Hi Reader

​
If I could offer one piece of advice to any aspiring partner, it would be this: develop and maintain a strong professional network.

Your long-term aim is create a network of people who can advocate for your services and skills.

But please don't assume that you have to build a network from scratch! In reality, everyone already has an existing network so this is where you can start.

One thing you'll always hear from me is that if you want to be "one to watch', you need to start networking, bringing work to your firm, and eventually start winning your own clients.

But it pays to get yourself organised and clear about what you actually want to achieve, and what kind of clients you want to attract.

If you want to be able to win your own clients, your marketing needs to be ultra-focused. Your business development activities need to start with you deciding on what clients you will target.

Here are 3 more choices to make to keep your business development activities on track and focused.

If you want to progress in your career in your firm, you need to show the partners that you understand the need to win work for the firm whatever level you are at.

As you progress your career, you need to actually start winning work for your firm!

Does this feel incredibly daunting?

Are you worried about how you are going to build a network and “win work” because you don’t know how and there aren’t enough hours in the day?

Perhaps you baulk at having to win work – you didn’t envisage a career in sales after all!

But how do you get started?

1. You need to think of business development as your day job, rather than something you just fit in when there’s not much delivery work to do.

Make a choice every day about how you will do some business development.

The people in your firm who are successful at networking, business development and who eventually will win work, are the ones who choose to create a daily BD habit and then stick at it. Read more: Daily Habits for Business Development​

2. You need to create the time to do business development, and that often fits in with the need to change your mindset.

That means choosing not to go over your billable time targets too much, so that you do have some time to get business development done.

Read more: 8 tips to make the most of your business development time​

3. Choose a niche and stop being a generalist. To win work effectively, you’ve got to choose what you want to become known for.

Read more: Everything you need to know about choosing a niche​

This is a totally different set of skills than your technical skill-set so you may be worrying about how you can make this change.

I totally understand! But remember, building these skills doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time – small efforts daily, weekly and monthly that add up to so much more.

If the thought of “selling” and “networking” brings you out in a cold sweat, then I am here to help!

My Progress to Partner Academy site has everything you need to learn how to:

• get into a business development mindset
• understand why you need to be more commercial
• make time in your day for business development
• create a BD plan that you will actually stick to
• get confident using LinkedIN to network & get referrals
• choose your niche
• become known as the Go-To-Expert for your nice
• Become someone who wins work for your firm

​

Self-study courses:

⭐️ How to Make Time for Business Development

⭐️ How to Choose a Niche

⭐️ How to become the Go-To-Expert
​

Short Video Clips including:

⭐️ How to make the time for business development

⭐️ How to use LinkedIN to get noticed

⭐️ What you need to be successful with your business development
​

Workshop recordings:

⭐️ How to develop work from existing clients

⭐️ How to structure your business development activity

⭐️ How to be seen by your partners as sharp, commercial and future partner material
​

​

If you want to unlock access to all the recordings, quick wins & guides but don't yet need access to the self-study courses or the business case & partner admissions resources, a Basic membership is the one for you.

​Get Basic level Progress to Partner for £35+VAT​

​

Are you feeling stuck? If you'd like to book a 15 minute Zoom call to look through the resources in Progress to Partner with my colleague and Progress to Partner executive coach Kate Clover, click here​

Have a good weekend!

Heather

PS - you can build the skills and mindset you need to progress your career in your firm. Get Progress to Partner Academy. Find out more here​

Heather Townsend

Author (Poised for Partnership, the Financial Times Guide to Business Networking) Co-author How to Make Partner (and Still Have A Life)

The leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner, and when you get there, stay there. Founder of Progress to Partner Academy

​

​