Projects are activities that may involve several people and many to-do's. You create a project by clicking on "Add new" and click "Save." You can list all the people involved and all the to-do's in the Project Worksheet. The to-do's will also be listed in the To-do list on your dashboard with a hammer icon. You can archive Projects by using the link at the bottom of the Project Worksheet or by scrolling over a Project on the dashboard and clicking on the "Archive" link.

An important exercise is to anticipate all of the objections that a prospect may have so you can address them before they are expressed (if ever) or as a response to a stated concern. This section provides an opportunity to list many possible responses.

The space for your responses is unlimited so your responses can be complete and powerful. For example, an objection may be, "The cost is too high." One possible response could be, " I know you are interested in the cost, as you should be. Let me share with you how we have come to quote that I gave you. Our goal is to provide the greatest value for you. And while the hourly rate may be higher than our competition, our abilty to be more efficient will result in a lower cost.  May I share with you our processes to demonstrate how our efficiencies will lead to a more rapid outcome?"

It is good to remember that explaining your processes is a very effective way to paint a picture of your ability to deliver.

You should practice responding to objections so your delivery is confident. You need to be proud of your answers and not appear apologetic. You might even respond with a quick smile and a nod that shows you are comfortable with discussing any concerns that may arise.

A good way to review and practice your Objections/Responses is to include them with the information you send to your PlanPal.

This is where you clarify your thinking about key issues for pursuing your innovation.

1. What are the benefits of this innovation? List all the possible benefits for every stakeholder you can imagine. The more benefits you can identify, the greater your ability to appreciate its value.

2. What are the risks of implementing?  List all the risks you can think of at this time. Try to consider every risk that could occur if you were to implement the innovation.

3. What are the obstacles to implementation? List anything that might get in the way of your implementing your innvoation.

4. What are some possible solutions to the obstacles? List all the solutions you can think of. You will think of more later.

5. What additional research. should you pursue? List all the research that you think is necessary to consider your innovation. Notice that you have the option of adding your research ideas to your to-do list. When you do, a lightbulb icon will appear at the beginning of your innovation to-do.

6. Who are the people that could support your analysis? List all of the possible people who could give you input on your possible innovation. Be sure to only engage the support of people who you can trust to not steal your innovation or use it in a negative way.

7. What additional issues should you consider? This is where you list any other considerations that have not been convered by the prior questions.

8. What are your next steps? List all the steps that you now want to take. Notice that you have the option of addint your next steps to your to-do list. When you do, a lightbulb icon will appear at the beginning of your innovation to-do.

This is where you clarify key issues if you want to propose your innovation to someone.

This is the finished view of your innovation proposal, suitable for sharing with people with whom you wish to validate or promote your innovative idea.

This is where you describe the prices that you are currently charging. Make sure to include any alternative pricing structures that you have used, even if they are not the norm.

This is a person or entity that you are aware and who might qualify as a good Target - but, you haven't met yet. They are a total stranger. Your goal is always the same - to obtain the contact information of the decision maker. You can do that by asking your contacts if they know someone at the entity. You can also do research on the Internet. You may also feel comfortable contacting the entity and inquiring about who the person is that you should be talking to.

Once you identify the right person, you can reach out and inquire about the process for getting on their approved vendor list. Some of your prospects may send our a Request for Proposal (RFP) when they plan on hiring a new provider. You may want to ask about the process for getting on their RFP list.

Then, you may decide to that the person or entity qualifies as a Target. If so, you can click on "Promote to a Target" and they will be moved from your Wish List to a Target Worksheet.

You can also promote a prospect on your Wish List by scrolling over their listing on the Wish List. 

Your website is your electronic brochure. People who are referred to you will probably visit your site before they call you.  And, people will search for your website via the Internet when they are seeking your services. 

Your site needs to provide a comprehensive amount of information. But it should be easy to navigate with a variety of subheadings.  Visitors may easily become frustrated if they can't quickly find the information they are seeking.

One of the best ways to think of improvements is to be aware of the websites you visit and keep notes on the things that you like. 

Another key to a successful website is providing helpful information so that visitors actually benefit from their visit. It is a good idea to provide value in the form of tools, articles, videos, seminars etc.

There is a correlation between the amount of time someone spends on your site and their feeling confident in your ability to be of service. This concept is called, "Stickyness" and you should endeavor to provide elements that make people want to stick on your site.

A great use of your site is to invite your prospects to visit it when you are talking with them on the telephone. During your conversation, you can provide a tour of the site and point out the value it provides along with the issues about your business that you want to them to appreciate.

You will probably want to hire a consultant to help you develop your site. A good way to do that is to look at the sites of your contacts and when you find sites you like, you can ask about the developer.

If you want to enhance the number of visitors that come to your site, you may consider hiring a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultant. They may be able to help you identify key words that prospective visitors are most likely to use in their search for your services. Those words should be incorporated in your site.

There are many consultants who are in the businesses of website development and search engine optimization. Before you hire one, be sure you examine their prior work product and be sure to check references. There are many consultants who overpromise.

Articles written by journalists and reporters about you and your business could be beneficial. For that to happen, youmust identify issues that may be interesting to your targets.

