Due to the global pandemic, those of us with business development and sales responsibilities in the design and construction industry are facing a number of new challenges, not least of which is that many clients have simply put the brakes on new spending.

How did we sell before, and how must we adapt our practices now?
What tools, technologies and techniques can we use to keep our pipelines alive while working remotely, even if we can’t close many deals right now?

This article will explore some potential answers to these questions.

The old perception of business development was that you would go out, meet a client, they would send you an RFP, you would submit a proposal and—presto!—win the job. Ka-ching!! It simply does not happen that way any more—if it ever did.

Learning from the past to adapt to the future

Social distancing due to COVID-19 has changed everyone in a business development or sales role from 'Road Warriors' into 'WFH Warriors' (working from home).

But we need to maintain business development progress while working remotely, so that our company pipelines do not dry up, and also to avoid revenue disruption, as much as realistically possible.

The old perception of business development (a.k.a. ‘sales’, I will use the two interchangeably) in the design, construction and property industry was that you would go out, do some networking, meet some potential clients, they would send you an RFP, you would submit a proposal and—presto!—win the job. Ka-ching!!

It simply does not happen that way any more—if it ever did. Sales in this industry has become very complicated in the last several decades due to a number of factors:

Enhanced screening and scrutinising capabilities of clients — the ‘BS-radar’, if you will!
Increasingly complex filters and steps in selection procedures to de-risk decision-making
Heightened attention to anti-corruption and transparency in business practices — gone are the days of the CEO or Chairman simply awarding contracts to their friends from the golf club
Increased commercial and competitive capabilities of firms
Increased number of sales & marketing channels and frequency of messages bombarding clients
Advances made in the skills and talents of sales & marketing professionals in the industry

Developing business in professional services involves a complex sale. Complex sales have several characteristics:

Long sales cycles – sometimes several years
Multiple decision makers, or ‘decision by committee’
Multiple stakeholders and stakeholder groups contributing opinions
Customer tends to control the selling process — RFQ > RFP > interview > negotiations
The solution is business critical and impacts the buying organisation on a strategic level

These sales are complex for a reason: They are big, risky purchases, and clients do not want to make the wrong decision. That is why we have so many filters to get through and obstacles to overcome.

You must build trust and credibility with the client, therefore empathy and authentic interest in the client are required. You must also build intelligent relationships across the client organisation in order to navigate and avoid the political pitfalls within it.

The complexity of the sale is compounded when we add an international dimension, requiring an additional set of skills:

Cross-cultural awareness and potential language barriers
Sensitivity to meaning and intent
Understanding of local political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) issues
Detailed due diligence on targeted clients
Awareness of tax, legal, cash flow, payments, insurance, regulatory, FX, mobilisation and resource planning strategies
Sensitivity to communication preferences — phone, email, social media, virtual meetings, etc.

Now just imagine what adding isolation, quarantine and global pandemic does to the complexity level!

Selling in a complex environment

In their study of high-performing sellers, “Selling Is Not About Relationships” (Harvard Business Review, 30 September 2011), Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson identified five types of salespeople:

Relationship Builders — Focus on developing strong relationships and advocates. Strive to meet client’s every need, work hard to resolve tensions.
Hard Workers — Go the extra mile. Make more calls and conduct more visits in a week than anyone else in team.
Lone Wolves — Self-confident, the rule-breaking cowboys of the sales force who do things their way or not at all.
Reactive Problem Solvers — Highly reliable and detail-oriented. Focus on post-sales follow-up, ensure that service issues resolved swiftly.
Challengers — Know clients’ business, push thinking and take control of the sales conversation. Share potentially controversial views, are assertive.

What was revealing in their study was that, despite assumptions to the contrary, Relationship Builders represented only 4% of the highest performers in complex sales. It was the Challengers who absolutely dominated as selling became more complex, representing 54% of the highest performers.

So why were Challengers so much more successful? The answers may surprise you:

Challengers teach their clients – They focused not on features and benefits but on insights. They brought unique perspective on their client’s business, offering new ideas that can make/save money for client, often opportunities the client hadn’t realised existed.
Challengers tailor their sales message to the customer – Challengers had a finely tuned sense of individual customer objectives and value drivers, and they used this to position their sales pitch to the different types of client stakeholders within the client organisation.
Challengers take control of the sale - While not aggressive, Challengers were assertive and comfortable with creating a bit of tension. They were also unlikely to acquiesce to every client demand. Challengers took a position that they could push back a bit with clients — not just on their thinking, but also around price.

We believe Challengers were the most successful because they earned the client’s respect. They did this by not just going in and saying ‘here’s what we have, do you want to buy some?’ They took the time to screen the client, as much as the client was screening them, and to understand their business before offering solutions that were tailored specifically for them—but not on any terms. They negotiated reasonable terms for both sides, demonstrating fairness and value.

