Over the 15+ years I’ve been working with lawyers, engineers, accountants, consultants and other technical specialists, one of the most common themes I’ve encountered is the discomfort many feel around business development. It often surfaces in slightly different ways. Some will tell me they dislike networking, others will say they don’t enjoy selling, don’t feel naturally commercial or simply don’t know where to start when it comes to winning work…and then there are the ones who don’t say anything but I can tell by their faces it makes them very uncomfortable! You know who you are.
What has always struck me is that these comments rarely come from people who lack ability. In fact, they often come from highly intelligent, experienced and successful professionals who are genuinely excellent at what they do. They have spent years developing expertise, building credibility and delivering value to clients. Yet when the conversation turns to business development, confidence can suddenly disappear.
This raises an interesting question. If these professionals are so capable in their chosen field, why do so many of them find ‘business development’ uncomfortable? In my experience, the answer is often much simpler than people think. Nobody ever taught them.
When we look at how technical professionals develop throughout their careers, most follow a very similar journey. They study, qualify, gain experience and continually strengthen their technical knowledge. They learn how to solve problems, manage risk, apply professional judgement and deliver high-quality work. Every stage of their development is supported by training, mentoring and practical experience.
However, at some point in their career, expectations begin to change. They are asked to build relationships, develop clients, identify opportunities and contribute to growth. In many cases, they are expected to become more commercially minded and play a role in winning work for the organization they are working for. Their targets grow and they are somehow expected to deliver more. Yet unlike their technical development, these expectations often arrive without the same level of support or guidance.
Nobody would expect a lawyer to become a competent solicitor without training. Nobody would expect an engineer to develop technical expertise without learning from others. Yet many organisations still expect professionals to acquire commercial skills through observation, trial and error or by simply watching what more experienced colleagues appear to do naturally.
Part of the challenge is that business development has an image problem. The phrase itself can trigger unhelpful assumptions. Many technical professionals immediately associate it with sales targets, self-promotion, cold calling or networking events filled with awkward conversations. For people who pride themselves on expertise and professionalism, this can feel uncomfortable and, in some cases, completely at odds with who they are.
At its best, business development is not really about selling at all. It is about understanding people, building trust and helping clients solve problems. It is about being interested enough to understand what matters to a client, asking thoughtful questions and finding ways to create value. When viewed through that lens, many technical professionals are already demonstrating aspects of business development every day without even realising it…and from this repositioning the fear is often reduced.
In fact, the very best business development is often where the energy to do business comes from the client. There is not an ounce of pushy selling involved. Instead, the client is actively looking for ways to engage the provider because they can see the value being created and trust the individual in front of them. When business development is approached in this way, it feels far less like selling and far more like helping clients achieve their objectives.
The engineer who takes time to understand the wider objectives behind a project is demonstrating business development. The lawyer who identifies a risk before it becomes a problem is demonstrating business development. The consultant who introduces a client to a useful contact or shares a relevant insight is demonstrating business development. These actions may not feel like selling, but they strengthen relationships, build trust and create opportunities.
Another factor is that technical excellence and business development often require different behaviours. Technical careers are frequently built on accuracy, analysis, expertise and evidence. There is usually a clear process to follow and a logical route towards a solution. Business development can feel much less certain. It involves relationships, conversations and human behaviour, none of which follow a neat formula… what works well with one client may be completely ineffective with another.
That does not mean one skill set is more important than the other, quite the opposite. The most successful professionals are often those who learn to combine both. They retain their technical credibility whilst developing the confidence to build relationships, understand clients and communicate value more effectively.
Interestingly, many studies into trust and relationship building highlight two qualities that people look for when deciding whether to work with someone: warmth and competence. Competence is often the easier concept for technical professionals to relate to. It is the expertise, experience and technical capability that they have spent years developing. Warmth, however, is demonstrated through empathy, curiosity, authenticity and a genuine interest in other people. Perhaps most interestingly of all, research suggests that warmth is often assessed before competence. In simple terms, people tend to decide whether they trust us before they fully evaluate our expertise. The strongest client relationships are therefore built not on competence alone, but on a combination of warmth and competence.
The encouraging thing is that business development is not a personality trait. It is not something reserved for extroverts or natural networkers. Like any professional skill, it can be learned, practised and improved over time.
Perhaps the real question therefore, is not why do technical professionals struggle with business development, but, Why do we continue to expect technically brilliant professionals to develop commercial skills without ever showing them how?
We are a business development consultancy which is passionate about helping our clients develop processes, skills and behaviours that will result in increased sales and improved margins. 
