In this economy, where we are asked to do more with less, how do you set yourself apart from others who do exactly what you do? What makes you a more desirable professional?

The key is in your ability to build and maintain strong business and personal relationships.

A few years back, my boss and I met with a client to discuss upcoming opportunities. It had been several years since we had worked for this client and my boss was determined to find out if there were problems with our work or if work just wasn’t available, as the client had repeatedly told him.

On our way back to the office, my boss said, “I can’t believe that we accomplished so much with this client. I have been trying to reach him for six months with email and phone messages.”

“Six months of emails and phone calls?” I asked. “When was the last time you met face-to-face with this client?”

‘It’s been at least two years since I last met with him in person,” he replied.

Having worked successfully in business development for more than 20 years, I have been asked over and over to train and mentor others. I have worked hard to impart my knowledge and give guidance on how to win new work. I have shared it all – maintain contact on a regular schedule; offer help before you ask for help (or business); build a personal relationship.

It wasn’t until after I walked out of that meeting with our client that I knew that I had failed to pass on the key ingredient to my business development successes over the years. The key to building strong business relationships is that you must meet face-to-face.

It really is that simple.

 According to Alton Barbour, author of “Louder Than Words: Nonverbal Communication,” the impact of communication breaks down like this:

• 7 percent verbal (words)

• 38 percent vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, etc.)

• 55 percent body movements

People do business with people they trust. Building trust doesn’t happen through email or over the phone. Building trust happens during personal interactions. Only by meeting with potential clients face-to-face can you interpret everything they are saying (verbally, vocally and physically).

Building business through email is flawed because you can’t hear or see your potential client. Trying to create a trusting relationship by phone robs you of 55 percent of what your contact is saying in a conversation.

Only through in-person communication can you fully understand what someone is really telling you. This is where a personal and trusting bond begins to form.

Very few of the technically minded professionals I have worked with throughout the years have been successful at business development. Why? Because the skills and knowledge they acquired to provide their expertise requires highly technical and well documented interactions with clients.

The very nature of providing a professional service sets a technical person up for failure in developing business. Through education, certification and licensing they are taught that the answer to any problem can be found through knowledge. Don’t know the answer? Look it up.

On the other hand, the lasting effects of business development can’t be achieved through research. Bringing in new work requires the ability to build trust. Forming and maintaining new relationships is different in every instance; you don’t know how others will respond. The answer can’t be found in a book.

Once you understand that the skills needed to develop business are the opposite of the skills needed to complete the work, you will have mastered the most important aspect of business development.

When I teach business development now, I start with the key to building strong business relationships – get out of the office and meet people face-to-face.

Oh, and the result of our face-to-face meeting with our client? We were awarded two new contracts within six months of the meeting.

Kenda Salisbury is the director of marketing for historical research and cultural resources management firm Historical Research Associates Inc. Contact her at 503-247-1319 or at ksalisbury@hrassoc.com.

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The economic downturn left many professional services firms with fewer billable hours and a little extra time on their hands. But companies can set themselves apart by capitalizing on this time.

As a marketing professional, I know that strengthening relationships with current and potential clients is important to growing my firm’s business. While business development is crucial, don’t underestimate the importance of ensuring your firm is shown in the best light. When was the last time you took a good, hard look at your marketing materials?

What are we really saying about our firms? Does the text read like a mishmash of several pieces written previously? Do the graphics accurately reflect current work and employees? If we are working so hard to bring in what little work is available, why are we using old materials?

To build the strongest business, my firm is taking a hard look at the message we are portraying. We still use the same logo designed more than 30 years ago, our website isn’t user friendly, and many of our marketing pieces don’t match each other. We decided to invest in our future by redesigning our brand.

When freshening up the look and feel of a company, consider the following do’s and don’ts.

1. DO hire a consultant. Rebranding is a highly political and personal process. Rely on the experts to guide you through the process.
2. DO form an internal committee. Building consensus with a large group of owners or shareholders takes a lot of time. Form a committee of three to five people to run the day-to-day decision making of the rebranding process.
3. DO interview several agencies. As professional services providers, we recognize that clients hire us based on the level of trust we build with them. Clients are looking for a strong working relationship. The same applies when we hire a branding firm. Look for a team you can communicate with easily.
4. DON’T hire an agency without a clear scope of services. A majority of the work we win is a result of responding to a request for proposals. Work smart by establishing a clear scope of services and asking for references. Be sure to follow up with all references. Yes, all the references will be glowing examples of the work the agency provides, but they will also give a strong indication of how the agency works with its clients.
5. DON’T rebrand in a vacuum. Yes, we know our firms, but what do our current and potential clients think about us? The most important aspect of any rebranding is to accurately reflect who we are and what we do. Make sure that your assumptions match those of your clients.
6. DON’T expect rebranding to happen overnight. Be realistic about the time frame. An agency will present an aggressive schedule, designed to move you through the process quickly. By nature, professional services providers question all avenues before making a decision. Professionals who take a long time to decide whether to proceed will need even more time to choose brand elements.
7. DON’T misrepresent your company or its services. Build a new brand on the company’s mission statement and values. Work hard to accurately reflect the firm’s professionals and services they provide. Don’t lie (to yourself) or bend the truth.

During this time, firms can strengthen relationships with clients, train technical professionals or rebrand. Just be sure to DO something! The biggest mistake you can make is to wait until the economy recovers; at that point it will be too late to position yourself for new work.

Kenda Salisbury is the director of marketing for Historical Research Associates Inc. and a member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. Contact her at ksalisbury@hrassoc.com.

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