Agency Consultants: What’s Your Approach to Business Development?

What strategies are you employing for business development?

To kick things off, here are a few tactics that might inspire you:

  • Live Job Searches: Browse open positions on job boards like Indeed. Identify the hiring manager, and reach out with a cold email sequence, a Spec CV, or a cold call.

  • LinkedIn Cold Messaging: Utilize LinkedIn Sales Navigator to pinpoint your target audience. Implement a three-step connection strategy: start with a simple connection request, provide value, and then include a call to action.

  • Email Marketing Campaigns: Compile a list of your target audience from LinkedIn, extract their email addresses, and initiate a three-phase email campaign.

  • Insights Campaigns: Generate market insights on topics such as salaries, industry benchmarks, executive movements, and overall industry outlook. Share this information through email campaigns directed at your target audience (this can also complement your Email Marketing or LinkedIn Cold Messaging efforts).

  • LinkedIn Ads (currently trialing): Create a targeted audience and design an ad. Those who engage with the ad can be retargeted with more focused lead generation forms. While traditionally people advise simply picking up the phone, I’m exploring whether a scalable funnel using LinkedIn retargeting ads could yield great results. It’s early days—two weeks in, I’ve spent £200, generated 39 clicks, and achieved 6,000 impressions, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. I’m eager to see how it evolves!

  • Reference Gathering: During candidate interviews, ask for references and leverage those connections.

  • CV Stripping: Research past companies, find the hiring manager, and reach out through cold emails or calls.

  • Interview Intel: Discover who the hiring manager is, whether they have resigned, and if they are being replaced. With consent, follow up with a BD email or cold call.

  • Interview Intel 2: Inquire about where candidates are interviewing to identify the hiring manager, then reach out via email or cold call.

  • Open to Work Candidates on LinkedIn: If someone’s labeled as “Open to Work,” reach out to their hiring manager as part of your touchbase sequence.

  • Referrals from Current Clients: Don’t hesitate to ask existing clients for referrals to help expand your desk.

  • LinkedIn Contextual Posting: Share insights on LinkedIn several times a week to build your voice in the industry and attract inbound and warm leads.

What other strategies have you found effective?

P.S. I’m not claiming that any of these methods are flawless; they’re simply observations based on what I’ve experienced.