An issue may be as simple as your getting a promotion, but if you can identify more compelling issues, you increase the liklihood of having an article written. For example, are your pursuing some kind of cutting edge srategy - either in the way you run your business or serve your clients? Or, are you helping the needy and underprivileged or being of some other benefit to the community as a part of your business? 

If you do have a topic that may be if interest to the press, you should identify the publications that are read by your targets. You can document that information in your Target Worksheets. Then simply reach out to reporters and/editors. You could call them or send a letter or issue a more formal press release.

You may choose to use the services of a public relations professional who is knowledgeable about the process of reaching out to the press.

The tutorial will help you learn how to use the site and answer the questions in the Biz Dev Questionnaire. You can access the tutorial via your computer or your mobile device.  It can be downloaded from your computer and read in its entirety, or you can use the help icons as needed. 

It is important to identify all the industries that are connected to your targets.  For example, if you are a CPA, you may be getting referrals from attorneys. However, your target market also uses the services of banks and financial planners. This is where you should document all of the industries that may be vendors or partners or associated in some way with your target market.  The members of these industries could be valuable referral sources.

The obstacle to pursuing new industries is that you may develop a comfort level in a particular industry. And that will be ok if that industry is large enough to support your referrral goals.

But the risk is great that the members of a particular industry that could refer you totheir contats will be too limited and stunt your growth.  

It is important to be clear about your next step with each target. This is where you document what you want to do. You can access a target to-do via your computer or your mobile device. If you enter data using your mobile device, you will need to refresh your main site to see your new data. Or the program will automatically refresh within 5 minutes.

When you enter a target to-do, it will appear on the Target Worksheet and also on your To-Do list (and be identified with the bulls eye icon).

Note. If you delete a Target, any to-do's will be removed from your to-do list.

Advertising may be used to motivate people to contact you and/or to increase your visibility - so when people meet you (or get referred to you) they may already feel more connected to you because of their prior exposure.

Here are some fators to consider:
1. Make sure your advertising dollars are invested in communicating with your targets. Every dollar spent on reaching out to a non-prospect is a waste.
2. Be clear on what you want to accomplish. Many people spend advertising dollars with a message that simply says that their businesses exist. For that kind of advertising, a prospect has to have a need. When a need matches a service, you might get a response.

But you may have a service where there is no immediate perceived need. For example, you may be a CPA and your prospects already have a CPA. You may offer superior services, but you will never get the attention of your prospect because the don't perceive the need. In that case, your advertising should quickly explain what your prospects should be enjoying.

If your goal is to motivate your prospect to contact you, you need to provide a compelling reason. For example, you might want to invite them to a seminar or offer a free booklet with valuable information.

Advertising is a complicated and expensive endeavor and you should investigate using the services of an agency. Any reputable agency should be capable of explaining how the advertising they propose is going to accomplish your goals.

Your BizDevDashboard consists of four sections:

Top of Mind - Your list of sayings, quotes or important thoughts that you want to keep top of mind.

FYI - Announcements from BizDevCoach®

Targets - Your list of the people who you have decided are the most important to pursue.

 To-Do's - The tasks that you want to remember to implement - and you have a due date in mind.

You may want to keep BizDevCoach® open all the time so you can readily see the things that are important to you. If you don't log out, the content will always be immediately avaliable - unless we have updated functionality of the site - in which case you will need to log in.  We will notify you when we update the site with both an email and an announcement in the FYI section.

Keeping BizDevCoach® open all the time will increase your outreach. That's because when you see the things that are important, you will be motivated to improve. And you will be more likely to come up with creative ideas that you really want to implement.

This is where you can list your goals. Many people like to set goals as a way to motivate and measure progress. For example, you might choose to set a goal of implementing four seminars per year or meeting 200 new targets. Try to set goals over which you have some control and that can be easily measured.

One of the keys to achieving goals is to create systems that will logically produce the results. For example, if you want to meet more people, you need to identify systems for doing just that. You need to list the people you know who are well-connected. You need to identify the organizations that are populated by the people you would like to meet. You need to consider researching the names of strangers who you would like to meet and then develop outreach strategies.

When you enter a goal, it will automatically be entered into the "Goals" section in the Top of Mind section of the Biz Dev Dashboard.

In an effort to be motivated to increase your biz dev effort, it is a good idea to select an aspect of your life that you could blend with your biz dev. For example, if you have children, you might be involved in your local PTA or booster club. If so, (and if your targets are local business owners in the school district) you might consider reaching out to the owners of those local businesses to support the school. That way, you help the school and also meet the business owners. The term for this kind of business development is "Cause-related marketing."

There are many ways to blend your interests with your biz dev. It could be connected to your hobby, or charity or political beliefs. Be careful, however, not to choose an activity that might make some portion of your target market uncomfortable. If you choose hot-button issues, you run the risk of alienating an important segment of your target market.

One of the obstacles to blending your interests with your business development is the discomfort you may have with mixing business and your personal life. In an effort to deal with this issue, you need to consider whether or not your concern is rational. It is common to hold on to beliefs that you may have developed years ago even though the beliefs are not valid.

Remember that if you can comfortably create situations where your personal and business interests merge, you may find the experience energizing as well as effective.

Sometimes your service or product is too expensive or has insufficient benefits to get immediate buy-in. In that case, you may want to alter the service and therefore the fee.

