Recently I suggested you set up meetings in the New Year with your key clients. I suggested investing up to 2-3 hours with each one. Now, given most professionals are on a time writing KPI of some sort – is it worth it?

The short answer is almost always, yes. [Hats off to the accounting community, who do this sort of thing exceptionally well. There are multiple examples of revenue increasing when firms choose fewer targets. One firm I know saw a 54% increase in the revenue attained from their Top 50 clients in 12 months when they implemented a sophisticated key client strategy. We are talking about tens of millions of dollars in this case.]

Think about the potential benefits of a planning meeting in January:

You will be asking the client to invest in you as much as you are investing in the client. This will give you the best indication possible that they are going to use you for their needs.
You will have the opportunity, in one meeting, to introduce new ideas and new people to the client in circumstances when they are open to them.
You will be able to concentrate your efforts for the benefit of one client, but perhaps be able to leverage the lessons for the benefit of other clients, with similar problems or in similar industries.
It positions you and your firm as an adviser of choice, not just a provider of services when chosen off the shelf at the whim of the buyer. It asks of the buyer, do you trust these guys wholeheartedly enough to share your plans?
Depending on the value of the content, it may justify some fee, although this should not be the driver.
It shows the client you care, and enables them to see you know their business and industry – a constantly cited need by clients in feedback research.
It allows you to plan with greater certainty when, and in what areas, your client will need you. By definition, this gives you some indication of the additional revenue you might need from other sources and how hard you might have to work on the rest of your business development to meet your revenue goals.

So don’t be afraid to choose who your best friends are, or are going to be. One of the best ways to become best friends, is to spend more time together.

Today's BD tip:

As the headline states, finding time for fewer friends will frequently find fair fees. A framework for a friendly meeting like this follows:

Outline of client’s current business plan (by the client).
Identification of genuine commercial/legal/accounting/engineering opportunities and risks if business plan implemented as anticipated.
Prioritisation of opportunities and risks giving consideration to likelihood and impact of them occurring.
Discussion about variety of options to deal with opportunities and risks (including internal resourcing versus external resourcing).
Action plans and timing.

[First published on LinkedIn Oct 15]