7 Steps to win more work this year

Do you want to win more work this year?

Here are 7 steps that will help you to win more of the right kind of work from the right kind of clients. These are based on our years of helping consultancy, engineering and professional services firms create opportunities, convert them into business and retain their best clients.

1. Focus

When it comes to successful business development, you need to really understand your target market, so ask yourself these questions:

• What are the problems that you can solve?
• Which organisations or people have those problems?
• What solutions to those problems can you provide?

Then you should analyse the clients that you have already and ask, who buys your service? Which sectors have you had the most success with?

2. Win More Work With A Good Plan

Always have a plan!

We use our unique Create, Convert Retain planning tool when it comes to planning Business Development activity. It shows you how to focus on building trust and awareness with potential clients, helping you to create your best reputation with clients, increase your visibility, and sharpen your relationship skills to help you to win more work.

You can find out more about our Create Convert Retain approach here.

3. Understand the buying journey

Take the time to understand your clients problems.

75% of your market place right now don’t know that they have a problem that you can solve. So what can you do to let your client know you exist and that you an offer a solution to their problem? This could be valuable marketing content (ie, free advice or downloads) that makes you appear a useful relationship for the client to nurture.

4. Network

Winning more work in professional services is all about people, and building new and existing client relationships. When you are networking, you need to make sure you are approaching it effectively. Make sure you do your research about who it is that you’re meeting, and don’t be afraid to fake confidence if you need to.

Introduce yourself to people. Be interested in what others say, rather than trying to be interesting yourself. You just need to listen and make people feel listened to and understood. This will make you memorable! Then ensure you follow up by connecting with the person afterwards, whether that’s on LinkedIn or via email, and start to interact with them. Take it slow and build up the connection over time before you suggest a meeting.

5. Make The First Meeting Count To Win More Work

When you hold that first important meeting, we use our unique 3i approach when it comes to structuring that meeting; 

We have a model called the 3is – Inform, Investigate, Inspire; which is useful when preparing for a sales meeting. – Spend the beginning of the meeting building a rapport and looking for what you have in common. Question and listen to them, and use this time to tell them about yourself and your organisation. 

You can find out more about the 3i model here.

6. Write compelling proposals

If you want to win more work this year, writing a compelling proposal is vital. When you are writing a proposal for a prospective client its important to keep these key points in mind: 

• Opening paragraphs – Use You and Your, not Us and We
• Demonstrate you know their world
• Outline their ‘problem’
• Explain how you solve it
• Show evidence of having done it  (ideally with clients like them)
• Paint a picture of the future after they have bought you.

7. Systemise everything! 

Want more BD success this year? Then this is the time to systemise you and your teams Business Development activities!

• Continue to prioritise researching and being knowledgable of your industry, target clients and sectors. 
• Strategise your networking. Plan which networking events your will be going to, who are the best people to attend specific events? 
• Marketing activity. Embrace your marketing, which gives value to your clients. Can you be writing articles on industry websites or guesting on podcasts? 
• Ask for referrals. Don’t be afraid to ask trusted clients for introductions and referrals. You will be amazed how many people want to introduce you to their contacts. A personal referral is a truly valuable way to win more work. 

Want to win more work this year? If you want any more information on how to win more work and grow your business, get in touch. Email us at hello@questas.co.uk or connect with our founder and CEO Gary Williams on LinkedIn.