If you can't do that, you may be able to offer alternative, interim services or products so your prospect can hire you right now.

This is where you list all the alternative offers you could make to close a deal sooner rather than later.

This is where you list possible additional uses of technology that you have interest in pursuing.There is a good chance that many or most of your targets are of an age when technology is an important part of their lives and they will appreciate and expect you to be technologically astute. It is not a good idea to live in the past. Imagine if someone wanted to provide a service for you but you were told that you could not call the service provider on the phone because they were not comfortable with that technology. Well, your client of the future will expect you to be deeply involved in the technologies they use and the sooner you can exhibit that you are aware and involved in technology, the better.

Creating a blog on your your website may be an effective way for you to substantiate your ability to deliver and also to meet new contacts. Blogs give you the ability to communicate your knowledge and invite prospects to respond. An active blog may also enhance your position in your listings on Internet searches. Your interaction can create a community of people who share your interests.

This is where you list your blog topics and ideal frequency for submitting content. You could also list the people who can help you write the blog.

One of the obstacles to a blog is the time it takes to write it. Check out the tutorial on, "What client updates/newsletters do you plan to write?"

Increasing your credentials may be an important biz dev strategy. Prospects want to know that you have the ability to deliver and your credentials will help to make them feel optimistic.

You should make a list of all the possible credentials that would serve you such as memberships in professional societies, additional degrees, awards, etc.

You should regular consider this issue as your prospects may become more sophisticated and will find increasing your credentials more appealing.

Updates and newsletters are a good way to make sure that everyone in your contact database occasionally is reminded of your name. That way, when a need arises, they are more likely to consider contacting you.

But don't expect your prospects to contact you after receiving your updates/newsletters unless they have a need. The timing has to be perfect.

An important biz dev strategy is to spend time talking with you - even if they don't have an immediate need. Talking with your prospects by phone or in person gives you the time to learn more about them. As you learn more, you can communicate more about your business and how you can be of service.

You can use updates and newsletters to promote conversations by making offers that may be attractive, such as seminars or checklists. Remember, you goal is to create an opportunity to interact with your prospects so you can guide them through the selling process.

Another way to enhance the effectiveness of updates and newsletters is to limit the amount of information in the initial broadcast and require that people click on a link and log on to your website to read the rest of the article. This will notify you that someone has shown interest in the topic and may make you feel comfortable enough to reach out and offer to provide more information or customize the topic to their needs.

One of the obstacles to updates and newsletters is that they are time-consuming. There are several solutions:
1. Keep a folder with your ideas. When you get an idea, you may want to make the time to write about it. Every time you think of a possible topic, document it in your folder. Collect articles, updates and newsletters of your competitors.

2. Block out writing time in your calendar. Some people can develop new habits by scheduling them.

3. Delegate. If you have support staff, you can make this a part of their job. You could help them by arranging for them to interview you. You can explain the issues and they can write about them. Your support staff can also write about their own areas of expertise. Delegating not only produces the product, it is also an effective training tool.

4. Hire a writer. You can reach out to colleges and universities to to find students who can interview you and write your updates and newsletters.

An important biz dev goals is to reveal to your prospects that you have the ability to deliver. A common strategy is to simply claim that you have a particular skill or capability. But claiming capability may not be enough. You want to communicate your ability in a way that has more credibility and power.

One of the best ways to reveal your superior characteristics is to tell stories about your experiences. These "War Stories" make your experiences come alive. Telling stories has always been a primary motivational mechanism for helping people learn, believe and remember important information.

There is a fundamental belief that prior behavior portends future behavior. You should select experiences that are emblematic of the characteristics you want your prospects to know. For example, if you want to reveal your creativity, list experiences in which you were particularly creative. If you are proud of your ability to solve complex problems, list an experience where you solved a particularly complex problem.

Of course you cannot list all of your experiences. But you can list key experiences that will be motivational to the majority of your prospects.

Plus, this process, will teach you how to think about this issue and help you be prepared to use experiences as a way of motivating prospects. For example, if your prospect has a need that requires that you be very thorough, you will be trained in immediately telling a war story about a situation where you were particularly thorough.

You should review this section periodically because you will constantly be having new experiences that improve your ability to motivate your prospects.

Your bio may be an important element of your website, brochures and other business development materials.

You should maintain a comprehensive biography that documents all of the information that will support your ability to deliver the benefits you offer. Be certain to include your philosophies about serving clients, processes, experience, successes, awards, organizational involvement, etc.

Try to be as comprehensive as possible. Don't be afraid of making your bio too long. Your prospects can stop reading when they want to, but if they want to learn more about you, you should make the information easily available.

It is a good idea to include a photo of yourself on your bio. Prospects will feel more connected to you when they see your face.

It may be appropriate for you to modify your bio when you present it to a particular prospect so that you communicate the most relevant information and so that it is customized to meet the prospect's needs.

If you use your bio as a handout when you give a speech. Be sure to include your contact information.

You should review your bio regularly to make sure that it speaks to your constantly- improving ability to serve your clients.

A primary goal in business development is spending time with your prospects. One of the best ways to do that is inviting them to events. Events could be parties, outings, or any other event that might attract your target market.

