The Monsoon- Making Rain in the Southwest: Ten tips to grow your business

It is summer time. The kids are out of school, the mercury is sky rocketing, and summer travel is in full effect. And yet-just like the busy squirrel storing away nuts for the winter, if you want to have a hearty supply of clients you must continue to focus on business development despite all of the wonderful distractions. So, today's blog is another top 10 list. This one is a down and dirty 10 quick business development tips anyone can follow (some you can even execute from the pool!)

Tip #1- review all of the business referrals you have received this year. Send each referral source a thank you with a little gift (small gift card, personalized stationery, movie tickets, etc.) The goal is to get a real handle on where your referrals are coming from and to show your gratitude for your referral sources efforts. Trust me your referral sources will LOVE this!

Tip #2- using the list you created in tip #1, identify the categories of people who have sent you referrals (e.g. commercial banker, accountant, contractors) reach out to 1 new person in the identified categories and take them to lunch or coffee.

Tip #3- Using the categories of referrals you identified from tip #2 (see I told you this was easy) join 3 new affinity groups on LinkedIn that are likely to contain your identified categories of professionals (e.g. women in banking, energy professionals, mortgage brokers of Arizona) At this point in the game, you do not have to make contact with anyone in the group and you do not have to post; you just need to join. But, pay attention to the dialogue-you will learn who the players are in the field, you might see a client or two, and if you see a conversation where you can add some insightful commentary consider participating.

Tip #4- Call an old co-worker, former client, former colleague, or a former classmate. One of the tricks of business development is to simply get in the habit of making contact and reaching out. Call someone you have lost touch with. You never know where that person is now and how you might be able to help each other. Plus you will enjoy the call.

Tip #5- Set up a google news alert (for the lawyers in the crowd save yourself time and set up a Lexis alert instead) on a current client's industry. Consider sharing any insightful articles with your client.

Tip #6-Schedule one (or three if you are ambitious) hour in your calendar each week to commit to business development. It is easy to push your business development efforts when you have other time-sensitive deadlines. Don't fall into this trap. Instead, give your business development the respect and importance it deserves and schedule time each and every week for business development activities.

Tip #7-Gather up any stray business cards that you have been collecting and enter them into your contact management system. If you have administrative support, delegate this task. It is estimate that 2/3 of all leads are never followed up on. It takes time to make contacts. Don't let disorganization cost you a potential client or referral source.

Tip #8- Seek out and attend one networking event that sounds interesting and that you have never attended before. If you hate attending events where you don't know anyone, attend an event related to your best client and invite him/her to attend with you. If the best client idea doesn't appeal to you, invite a co-worker.

Tip #9- Review your list of existing contacts and create an automated tickler system to stay in contact. Determine which contacts need to hear from you month, quarterly, etc. and schedule the reminders so that two months from now when you are busy with all your new clients you don't forget to stay in touch.

Tip #10- Do what you enjoy. Business development can be difficult and for many it is truly painful. If you hate what you are doing-you will not keep it up. So, stop doing the stuff that gives you heartburn and instead start doing the business development activities you enjoy. Do you like to write but hate to network? Fine-write more. Do you enjoy meeting people but hate networking with strangers? No problem-find a group rich with potential referral sources and take a leadership position. You know yourself. Whatever it is that YOU enjoy-my challenge to you is to take your business development effort up a notch. Do more of what you enjoy and you will reap the rewards.

If you have business development tips that you would like to share, send them my way. Enjoy your summer but don't forget your umbrella, I see rain in your forecast.

About Jonelle- Jonelle Vold is a business coach that is passionate about your success. A mother of twins, former Assistant Dean at a tier-one law school, attorney, and seasoned sales professional, Jonelle understands the challenges of high-level professionals. Her coaching philosophy is every person has the ability to be a rainmaker by cracking their own personal code and doing business with intention. You can reach Jonelle at jonelle@jonellevold.com, 520-225-9053, or www.jonellevold.com.

Women's Short-Term-Massive-Action Group Coaching Classes. The last set of STMA classes for 2011 start on September 8, 2011. If you are ready to jump start your success, regain control of your time and your life, reignite your professional passion, and of course learn to make rain-this is the class for you. Space is limited contact jonelle@jonellevold.com for details.