No one wants to be ‘sold to’. However, everyone values relevant insights that lead them to making an informed decision.

So what can we learn from this study? It is safe to say that these days, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, no one wants to be ‘sold to’. However, everyone values relevant insights that lead them to making an informed decision.

We advise not to waste clients’ time with low-value interactions such as ‘check-ins’ or ‘touch-bases’, but focus on bringing your clients real insights about their business. Think about what is happening in their industry that will have an impact on them, and translate that into how you can actually help them address those issues.

You can do it

It is from these insights that we have developed our four-step ‘UEDO’ model (pronounced ‘you-do’):

Clients like people who are focused on them – Understand their business
Clients like to learn new ways of doing things – Educate them
Clients like to hire experts – Demonstrate thought leadership
Clients like people who add value – Offer solutions

Interestingly—and appropriately for the current environment—all of these steps can be done virtually with a little bit of effort.

There is an old sales adage that says: ‘No one buys a million-dollar solution over the phone.’ The current pandemic situation is testing that wisdom.

UEDO ‘the new normal’

There is an old sales adage that says: ‘No one buys a million-dollar solution over the phone.’

The current pandemic situation is testing that wisdom.

With the entire world in some sort of quarantine situation, everyone—and we mean everyone—is being forced to accept that business is having to be conducted more remotely, or at least with significant constraints.

Because of this, you can still be a valuable resource for clients while you are WFH Warriors.

Our UEDO model follows four easy steps that we believe anyone can accomplish:

First, Understand your client’s business. How much do you really know about your target client’s business? Now is the time to close that gap:

Research their website
Read their annual reports and business updates
Watch webinars or online videos about what they do
Watch their CEO’s TED talk (or similar) to ‘get inside their head’
See what your client contacts are Tweeting or posting on LinkedIn
Learn what’s important to them and what they are struggling with
Consider how you might use this intel as you approach them

Second, Educate your client:

Show client where you have solved their problem before
Be specific and relevant – one on-target case study is better than a brochure full of so-so examples
Offer to have a phone call or ‘personal webinar’ with them to walk them through it, and bring in your expert team if necessary
Give the client a ‘valid business reason’ for the virtual meeting—tell them what they are going to learn
Think about how you can help them and provide insights—not how you sell them something

Third, Demonstrate thought leadership:

Write a thought leadership piece if you or a colleague have an idea, then share with clients
Leverage past papers and presentations that you or your colleagues have done that are relevant to your client
You can even share specific third-party knowledge that address your client’s issues—it shows you are thinking of them
Share a link to an article published online with added comments showing your insights—how does this apply to your client’s business?

Fourth, Offer something of value:

All clients are always trying to fix, avoid or improve something
What can you do for the client to add value to their business or solve their problem?
Making the offer of something uniquely tailored to your client is the ultimate demonstration of your expertise and thought leadership
This may involve a detailed presentation of a similar case study, or a limited amount of speculative work
It should be based on your deep understanding of the client and their situation
If done properly, it has a high chance of moving the discussion toward closing a deal

UEDO it remotely

There are many tools, technologies and techniques available right now for business developers at either no cost or a fairly small cost.

Here is a quick rundown of 12 of them, some will be more appropriate for you than others. All of these are further expanded on in the slide deck I’ve posted on SlideShare (click here to visit SlideShare for the full slide deck):

Direct BD
Online BD
Communications
Account based marketing
LinkedIn
CRM System
Webinars
Videos
Thought leadership
E-newsletters
Website
Social media

There is plenty that we can all be doing to maintain our sales and marketing activity while WFH.

On the upside, you will learn to be a more efficient and effective business developer, and you are not spending excess time and money on travel. You’re also reducing your carbon footprint — and that is not a bad thing!

Final Thoughts

It may be a long road ahead, but we will get past this crisis.

In the meantime, there are plenty of tools and techniques available to continue developing your business.

On the upside, you will learn to be a more efficient and effective business developer, and you are not spending excess time and money on travel.

You’re also reducing your carbon footprint — and that is not a bad thing!

And it is essential to learn these skills now, as you will likely need to rely on them for some time to come, as it will be a long time before business reverts back to pre-pandemic practices, if it ever does.

Suggestion: Be realistic and manageable — pick one new client to start, and run through our four-step UEDO approach, while making appropriate use of the tools, technologies and techniques I've described:

WEEK 1: Understand their business
WEEK 2: Educate them in new ideas
WEEK 3: Demonstrate thought leadership
WEEK 4: Offer solutions

By the end of week 4, you may find yourself negotiating a contract.

Good luck, and stay safe!