If your prospects are located too far away to addend an event, you can offer webinars.

You should have at least three events per year. That way, you will always have something to which you can invite a prospect that is not too far into the future. And, three events will give you three reasons to contact your prospects to stay "top of mind."

You should invite existing clients, referral sources and resources as well as inviting the strangers you have added to your wish list. Be sure to tell your invitees that you welcome their suggestions of any contacts who could be added to your invitation list.

Do not give your invitees the authority to invite others without your prior approval. Otherwise, they might invite a competitor.

In an effort to maximize attendance, you should personally call as many invitees as you can. That will dramatically increase attendance and give you a reason to have a telephone conversation. Sometimes that call may result in being hired.

It is a good idea to develop a signature event that makes you well known in your target market. If you can create a "hot ticket," you will increase your credibility and visibility in your market.

The event should be worth the attendees time and should be positive in every way. It is better to invite fewer people and have a more pleasing experience. You should make sure that people feel welcome and never unclear about what they can expect. If you provide food, it should be good food. If you provide information, it should be interesting. And, you should validate parking.

Each event should provide you with an opportunity to spend some time with each attendee. Be sure to thank them for attending. Be sure that when you are interacting that you give them your full attention. Don't fall into the trap of allowing your eyes to dart around the room in search of other targets. When you are talking to someone, they must be the focus of your attention.

Keep in mind that follow-up is key to your success. Be absolutely certain that you negotiate your next interaction with that person before you part. If you don't negotiate the follow-up, the event will provide far less return on your investment.

In order to negotiate the follow-up, you should have an inventory of valuable offers that you can make prior to parting. Offers could be seminars, best practices checklists, other events, or socializing, etc. In addition to having an inventory of canned offers, you can create customized offers on the spot based upon the needs that your prospect reveals in the conversation. During your conversation, you can make your offer and ensure that you will spend time together in the future.

If you can't think of a valuable offer, simply getting their approval for you talk with them in the near future will dramatically increase the likelihood that you will do the necessary follow up.

If you fail to negotiate the follow up, you can still contact your invitees after the event. You can contact those who did not attend and, if applicable, provide a recap. You can also offer an invitation to a future event. For those who did attend, you can call to make an offer for future interaction. But the burden on you to make follow-up calls that have not been pre-arranged is great; and there is a great likelihood that you will hesitate to reach out.

Seminars and webinars are one of the most effective biz dev strategies. They are relationship maintenance offers for existing contacts. They are first follow-up offers for new acquaintances. And because they have a scheduled date, they force you to do your outreach.

Unlike speeches that you provide through organizations, this sections deals with the programs you will produce. They are a subset of events you plan to implement.

The biggest obstacle to implementing seminars and webinars is developing the content. You can minimize this problem in several ways:

1. Keep it short. The seminar does not have to include every important detail. In fact, it should have just enough to be responsible.
2. Make it a panel. That way the responsibility is divided among several speakers.
3. Just be the host. You get a lot of benefit by just being the host and let others do all the speaking.

A key to your success is producing programs that are interesting to your audience. Make sure the content is filled with actionable tips.

Remember to invite not only the people you know but also the strangers on your Wish List. Also, be sure to ask your invitees to give yo the names of people they know who might be interested in being invited. But, don't give them the authority to invite anyone they choose. They may be thoughtless enough to invite your competitors.

It is a good idea to personally call as many invitees as possible to invite them to your program. Personal invitations dramatically increase attendance.

When attendees arrive, be sure to make them feel welcome and validate their parking.

Since you will be in charge of inviting your guests, you will already have their contact information. But don make the mistake of thinking that you will follow up after the program. You should still make offers during the program that motivate the attendees to reach out to you.

Public speaking is one of the most effective ways to meet new contacts. This is where you should list the topics of speeches that you have decided would be worthwhile to deliver.

One obstacle to giving a speech is the fear of being embarrassed. The key to solving that problem is to select audiences that know less about the topic than you do. When that happens, you won't have much to worry about.

Another obstacle is the amount of work it may take to write a speech. Rest assured that it is likely that you will be able to deliver the same speech many times to different audiences and amortize the time it took to create it.

The best way to arrange speaking opportunities is to identify the organizations that cater to your targets and reach out to the program chair. You could simply ask if they invite outside speakers. If they do, you can discuss topics you are ready to present and you can also ask what alternative topics they have an interest in.

When you schedule a speech, be sure to find out if you are allowed to invite your contacts. That way you can use the speech as an offer to your targets.

Remember that the goal of your speech is to get the contact information of your targets in the audience. You must have the contact information so you follow up. The best way to do that is to make an offer of something that is compelling but does not create the fear of making a commitment to you.

Offers could be a copy of your PowerPoint, copies of articles, best practices checklists, invitations to future programs, etc. Don't make the mistake of giving too many handouts. Instead, hold back some of the handouts and use them as offers.

Attending events is one of the best ways to meet new people. The most important criteria of the events you attend is access to quality targets. If the targets are not good, the event is a waste of your precious time and money. And,when you meet those new contacts, be sure to negotiate the follow-up by making a first follow-up offer. Without following up, there is very little benefit in attending.

You might also consider becoming a speaker or sponsor so you enjoy the added credibility and access to more contacts.

