5 Things Successful People Do to Develop Business Post-COVID

Are you finding it hard to connect with and target clients in a post-pandemic business environment? Just as the ways we work and how we engage have changed, our approach to clients may also need a pivot.

Professionals are asking themselves what they should be doing differently, and how to reach their goals when their target audience has limited time to meet in person, is tired of being inundated with pitches and solicitations, and may be stressed in their own work environments. But there are some avenues to consider for a new approach to business development and they are resulting in wins for professionals willing to make a shift. A few tips from those who are reporting success:

They share unique insights and information instead of following the herd

Sending out client alerts on the same topics as your competitors won’t set you apart, and won’t help you get the attention of your target audience. For example, providing a summary of US federal agencies’ recent antitrust actions might be what everyone else is doing , but it doesn’t distinguish how you are best positioned to assist clients or offer distinctive information. Adding rare insights, on the other hand does, such as when you share an exclusive quote from a former FTC commissioner about why a particular action is likely to succeed or fail.

If you just do what rivals in your industry are doing, because you feel like you should be talking about what others are, you’re not providing content or analysis that distinguishes you and garners attention. Your audience is more likely to just add your news update to a pile on their desk or quickly lose sight of it in their email. But if you can add value by describing an emerging issue that no one else has flagged yet, or provide an intuitive understanding that your competitors can’t replicate, you have a better chance of being noticed and remembered as someone with critical expertise.

They personalize their approach

Knowing well the person to whom you’re pitching, and what matters to them, both professionally and personally, can be a differentiator in building a relationships. You should be doing your research regarding a target client, and not just with respect to their professional profile and company. Learning that you both grew up in the same metropolitan area or are fans of the same sports team gives you something in common. It also provides a starting place for a conversation that is about more than selling yourself and your company.

Being aware of someone’s interests and priorities, outside of the office as well as on the work front, also can offer you ways to follow up with them and stay engaged. For example, you could offer to review their high school-age child’s college essay draft because of your experience as an alumni interviewer for your university. Or you might send restaurant recommendations for a city to which you recently visited, and where you learned that they are planning to travel. There may not be an opportunity for you to secure the person’s business now, but you want to remain on their radar in multiple ways. Even when you don’t have them as a client yet you can find ways to grow your relationship by focusing on their individual profile.

They offer unique and thoughtful opportunities to meet up in person

Professionals across industries are reporting that it’s harder post-pandemic to get people to commit to attending in-person events and meetings. People want more time with their families, they may no longer have daily commutes that bring them to downtown areas, or their priorities for spending time outside the office have otherwise changed. Exclusive and in-demand events, like tickets for Wimbledon or dinner with a celebrity chef, will always be huge draws, even for clients who eschew most after-work or weekend commitments. But there are a limited number of invitations that can be issued by companies and firms for such occasions, and more junior professionals generally don’t get the ability to make those offers to their clients or prospective clients.

Yet client outreach doesn’t need to be about huge dollar-cost offerings. The key is to be purposeful and targeted in meeting someone on terms that work for them. If you have a local client who is training for their first 10K and you’ve been an avid runner for years, you can offer to partner with them and do some joint runs to help with their pacing. Or if they aren’t going to attend a certain event you’re sponsoring, see if you and a key speaker that they expressed interest in can meet with them individually at another date. Do whatever you can do to connect with your clients where it’s easiest and most appealing for them.

They ask what would make a difference for their client

If traditional business pitches and offerings aren’t working, consider what would be something that really speaks to a particular client’s work needs. For example, if the person expresses frustration with feeling unappreciated at work and isolated from decisionmakers in a remote-work world, you might reach out to their boss to praise how well their direct report is handling a certain project with which you’re involved. Or if a target client mentions that reduced travel budgets mean that they can’t travel to a conference where they had a major speaking opportunity, consider if you can connect them with a journalist who would be interested in talking to them for an upcoming article on a similar topic.

Solving a client’s problem doesn’t always mean finding a resolution that works for their company. It may mean identifying what would improve things for them individually in the workplace. Asking your client what is on their wish list at work, and how you can assist is a great way to distinguish yourself from the competition.

They discard approaches that aren’t working

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And if you’re doing this with your business development efforts that you’ve been relying on for years but they aren’t working anymore, it’s time to discard those mechanisms. People are relying more heavily on social media since the onset of COVID and remote work, for example, and hard copy outreach through mail or even email may be less effective for your business. Talk to your colleagues also about what is working or not working for them. Knowing what others in the market are seeing as effective provides ideas as to what may be a good fit for your business development prospects.

Assess as well whether it may be appropriate to segment clients into different marketing approaches based on how they are working now – e.g., remote, hybrid or in-office. Invite your clients to also share with you what approach they would find most helpful for communicating with them and their teams. Most clients have never been asked that question directly, and appreciate the chance to be honest about what they prefer.  

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If you’re searching for a way to update your approach to business development and professional networking, I hope you’ll reach out to see how I can assist. Contact Laura