The Role of a Business Development Coach for Professional Services

Perhaps you’re a lawyer, accountant or consultant who wants to take their fee-earning to the next level, and is considering Business Development coaching, but you’re not sure what to expect from a Business Development (BD) coach for professional services.

Because whether you are a high potential Director, junior Partner, or a seasoned rainmaker, most professionals would agree there is always room for improvement. Many professionals know they are capable of more and are curious about how Business Development coaching can help.

Here’s my perspective which might assist you in deciding to engage a Business Development coach or not.

I define a Business Development coach as a qualified executive coach with Business Development expertise who is responsible for guiding professionals to winning results through a continuing process of self-reflection to explore and develop the mindset, behaviours and activity levels required to initiate and advance professionals relationships that result in fee earning work.

Here are some tips on what to look for in a Business Development Coaching for professional services:

1. The Business Development Coach is utlised as a resource. BD Coaches are positioned not as the expert or source of all knowledge but as a resource. A BD coach doesn’t necessarily know how to do things better, but they can share different perspectives, methodologies, frameworks to help you build and leverage relationships from an initial coffee meeting through to request for proposal (RFP). A great BD Coach acts as a useful sounding board and can offer helpful insights to steward your thinking and BD activities more productively.
2. The Business Development Coach serves as a guide. Unlike mentors, BD Coaches guide the professional to ‘discovery’ by asking – not by showing. Business Development Coaches should lead professionals to arrive at the conclusion themselves and access what they already know. It’s more about asking the right questions than providing the right answers. There is not just ‘one way’ to grow a business, hence, BD coaching is about guiding professionals to find what works best for them, not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
3. There is personal accountability. Every professional should be responsible for their own development. When people take responsibility for their own development, they take ownership. When they take ownership, they are more motivated to make changes and feel more empowered. Effective BD Coaching for professional services means we, as coaches, provide the appropriate level of support and constructive challenge a professional requires. It’s human nature to not stretch ourselves as much as we are capable of. A great BD coach will help you stretch outside your comfort zone to achieve your full potential.

If you’re curious to learn more and understand how you can be supported by Business Development Coaching, then let’s have a chat about what you’d like to achieve.