Do you have a business development culture?

A common question I am asked when I coach a recruitment agency owner is 'what do the best and most profitable agencies do better than other agencies?'

There are a number of things that make the best ones stand out but certainly one of the most important is having a business development culture.

The most profitable) recruitment agencies have a culture of accountability and business development which serves them well in good times (they generate more jobs so they can afford to turn down ‘low probability’ work) as well as in hard times.

How do you know you have a culture of accountability and business development within your business?

Here are some clues:

Consultants rarely need to be told to do more BD.
Whiteboards (or similar) are used to display key BD targets (eg visits) and these whiteboards are regularly updated with progress against these targets.
Individual consultants have a weekly BD structure that they stick to and
Consultants have a structured way that they expand their LinkedIn contacts every day.
If scheduled BD sessions are missed or not completed for whatever reason, they are always made up.
In their scheduled one-on-ones with their manager/team leader, consultants know that both their actual and proposed BD activities will be carefully scutinised and honest feedback on progress provided.
Consultants view candidate interviews as a BD opportunity and leave an interview with BD related information.
Each consultant regularly attends at least one live networking event every month.
Exceeding dollar targets is not a legitimate reason for unmet BD targets.
The database/CRM system is viewed as a key source of reliable and current BD information.
Consultants who exceed BD targets are publicly acknowledged.
When a new client is won, the leader ensures that the team understands what specific BD activity, and by whom, led to this new work being generated.
Teams consistently pass leads to other teams within the business.
Inter-team referrals are regularly acknowledged, rewarded and celebrated.
The defensive and protective ‘that’s my client’ attitude (ie nobody else here can talk to them without my say-so) is rarely observed.
The agency owner/CEO (still) undertakes BD (and enjoys it).
Support staff understand how they play a role in BD and what specific things they can do to support the consultants’ BD activities.
There is a distinction between, and appreciation of, both long term (eg blogging) and short term (eg telemarketing) BD activities.
Excuses, blame, justification and ‘bad luck’ are not tolerated within the team.
Everyone in the company understands, and thrives on, personal accountability, BD and teamwork being the foundation of every person’s success, hence the company’s success.