Agency Consultants: What Are Your Business Development Strategies?

I’m curious to know what business development (BD) strategies you all are using. Here are a few that I’ve found effective to kick things off:

Feel free to add your own in the comments or share your thoughts on the following strategies:

  • Live Job Opportunities: Monitor job boards like Indeed for open positions. Identify the hiring managers and reach out through a cold email sequence, a tailored CV, or a cold call.

  • LinkedIn Cold Messaging: Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify your target audience. Set up a three-step connection sequence: make a simple connection, provide value, and then include a call to action.

  • Email Marketing: Compile a list of your target audience from LinkedIn, export it with their email addresses, and execute a three-stage email campaign.

  • Insights Campaign: Develop market insights on topics such as salary benchmarks, industry executive moves, and industry outlooks. Share this information through email campaigns targeting your audience (this can complement your email marketing or LinkedIn messaging).

  • LinkedIn Ads: I’m currently experimenting with this strategy. Define your target audience, create an ad, and once individuals interact with it, retarget them with direct lead generation forms. While traditionalists may suggest picking up the phone, I believe a scalable funnel with LinkedIn retargeting could be a game changer. After two weeks, I’ve spent £200, gained 39 paid clicks, and achieved 6,000 impressions – though these numbers might not reflect meaningful engagement just yet. I’m excited to see how it all unfolds!

  • Referral Generation: When interviewing candidates, ask for references and navigate those contacts for potential leads.

  • CV Stripping: Research previous companies, identify hiring managers, and reach out via cold email or call.

  • Interview Intelligence: Investigate who the hiring manager is, if they’ve resigned, or if they are being replaced. With permission, pursue BD through email or cold calls.

  • Candidate Tracking: Inquire where candidates are interviewing and identify the hiring manager to reach out via email or call.

  • Open to Work on LinkedIn: If someone indicates they are open to work, connect with their hiring manager through a targeted outreach sequence.

  • Client Referrals: Don’t hesitate to ask your current clients for referrals to expand your network.

  • Content Posting on LinkedIn: Regularly share industry-related posts on LinkedIn. Establish yourself as a thought leader to attract inbound and warm leads.

What other strategies do you have?

P.S. I’m not claiming that any of these methods are the definitive answer; they are simply observations from my experience.