Turning up the heat
The UK is about to experience temperatures usually reserved for Spain, Dubai and the inside of a law firm’s budget meeting.
Inevitably, as every business meeting this week starts with a comment about the weather, it got me thinking about pressure. Not the weather kind. The business development kind.
Because whilst most people spend the next week looking for shade, the best business developers tend to do three things differently. Enjoy.
#1. Keep your cool when everyone else is melting
Markets wobble. Targets get missed. A major client rings with a problem. The pitch deadline moves forward by a week. The air conditioning packs up.
Most people react emotionally. Clients notice.
The people who build trust are usually the calmest people in the room. They don’t pretend problems don’t exist. They simply don’t amplify them.
When a client calls with an issue, they’re not looking for panic. They’re looking for reassurance and confidence in your ability to de-escalate the situation. They’re looking for someone who can help reduce the temperature, not increase it.
I’ve worked with plenty of successful partners over the years. Almost all of them share the same characteristic. Under pressure, they become calmer, not louder.
Try this: The next time something goes wrong, ask yourself one question:
“Am I bringing heat or reducing it?”
One of those behaviours wins work. The other wins stress.
#2. Growth usually starts before you’re ready
Most meaningful career moves and business development wins have one thing in common.
At the time, they felt slightly uncomfortable.
The promotion you weren’t entirely sure you could handle. The client pitch that felt beyond your weight class. The speaking slot in front of 200 people. The instruction that stretched your experience to the edge of credibility. The opportunity you’ve been putting off because you’re not quite sure you’re ready.
The reality is that very few successful people wait until they are 100% ready. If they did, they’d still be waiting.
The same applies to work.
I’ve lost count of the number of partners, consultants and business owners who have taken on work when they were already stretched. Not recklessly. Not irresponsibly. But with the confidence that they would work out how to deliver it.
Sometimes you’ve got to build the runway whilst the plane is already in the air.
Or, to borrow from the highly entrepreneurial mantra from two highly successful FS Reg partners (you know who you are) at Simmons & Simmons, “build it and they will come”.
Of course, there are limits. Nobody is suggesting accepting work you genuinely cannot deliver. But many of us are guilty of confusing capacity with comfort. One is a genuine risk. The other is often where growth begins.
Try this: Think about the opportunity you’ve been hesitating over. Is it genuinely beyond your capability, or merely beyond your comfort zone? The answer might tell you what to do next.
#3. Don’t wait for perfect conditions
Every summer (or spring, autumn or winter) there seems to be a reason why business development can wait.
It’s too hot/cold. Everyone’s on holiday. The schools have broken up. The quarter has ended. The quarter has started. Next month will be better because [insert generic excuse here].
The reality? Momentum doesn’t care about the weather.
Some of the biggest opportunities I’ve ever seen started with a simple check-in message sent during a supposedly “quiet” period.
Whilst everyone else is waiting for the perfect moment, the best business developers are planting seeds.
A quick coffee. A short, tailored email. A referral / testimonial request. A client catch-up.
Nothing revolutionary. Just consistent activity.
Because opportunities rarely arrive because you were waiting for them. They usually arrive because you stayed visible whilst everyone else disappeared making their own excuses.
Try this: Pick five clients, prospects or referrers and send them a short message this week.
Nothing clever. Just ask how they’re doing and what they’re working on over the summer.
Human beings still buy from human beings.
Chat to Tina by voice, when you’re between meetings, on the commute to/from work, or heading into something you’d rather avoid.
Final thought
When the temperature rises, most people slow down.
The best business developers do something different. They stay calm under pressure, lean into a little discomfort and keep moving whilst everyone else is looking for shade.
That tends to create opportunities all year round.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find the nearest fan.
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