You could also use the event as a reason to contact your targets to see if they plan on attending.

If the event is in another city, you could use the opportunity to visit them as long as you are already going to be near them.

You should list the dates of the events you want to attend in your To-do's and schedule a reminder well in advance so that you can register and plan any associated biz dev activities.

This is where you list the organizations that you have decided are well-targeted and provide access to the participants and members.

Your goal should be to meet as many targets as possible. You should consider being a sponsor of an event or being a speaker.

Remember, the value of an organization is to stay connected with existing contacts and meet new ones. Don't make the mistake of joining some committee that results in your doing a lot of work with little exposure to your targets.

The best committee to join is the membership committee. In that role you can reach out to all your targets in the organization and help them identify the people they know who should be members. Then you can reach out to them to introduce the organization and introduce yourself in the process.

In the role of developing membership, you can also reach out to complete strangers who you think would benefit from joining the organization. Building the organization will not only help you, but it will help the organization as well.

Too often, people are involved in organizations that are no longer good biz dev opportunities but because they support the cause of the organization. Supporting causes is wonderful, but unless the organization is well-targeted, don't include it as a biz dev opportunity.

The first step in the Selling Process is meeting new targets. (See more about the Selling Process in the Target Worksheet help link.) While meeting people through referrals or by attending events can be effective, simply reaching out to strangers may be very effective as well. In order to reach out to strangers, you can advertise. But advertising may not capture their attention as effectively as a direct approach.

If you want to implement a direct approach, you need to identify the names of the strangers that would be worth meeting and start making a list. We call this a "Wish List" because you will ultimately prioritize the strangers that you would really like to meet. You can maintain your Wish List by clicking on the Wish List link at the bottom of the Target Worksheets section.

Here are some ways to develop your Wish List:
1. Noting the names of contacts that your contacts mention
2. Asking your allies for suggestions
3. Making note of names as your read articles
4. Noticing advertising
5. Researching the Internet
6. Purchasing mailing lists

Once you add a name to your Wish List, you will be motivate to acquire their contact information. You can do this by asking your contacts if they have any ideas about how to connect. You can do research in social media and the internet. If you purchase a mailing list, you will also acquire their contact info. If you can, try to negotiate a guarantee from the list provider that the information you purchase is accurate.

When you obtain contact information, you can reach out. You could send a letter of introduction. You could offer to talk on the phone about some way of being valuable to them. Or, you could invite them to attend your webinars or seminars.

There are many obstacles to creating a Wish List of strangers. One obstacle is that you may feel that it is unrealistic that you will be successful in making contact. Of course, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don 't try, your odds of meeting are of course much worse. Also, you may be surprised at your ability to become skilled at this.

The key to being successful in reaching out to strangers is providing something of value so they want to meet you. It may be that your service is so valuable, merely learning about it will compel a target to interact with you. But, many of your targets will not immediately perceive the value you offer, so just informing them that you exist will not be enough.

If that is the case, you need to think about something of value that you could quickly describe in a letter, email or telephone call that would be compelling. A good example would be an invitation to a webinar or seminar.

Another example of a valuable offer is a brief discussion via telephone about best practices that they should be following in their business. Let's say you are a CPA. You could offer a best practices checklist for how to prevent fraud, or how to increase the value of your business.

Your success will completely be dependent on the value of your offer. If someone learns about your offer and does not accept it, then you need to improve your offer.

Another obstacle is the concern that reaching out to strangers is unethical. While you must follow the ethical rules of your profession, there most certainly will be ethical ways to reach out to strangers. The key to your success is to not assume that all outreach to strangers is prohibited, and then find out the methods that are acceptable.

Your contact database is the backbone of your outreach. It is the way you maintain the inventory of one of your most important asset - your contacts. And, it is one of the primary means of communicating with them.

You should be extremely diligent in collecting the business cards of the contact you meet who could be clients, referral sources or resources in the future.

Keep in mind that the selling process may take years with many of your contacts, so you must have a way of staying in touch. And the process of creating and maintaining your contact database make take a long time. You want to be ready at a moments notice to sent out an announcement or invitation.

Another important benefit is the ability to review your contact database to remind yourself of people you know who should be added to your priority target list. If you don't review your inventory of contacts, there is a good chance that valuable contacts will be forgotten and not receive the attention they deserve.

There are many contact management programs that you can use for your contact database. You probably already have Microsoft Outlook on your computer. More sophisticated systems include Act!, Sales Force, Sugar and many others.

Basic contact database systems will act as a sophisticated address book, with the ability to house both contact information and notes. Many are able to sort by variable fields such as industry, priority, etc. More sophisticated contact databases have the ability to inform you about who opens your emails and who blocks them.

Your contact database should contain the names and contact information of everyone who could be of value to you in your business development. It should include:
1. Every contact at every client
2. Everyone you have met whom you would like to see as a client
3. Everyone who has referred business to you
4. Everyone you know who could refer business to you
5. Everyone you know who could help you in your business development. We call this category "Resources." Resources could be publishers, program chairs of organizations where you might speak, marketing support staff at your firm, etc.

It will be helpful for you to obtain mobile phone numbers of all your contacts. With a record of a contact's mobile phone number, you may be able to maintain a connection even if the contact moves to another company. One of the best biz dev strategies is to remain connected to contacts, even if they move to another entity or entities over time.

