The uncomfortable truth is that traditional BD does not work, it is inconsistent, has no clear strategy and is dropped as soon as client work intervenes. The result is that when the good work is completed less good work is accepted to ‘keep busy’. This leads to the dreaded 80: 20 rule.

Most BD is activity: events, content, networking. But this is not a strategy it is hope.

Hope is not a strategy, and in most cases it is unpredictable.

A few firms are taking a new structured approach to BD which is effective and predictable.

Most professionals are busy, but the hidden problem is that no-one knows what another professional does and so referrals are hit and miss at the best of times and not made at all at the worst - think about it!

Clients are wanting more from their professional advisers than expertise

Why the future of professional services belongs to those who really understand their clients

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a client? Rarely does a client need only one service for any circumstance, crisis or transaction, but there is no-one there for join up the dots. Professional services threatened by AI need to position themselves as people with connections rather than just knowledge - Caroline’s Club gives professionals the methodology to do this effectively and efficiently.

The Lessons the Professional Services Industry can learn from the Luxury Industry

We are all expected to know our client (KYC) for compliance purpose and anti-money laundering - but do we? A client needs many services. If we do not understand who its stakeholder are the client is at risk of engaging the wrong advisers and the professional misses an opportunity

Most professional advisers spend enormous sums on marketing, branding and coaching but still struggle with four persistent challenges:

Most professionals have not stopped to think whether their superior knowledge is making their client feel stupid. This is not a nice feeling and can make a stressful situation even worse.

In the professional world of advising clients winning business by attending events collecting business and meeting for coffee seems ineffective, a shot gun in a blizzard.

Client-focus is to walk in the shoes of your clients. They do not need to know what you know - that is why they come to you. They want to feel they can trust you, which usually means you get the job done without drama.