more purposeful approach
to business development.
How I can help you
Nail your positioning > Build your pipeline > Control the sales process
This new business lark. It’s a tough nut to crack, right?
But please, get one thing straight; your competitors don’t find things easier because they claim to be more ‘results-focused’, ‘data-driven’ or ‘passionate’. And it’s certainly not down to those awards adorning their reception area either (yawn).
They find things easier because they approach business development with intent. From positioning to pitching, it’s given the same focus and attention as any other part of the agency (if not, more).
That’s where I come in.
I typically work with creative, design and digital agencies in the £500K – £1.5M turnover range, helping to turn a fledgling new business function into something a bit more grown-up.
This might involve making a strategic move to specialise, advice on building your pipeline or help discovering your sales swagger.
Wherever you are on your journey, I provide independent advice, two (rather large) ears to listen and the occasional shoulder to cry on.
But hopefully not too much of the latter.
The bit about me
Background > Mission > Interests
When it comes to business development, I’ve witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly. In fact, I’ve been responsible for my fair share of the latter, making a whole load of cringeworthy mistakes in my agency days (15 years, if you’re wondering). But that’s how you learn, right?
Anyway, back to the ugly stuff.
I think there’s too much of it when it comes to how agencies and clients approach working together; too many ingrained behaviours and antiquated processes benefiting neither party.
So, I’m on a mission to make things better.
And I believe agencies need to be the drivers of change, challenging practices that are too often weighted in favour of clients (the beauty parade, we call ‘pitching’, for example).
As well as my work with agency leaders and budding business developers, I’m an avid writer, regularly sharing advice via LinkedIn and in publications, such as Econsultancy and The Goods.
I have also appeared on numerous podcasts and am a member of the BD100 ‘Hall of Fame’, having been voted one of the UK’s most influential business developers for five years on the bounce (oooh, get me!).
Away from work, I am a proud husband and father, dog owner, music lover, DJ, sports fan, football coach (and fan) and craft ale enthusiast.
Kind words
Humblebragging > Happy campers > Testimonials
“Ben has had a huge impact on the way we approach business development. The material we covered was in-depth, tailored to the agency world and delivered with real enthusiasm.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Ben and it has been a transformative experience. Ben’s insights and guidance have been instrumental in helping our agency establish a new and improved strategic sales process. The coaching around communication, along with the insights on our old process, has helped us become more streamlined, freeing up time for more proactive work. I highly recommend Ben to agencies who are looking for fresh insight and opportunities within their own ways of working.”
“I’ve been working with Ben on building our sales playbook. This involved advice on our proposition, interviewing our clients and creating a number of buyer profiles. It also included some excellent consultative sales training and a critique of our collateral. Ben is a pleasure to work with, he’s thorough, but also thoughtful and accommodating and was also really professional when talking to our clients. As a result of this activity, I now feel much more confident about the brand, our purpose and our sales process as a whole. Would highly recommend Ben!”
“Thanks to Ben’s support, wisdom and vast experience, he has helped me put the right systems in place to turn my business around, growing it from a one-man-band to a successful video production agency.”
“Ben is professional, hugely knowledgeable, diplomatic and down to earth. His agency experience was the key driver for bringing him on-board to advise on business development and use him as a sounding board.”
“I attended Ben’s training course at BrightonSEO. I was really impressed with the knowledge shared and tactics offered – it got me thinking about my business and its sales process in a completely different way.”
“Working with Ben has really made me think about how my agency is positioned, which in turn has delivered great, even better than expected, results, and unlocked very exciting plans for the future. What’s more the whole process has been really enjoyable but challenging – in a very good way.”
“Ben’s thorough, personable and flexible approach made what could have been a lengthy and onerous task, enjoyable, interactive and enlightening. He went to great lengths to understand our business and the market in which we operate and ultimately delivered some excellent work that we completely bought into and will certainly implement.”
“Ben knows agency BD inside out, wasn’t afraid to ask difficult questions and challenged and pushed us to get to the crux of the matter. He’s also incredibly personable and proactively keeps in touch to see how we’re progressing.”
“I can wholeheartedly recommend Ben to any agency owner looking to critically assess and/or improve their business development activity. You won’t be disappointed.”
“Speaking to Ben has been a breath of fresh air for our agency. With his help, we’ve gone on to win contracts with some dream clients and have added a real purpose to our business development and marketing activities.”
“If you’re responsible for new business and looking to be more effective then I’d recommend Ben’s course on qualifying. It’s given me loads of tips and tools to put into practice and it was great to share ideas and get feedback from the others in the group. Ben is a new biz whizz and a warm and engaging coach.”
“Ben is a joy to work with. His advice is practical and pragmatic based on real-world experience of agency new business. I would highly recommend Ben to any agency looking to create a structured new business process to accelerate client growth.”
Thoughts
Ideas, advice and opinion to help make business development just a little bit easier.