Remain diligent in adding new names and updating contact information. You should review your contact database periodically to refresh your awareness of contacts who might be potential targets for new services or who may now be better targets than they were in the past.

The obstacle to creating and maintaining an updated contact database is that the process is burdensome. It feels boring and may not provide instant gratification. The solution is to remember that you must document your contact for the long run. Failure to do so will most certainly result in your losing contact with people who could be valuable to you in the future.

Try to spend a few minutes a day in updating your contact database. If you can delegate the process, be sure to tell your delegatee that this is an extremely important responsibility.

It is a logical strategy to increase the size of your potential markets by extending your geographic reach. Your ability to increase your geographic reach is dependent on a number of factors.

The first is your ability to serve your clients without being geographically close.

Another is your targets' perception of how close they think they need to be to you. While you may feel comfortable serving your clients from a distance, your prospects pre-conceived expectations may be too deeply entrenched.

Another is the cost of travel or satellite office space if you need to have face-to-face meetings.

With current technology, you may be able to serve clients that are at far greater distances than you had previously imagined. You should periodically consider your geographic reach as your situation changes.

Market segments are always changing. If they are growing, you can grow with them. But if they are shrinking, you may be at risk.

You should be constantly thinking about new market segments. Analyze the vendors to your current clients and consider their customers to determine if they have potential as new market segments for you.

You should always be thinking about new ways to serve your target markets. Learn about the services that your competitors offer. Always ask your clients about additional services that they may need.

Remember that each new service may open the door to additional target markets and additional biz dev strategies.

List all of the services you offer so you that can be certain that you have a strategy to promote each. As you list each service, you should consider whether or not you really enjoy providing that service. If you don't enjoy providing the service, and want to maintain your ability to provide it, you should consider how you might delegate the delivery.

You should also make sure that you are always aware of all the services you provide as you interact with your contacts so you can educate your prospects about everything you can do for them.

Documenting your services also enhances your ability to explain them succinctly, which is important for motivating your prospects to ask questions about them.

You should review this section periodically because you may be developing new services and that you'll need a separate biz dev strategies for each.

Your Plan is the document that is generated as a result of your completing the BizDev Planner. If you want to make changes in your Plan, you must make them in the BizDev Planner, and they will be reflected in the updated Plan. You can return to the corresponding questions in the BizDev Planner by clicking on the topic on your Plan.

The benefit of a plan is to help you use your time wisely. With no plan, there is a great possibility that your biz dev effort will be random acts of outreach. You are likely to be influenced by less-valuable opportunities that cross your path - rather than being clear about strategies based on the BizDevCoach tutorial.

While we will make every effort to securely save your Plan on our backup system, you should always save a current copy of the PDF on your computer and print a copy as well.

You can send a copy of your Plan to others, including your PlanPal®, by using the PlanPal link on the menu bar.

You should review your Plan frequently. Many changes are likely to occur in your business and in your target market over time, so you need to make sure that your Plan is adapting.

Keep in mind that an effective biz dev plan requires that you are engaged in a variety of activities. Don't fall into the trap of believing that you should only focus on your strengths. Too often, people who like to write will focus exclusively on writing articles. And while writing articles could be a valuable component of a biz dev plan, it is not enough.

You need to develop your skills in all five steps in the selling process.

1. Meet new targets.
2. Build trust
3. Clarify needs
4. Get approved
5. Close

You will find more information about the selling process in the Target Worksheet and Introduction help links.

There are three fundamental processes that will help you improve your plan.

1. Study the tutorial. Don't assume that you know how to answer the questions in the BizDev Planner. If you make that mistake, you may be locked into preconceived ideas that may not serve you well. It is a good idea to read the entire tutorial as soon as you can. That way you will be able to answer the questions in the BizDev Planner within the context of your entire plan.

2. Develop your ability to notice biz dev opportunities as they present themselves to you. For example, you may be driving down the street and see the sign of a company. You might normally just ignore that name. But if you could develop the ability to let seeing the name be a catalyst to your biz dev planning, you might ask yourself if there is a biz dev opportunity learning more about the business.

3. Reviewing your BizDev Planner. Develop the habit of reviewing your BizDev Planner frequently. In the early stages of your working with BizDevCoach, you might want to review your plan daily. It might surprise you how quickly a single experience could dramatically alter your biz dev plan. For example, let's say you meet a prospect who is in an industry in which you do not have other contacts. That single individual could be an ambassador into an entirely new and fertile environment. You may not have realized it at the time you met. But by answering the BizDev Planner about what new industries you should consider, you might remember the new contact and add the industry to your Plan.

When you introduce your contacts to BizDevCoach®, not only will they receive the normal free 30-day trial period, but also - when they subscribe, they will receive an extra 30 days of the service at no charge. Plus, when they subscribe, you will receive 30 days for free. You both win.

Note: When your contact registers for BizDevCoach for the 30-day free trial period, we define that as, "Registering." When they decide to proceed and provide us with their credit card information, we define that as, "Subscribing."

So, to be clear, you will receive your free 30-days additional access to BizDevCoach when the people you invite actually subscribe. You will not receive an extra 30 days additional access if they register, but do not subscribe.

