“Congratulations! You’re in new business” the response never received from someone who finds out what you do. It’s usually more along the lines of, “…new business? Good luck with that!”
Let’s be honest, to most it seems a bit of a dark art, an unenviable task. But for those of us in the know, it is fantastically rewarding role despite the frustrations. Our jobs are business critical. We are the ones responsible for chasing down and converting the next revenue opportunity to keep propelling the business forward. Someone once said that businesses are like sharks, if they don’t keep moving they die.
Working on a piece of new business is a fantastic galvaniser of people. Winning new business is probably the best money-can’t-buy boost for business morale not to mention a huge (also free) PR coup.
To have a successful business you need to have a successful new business outfit with people equipped with the right tools and knowledge to help you win.
That’s you. And us.
Perceptions aside, new business is not just about managing pitches. 75% of what we do is playing the long game and our proverbial house must be in order to succeed.
It all starts with the marketing plan. We should all have something that clearly defines what we’re here to achieve across every aspect of marketing and new business with clear objectives and KPI’s. In terms of new new business this likely ladders up to a rather daunting income or revenue target for the year.
That’s what JFDI are here to help with. Our skills days are here build your armoury and furnish you with everything you need to be the best possible new business person you can be, proactively and reactively.
From filling the pipeline to spotting opportunities, from procurement to RFIs we will give you the skills to strengthen your holistic new business offer.
Procurement is now at the forefront of the majority of pitches and knowing how to effectively deal with this is now an imperative for a new business professional. Therefore we’ll be joined by Tina Fegent, an industry procurement expert, who will be giving us the lowdown on how we should approach the procurement question.
Come and create alchemy with us on the 27th March for the next new business skills day.
Amy Robinson – Feb 2014