"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie

In this episode, Mark and John explore the importance of understanding clients better than they understand themselves. The conversation focuses on how actively listening to understand client needs can transform your business success, highlighting key concepts such as the empathy gap, the empathy map, and how this level of understanding serves as a significant competitive advantage.

Want actionable advice on how to understand your clients better? Listen to this episode today and jot down some notes!

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
01:20 Two Years of Breaking BizDev
02:41 Episode Rundown
03:38 THE Empathy Gap
11:20 The Empathy Map
15:11 Competitive Advantage
19:19 Competitive Insulation
20:36 Learn What Matters to Your Clients
27:26 Create Feedback Loops
32:31 How to Turn Empathy Into Action

The Empathy Map: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/empathy-map-why-and-how-to-use-it

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Before you pitch slap that prospect, listen to this episode.

John and Mark tear down some terrible 'pitch slaps' from their LinkedIn DMs and offer a better way to approach social media. Shift your social media marketing from spammy sales tactics to authentic relationship-building. Listen to this episode to learn more.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome
00:59 Origins of the Pitch Slap
03:20 Social Selling
10:47 Pitch Slap Examples
19:50 A Different Way to Do Social Selling
30:48 Connect Instead of Create
35:54 Final Thoughts

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What kind of buyer did you talk to on your last sales call?

When it comes to buying professional services, there is usually more than one buyer. Some refer to this as a 'buying committee.' So what different roles do each of these buyers play? How should you engage them? What should you watch out for? These are the kind of questions that John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright will answer in this episode of Breaking BizDev.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
03:00 The Buying Committee
04:32 The Three Different Buyer Roles
05:17 The Visionary
08:28 The Operator
13:32 The Risk Mitigator
16:54 Stories and Examples
28:24 How to Take Action
34:08 Summary

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Why expand existing accounts when you can chase new logos forever? 😵‍💫

On this episode, John and Mark break down the concept of 'account expansion' — growing revenue from existing client accounts:

• The difference between upsell and cross-sell
• 3 common mistakes firms make in account expansion
• Identifying key decision-makers and organizational triggers
• The importance of curiosity in building trust in relationships
• How to frame your services in the context of what the client values

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
02:37 Benefits of Upsell and Cross-Sell
05:30 Cross-Sell vs Upsell: What's the Difference?
10:39 Common Mistakes in Upsell and Cross-Sell
20:10 Effective Strategies for Upsell and Cross-Sell
26:39 Building Client Relationships
30:52 Embedding Yourself in Client Organizations
36:35 The Role of Trust in Client Success
38:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

#businessdevelopment #salesdevelopment #sales #professionalservices #marketing #podcast

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For consulting firms that have exhausted their network and the referral well has run dry, a digital marketing strategy is essential to attract new clients. But how?

In this episode, Mark and John walk through a step-by-step framework perfect for experts and firms who need to reach a broader audience to generate new business opportunities. This doesn’t mean you need to become a well-known celebrity or go ‘viral’ at a Coldplay concert. Instead, build visibility within a tight, focused slice of the market. Become well-known to the people who actually value your services.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro & Welcome
03:13 Overarching Themes
07:08 Research Your Buyers
12:17 Create a Lead Generation Framework
16:06 Source content from a podcast
17:47 Optimize ALL your content (not just web pages)
19:44 Use LinkedIn
21:37 Weekly email newsletter
24:35 Create and Continually Refresh Evergreen Content
27:12 Create a Measurement Plan
30:36 Conclusion & Final Thoughts

Read the full article from John: https://www.redcedarmarketing.com/blog/digital-marketing-strategy-for-consulting-firms

Past episodes mentioned:

• Free vs Paid Offers: Crafting an Effective Lead Generation Strategy
• Don’t Boil the Ocean: The Paradox of Focus, Specialization, and Positioning

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Professional Services. It's in the name. If you're in professional services, you're in the business of SERVING clients.

On this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark take a look at the transformative power of adopting a client-centric mindset in marketing and sales activities. Listen to this episode and you'll hear:

• From selling to serving—an overview of the core mindset shift
• Where firms get it wrong
• What a client success mindset looks like in practice
• How to build the culture that supports it
• What this unlocks for firm growth

Share your feedback in our listener survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8V9T6Z7

*Trust* is what wins new business in professional services...but your ideal clients can't trust you if they don't *like* you, and they can't like you if they don't *know* about you.

On this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark break down "the mere exposure effect," also referred to as the "familiarity bias" and how firms and experts can take advantage of this cognitive bias and leverage psychology in their business development strategies.

This episode also features guest voices from Ryan Paul Gibson, founder of Content Lift, and Melina Palmer, CEO and host of The Brainy Business.

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Say goodbye to feast and famine. In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright tackle the elusive concept of monthly recurring revenue (MRR) for professional services firms.

Tired of the roller coaster of income highs and lows? We unpack why MRR isn't just for SaaS companies and how your firm can apply it to smooth out those wild fluctuations in revenue. Along the way, we discuss the sneaky benefits for both you and your clients, and provide some realistic, not-so-pie-in-the-sky ways to get started. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why MRR models make sense in professional services
• How does a MRR model work in professional services?
• Why you should avoid the 'Big Number'
• Why does a fixed monthly fee feel unnatural for consultants?
• One small step toward taking action today

Share your feedback in our listener survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8V9T6Z7