Professional Services and Private Client businesses often struggle to reconcile their dual goals of delivering exceptional client solutions / advice while at the same time driving a robust culture of business development. For many accountants, wealth managers, and real estate professionals, “sales” can be perceived as a dirty word. People often think that it’s at odds with their professional identities. They see themselves above all as highly capable practitioners and trusted advisors; while, salespeople might be thought of as the cliché of a ‘pushy, slick guy’ in a suit.
At Templar Advisors, a number of our clients recognise that their teams could do more to excel not only as practitioners, but also as business developers. Here, we explore strategies to create a sustainable business development culture, common pitfalls to avoid, and the vital role of senior leadership in driving change.
Why Efforts to Create a Sales Culture Often Fail
- Cultural Resistance: Many professionals view selling as incompatible with their advisory roles. This resistance often stems from a lack of understanding of what business development entails. People say: “I hate cold calling… Networking shouldn’t have to be part of my role.” Very often there is no expectation that either of those practices are expected of them at all. There are many other avenues to driving revenue growth.
- Lack of Alignment with Professional Values: Business development initiatives often feel imposed and disconnected from the core values of client service, technical excellence, and integrity. We recently heard a Consultant say: “BD has nothing to do with my job, I’m a Planner…”
- Poor Training and Support: Firms frequently fail to equip their teams with the skills and confidence to engage in business development. Many rely on the delusion that technical excellence alone will attract clients.
- Misalignment of Incentives: Traditional incentive structures often reward billable hours or safeguarding existing AUM more than relationship building or revenue generation. It almost never explicitly rewards cross-selling.
- Expectation of Roles: Asking individuals to prioritise business development without adjusting workloads or reallocating responsibilities often leads to burnout or disengagement.
Steps to Create a Business Development Culture
The first step in building a business development culture is to reframe business development as an extension of client service. This is a culture and values piece. Messaging should emphasise that it’s about deepening relationships, solving client problems, and creating value—not “selling” in the traditional sense. This needs to be championed from the top.
1. Lead from the Top
- Senior leaders must model business development behaviours and integrate these efforts into their day-to-day activities.
- Focus on the right kind of target setting and client prioritisation:
- Define Target Clients: Leaders should work with teams to identify high-priority clients and prospects based on strategic alignment and growth potential.
- Set SMART Goals: Establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) business development targets for individuals and teams.
- Segment Client Portfolios: Use data-driven insights to categorize clients into tiers (e.g., strategic, growth, maintenance) and allocate resources accordingly.
- Regular Progress Reviews: Conduct periodic reviews to assess progress against targets, ensuring accountability and recalibrating priorities as needed.
- Provide Support and Resources: Equip teams with the tools, data, and time needed to effectively pursue prioritised clients.
- Five top reminders for Senior Leadership
- Showcase Your Own Efforts: Leaders should share personal examples of business development activities, such as building new client relationships or expanding existing ones. Share the practical “What I did… How I did it…”
- Mentor Team Members: Actively mentor individuals on how to identify opportunities and navigate business development conversations.
- Participate in Client Meetings: Join key client meetings to demonstrate how to blend technical expertise with relationship-building. But, don’t ‘showboat’!
- Set Clear Expectations: Clearly communicate the importance of business development as a strategic priority for the firm, including specific, measurable goals for teams and individuals.
- Celebrate Successes: Publicly recognise and reward team members for their business development achievements, fostering a culture of appreciation.
2. Provide Targeted Training
- Invest in training programs that build essential skills: active listening, consultative selling, and storytelling.
- Focus on equipping teams to identify opportunities organically within client engagements.
3. Create Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Encourage teams to collaborate across practice areas on identifying client needs and offering holistic solutions.
- Foster an environment where sharing leads and opportunities becomes the norm, not the exception.
4. Realign Incentives and Metrics
- Incorporate business development goals into performance reviews and compensation structures.
- Reward efforts like networking, speaking engagements, and client education initiatives—not just net new assets or incremental client wins.
5. Balance Practitioner and Sales Roles
- Develop a clear framework that outlines expectations for practitioners at different levels, ensuring business development responsibilities are realistic and supported.
- Allocate time specifically for relationship building within workload planning.
- Consider working in teams rather than solo. Balancing ‘hunter’ and ‘farmer’ profiles can maximise sales impact and client service. This is often successfully done in Private Wealth.
6. Leverage Technology
- Use CRM systems to track relationships and opportunities, fostering a more strategic and data-driven approach to client development. This clarity on ROI, demonstrates the incentive of greater business development activity.
- Provide tools that make staying in touch with clients and prospects easy and manageable.
7. Celebrate Wins
- Publicly recognise and celebrate examples of successful, new approaches to business development to normalise and reinforce the behaviour. More recent joiners, in particular, will become earlier and more committed converts to embedding BD in their day-to-day. One of Templar’s notable banking clients has institutionalised the celebration and sharing of ‘business won’ case studies.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- One-Size-Fits-All Approach
- Business development expectations should be tailored to individuals’ roles, experience levels, and personalities. Forcing every team member to approach it the same way can be counterproductive. Consider focusing on specific parts of the business. One Templar client is focusing more on “the moveable middle” for now, than every practitioner in the firm.
- Neglecting Core Competencies
- Overemphasizing sales at the expense of domain expertise can alienate teams and undermine the firm’s reputation.
- Failure to Manage Change
- Introducing a business development culture requires change management. Without clear communication and support, resistance will persist.
- Overloading Staff
- Expecting teams to take on business development without reducing other responsibilities leads to burnout and resentment.
- Focusing Solely on Results
- Over-prioritizing revenue targets without valuing the process—like cultivating relationships and building trust—can discourage genuine engagement.
Final Thoughts
Creating a business development culture in professional and financial services firms is a nuanced challenge but it also creates massive opportunities. By aligning business development with professional values, investing in training and support, and celebrating incremental progress, firms can inspire their teams to embrace this dual mandate. By focusing on sustainable, client-centred approaches firms will ensure that business development becomes a natural and rewarding part of professional practice.
Contact Templar Advisors if you’d like to discuss how we can support you in your Business Development journey.