If you are a member of a firm/group account, your additional free days will be available to you only when you leave that group.

BizDevCoach® maintains a record of the contacts you have notified and if they register and subscribe. It will also maintain a record of how many free 30-day segments you will receive as a result of subscriptions from the people you've introduced.

You can send up to 10 multiple invitations at a time. If you do, the personal message will be the same for everyone in that group. If you want to send individual personal messages, you need to send them one at a time.

If you see that someone has not registered or subscribed, you can resend your invitation and remind them. That way they don't have to find your original email.

Reminder: There is no cash value to the free 30-days segments you accrue. If you decide to cancel your account, no refunds are owed to you.

This is where you document important information about each of your priority targets. You access a target worksheet by clicking on a Target. You can do that from your computer or your mobile device.  When you enter data from your mobile device, you will need to refresh your main site to see the new data. Or your site will automatically refresh within 5 minutes.

Remember that targets are the contacts that you have identified as people who deserve your focused attention. Not all of your contacts will deserve the status of a Target.

Your goal is to increase the likelihood of reaching out by identifying a worthwhile reason to call and one that you really want to act upon. Completing a target worksheet may feel like a lot of work, but the more information you have at your fingertips, the greater the likelihood of developing a reason to call. This practice will serve you well over the term of your relationships.

It is a good idea to review your target worksheet before communicating with a target. Be sure to keep adding information about your target as you collect it.

And, don't hold on to the belief that you can remember details. You will be interacting with many people and things that you think you will remember can easily be forgotten.

You should use a separate contact database, such as Outlook, (there are many different contact databases)  for all your contacts - including your targets. That way, your targets will be included in your email broadcasts. But, the Target Worksheets give you a place to record important information that you might not remember to enter into your larger contact database.

A Target Worksheet is initiated when you enter a name and/or entity into your Targets list on the Dashboard. It will be added to the bottom of your Target list. Then you can click on the target to add information onto the Target Worksheet.

If you want to edit the Name or Entity of a target, you can only do that on the Target List.

The lines in the Additional Information section of the target worksheet are limited to 50 characters. If you need more room, you can enter it in Other which has unlimited capacity.

You can print a Target Worksheet, down load it and save it and you can download all of your target worksheets.

Goal for this target: To enter your goal, click on the edit button after the words Add New. 

While your ultimate goal with a target will be to close as a client, or get a referral or resource, there are many interim goals that you should set. As you achieve interim goals, you will feel motivated to continue to pursue the target. There are five steps in the selling process. Each is a goal. (This topic is also addressed in the Tutorial in the Introduction).

1. Meet. The greatest weakness of most professionals is that they don't know enough good targets. You should develop systems for meeting as many good targets as possible. Even if you already know many people, there is a great likelihood that many will not become clients. Keep in mind that it may take years to take prospects through the selling process or for prospects to have a need. Therefore, even if you are currently busy, you should continue to seek out new quality prospects.

2. Build trust. This is the process of demonstrating that you are capable and compatible. That is often accomplished by substantiating your ability to deliver superior benefits. You can learn more about substantiation in the Substantiation section in your Biz Dev Questionnaire.

3. Clarify needs. This is the process of learning about the needs that prospects have already identified and explaining to prospects other needs that you may be aware of due to your knowledge of their industry or situation.

4. Get approved. Everyone who hires you will need to approve you - either formally or unconsciously. A good strategy is to always ask prospects, "What is the procedure for getting on your approved vendor list?"

5. Close. Closing means finalizing the deal. It often is easier when you can develop low-barrier closing offers that reduce the difficulty of making a decision to hire you. Low-barrier closing offers are addressed in the Biz Dev Questionnaire. Remember, your job is to consider where you are are in the selling process with each target and how to proceed with the other steps.

Mark the goal above as achieved: When you achieve your goal, click on this link and trumpets will celebrate your success. You can edit this function in the My Accounts section. When you mark a goal as achieved, a note will automatically be entered in the Notes section and you will be given an opportunity to create a new goal for that target. If you don't have a new goal, you can leave the target on your Target list for future consideration or archive it.

Target Notes: This is where you document what has occurred in the past regarding your relationship or interaction with a target.

When you enter a note, the date of entry will automatically be displayed at the end of the note. You cannot edit the date of the entry. When you edit a note, the original entry date will remain. So if you want to document the date you did an edit, you should mention it in the note.

You have the ability to prioritize your notes by clicking and dragging them. This way you can keep notes that are most important at the top of the list.

Every time you complete a task or have an interaction, you should make a note. Looking at your notes will not only allow you to remind you about your conversations or thought, but also it will help you decide your next step. 

When you add a new note, it will be entered at the bottom of the list.

Target To-Do's: This is where you document your next step in dealing with your target. It could be research or it could be outreach. There are three categories or reasons to reach out.

   1. Value. You make an offer of something of value that will be appealing to your target. It could be an invitation to an event or an offer to co-author an article, etc.

   2. Research. You have a question that the target could answer such as the name of the trade organizations that serve her/his industry or you might inquire about the process for getting on the approved list, etc.

   3. Social. If you are friends with your target, you can make a social call, and, if she/he brings up a business issue, you can discuss it without feeling pushy or invasive.

