. Referral leads tend to move faster in your pipeline, they're more likely to close, and they end up becoming fantastic clients. But referral generation is used unevenly across professional services firms. On this episode, John and Mark outline a process on generating new referrals: Create a list of potential referrers Define your ideal client and be prepared to articulate them Develop a story about results to be used during the mee...
Nov 20, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 6
On this episode, John and Mark call out every single person who, in the name of “BD”, has sent a useless “I’m just checking in” email that produced zero results. We'll break down: Why "checking in" is bullsh*t The hamster wheel of ghosting (and why it happens) The role of the magic email After listening to this episode, you'll have a new tool in your toolkit to get your pipeline moving. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhwainwright/ Connect with John on LinkedIn: htt...
Nov 06, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 5
"Strategic planning" is an oxymoron. Strategy and planning are two different things. In this episode, Mark and John beat this topic up, differentiate between strategy/planning, and offer a revenue-centric lens with which to help with both your strategy and planning efforts. There are three lenses to look at revenue in order to help define your firm strategy, and ultimately your planning efforts: In the previous period/year, where did the revenue come from? Right now, what is the potential revenu...
Oct 23, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 4
We all know there are good and bad salespeople. We get inundated with the flood of "pitch slaps" on LinkedIn, cold email clogging up our inbox, and sales reps who can't quite seem to understand your challenges. Which begs the question, do "good salespeople" even exist? On this episode, John interviews Mark about his perspective on bad and good selling in professional services, and how that meshes with different kinds of buyers. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhwain...
Oct 09, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode, Mark interviews John about what poor marketing looks like in professional services firms, including: Lack of plan or lack of patience Poor customer experience Messaging is too company-centric Brand is based on assumptions Lack of a content strategy Listen to hear what not to do, and how firms can turn these blind spots into areas of relative strength. www.breakingbizdev.com Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhwainwright/ Connect with John on LinkedIn:...
Oct 09, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Professional services firms lump marketing and sales together into one bucket. It gets confusing. Sometimes, it’s a total mess. They call it “business development.” In this episode, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright introduce the Breaking BizDev podcast and explain how they're going to break down, beat up, and redefine "business development" for the professional services firms of tomorrow. www.breakingbizdev.com Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhwainwright/ Connect w...
Oct 04, 2023•17 min•Season 1Ep. 1