Additional Information: This is information that will help you consider how to further develop the relationship. It is extremely valuable to see how much or how little you know about your targets. The information in each category is limited to 50 characters.

Phone: List land lines with an "L" preceding and and mobile lines with an "M" preceding.

Email: You may already have the email stored in your contact managment system, but it may be helpful to re-enter it here for convenience.

Qualifications: This is where you document why you think this person qualifies as a priority for you. One of your most important biz dev skills will be deciding your best targets. This section will help you develop the criteria.

A qualifying target could be someone in several categories:

   A client who could use more of your services

   A client who could use the services of one of your colleagues

   A referral source who could continue to refer more

   A contact who should be a referral source

   A contact who has been a resource in the past. ( a resource could be program chairs of organizations where you want to speak or editors where you want to publish, etc.)

   A contact who could be a future resource.

Source: this is where you document how you became aware of or met this target. It may be the name of a referral source, an organization, event or research. You must become very aware of your sources. When you do, you will become more effective in zeroing-in on your best sources.

Thanked. If the target came from a referral, this is where you document whether or not you thanked her or him. It is very important to thank your referral sources. An appropriate gift is a good idea as long as it meets the ethical standards of your profession. A personal note is always a good idea. Phone calls to thank are good and emailed thank you's are OK but a last resort. Be sure to enter the referral into the Referrals section of BizDevCoach.

Assistant: This is where you document the name, phone and email of your target's assistant. Remembering the name of the assistant can be very helpful in pursuing a relationship. Always be friendly and respectful to assistants.

Team Target?: Your target may also be a target of a colleague(s) in your firm. If so, you have to decide if you want to pursue the target by yourself or as part of a team. This will depend on whether you are compensated as a team member and if there is a team that is qualified and wants to act as a team. If this is a team target, enter "Yes."  If it is not a team target, enter "No."

If yes, who?: This is where you list the team members. Every team needs a chair. You may want to identify a chair with a "C" preceding her/his name.

Spouse/Significant Other: Document the name of the spouse/significant other the moment you learn it so that you will have it for future reference. It really enhances a relationship when you are talking with a target about a non-work issue and you can say a name instead of being vague. You may also choose to document interests, birthdays etc.

Children: Same as above.

Mutual Contacts: This is where you list the names of people who are known to you and your target. Seeing these names may prompt you to produce an event that involves everyone. Or, you may see an opportunity to request support from one to help you strengthen the relationship with another. If you have more than 3 mutual contacts, you can list a few on each line and also enter more in Other at the bottom of the form.

Organizations: It is very important to document the organizations of your targets. This is how you will develop your skills for identifying and benefiting from well-targeted organizations that may be new to you or where you might benefit from increasing your involvement with the organizations you already know. If your target is involved in more than 3 organizations, you can list a few on each line and also enter more in Other at the bottom of the form.

Hobbies/Interests: As you document the hobbies and interests of your target, you may find that you become more aware of reasons to reach out. You may invite her/him to an event you know will be attractive. You might send articles that she/he will find interesting. You may discover that many of your targets share the same interests which could result in your creating an event that would be well-received by many targets.

Potential Introductions: This is where you document the names of people whom your target knows and whom your target might be willing to introduce to you. This does not mean that you have to ask for an introduction, particularly if you feel that is too invasive or pushy. But you may have some kind of offer that would be easy for your target to make to others on your behalf. For example, you might invite a target to a seminar and suggest that she/he invite others that you have in mind.

Publications: This is where you document the publications that your target reads. These are publications that may be read by your target market and could be a good place to publish. You should also read the publications so you are aware of the issues that are important to your target and her/his industry.

Known needs: This is where you document the needs your target knows that they have. For example, your target may tell you that she/he needs a new CPA. If you can make an introduction, you will benefit your target as well as the CPA, who may be or become a referral source. You will learn more about the issues a target is aware of as you interact and explain what you do for a living.

Unknown needs/issues: This is where you document needs or issues that you know may be important to the target, but the target is not familiar enough with the issue to know there is a need or issue. For example, if you are an estate planning attorney and your target just had a child, you are more aware of the importance of changing the will than the target might be.

It is the area of unknown needs/issues that will be most likely for future expansion of the relationship. When you bring up these needs/ issues, it is important not to be a fear monger or to overstate the concern. Rather, you are mentioning them because you are sincerely concerned about the well-being of your target and you feel compelled to make sure that she/he is properly informed.

Compatibles: This is where you document the interests, hobbies, activities, values, etc. that you and your target share. For example, if you both like golf, it will remind you that golf is a potential reason to reach. If you both have children, it will remind you that a discussion about a family vacation could be a topic you both relate to. This is important because a big part of building trust is identifying shared values. 

Required Research: This is where you document information you need to research that may help you pursue the relationship. If there is research that you want to to do, be sure to list the specifics in the target to-do section.

Other: This is where you can document key things to remember that you don't want burried in your Notes such as a birthday or something the target said that impacted you. The entry date of each Other item will automatically be entered at the end of the line.

Archive the target: Click on this link when you want to remove the target from your Target list, but want to have access to it in the future. You can retrieve the target by clicking on the Show Archived Targets link at the bottom of your Target list on the Dashboard.