With companies looking to rebuild their business after navigating the challenges of Covid, co-founder and CEO of Black Wolf Group, Tanya Abbey, shares her tips for generating new business partnerships – from developing sales pipelines to converting leads and building long-term relationships.

5 tips to help you generate new leads

Build your reputation – be known and trusted

 The first step is to develop a strong online presence to generate new leads – one that articulates who you are and what you stand for. As it’s widely known, people like to do business with people – especially in service-based industries such as recruitment. Knowing the face or faces behind a company sure beats dealing with a faceless organisation and goes a long way in establishing trust.

For Black Wolf Group, I believe building a solid presence online has been one of the most significant contributing factors to our success and the 100 plus new roles we’ve brought in. However, achieving a strong and trusted online reputation isn’t something that’s achieved overnight, so you need to be prepared to play the long-game. When you’re developing your business, be guided by strong and clear goals, be consistent in what you’re doing, and over time, you will see the results.

Network and find your tribe 

Networking is a vital part of business development, and you should view every new meeting as an opportunity to build your contact base. In addition to attending networking events, you should be talking to people in your pipeline and connecting with them on LinkedIn.

Be methodical in your approach, though, as it’s essential to consider who your ideal contacts are before engaging with them. Business relationships, like any relationship, should be based on mutual trust, respect and understanding, so when you meet with new people, consider if they’re right for you, not just if you’re right for them.

Be proactive and personal

In business development, the journey from the first contact to closing a deal can take time. So if you’re looking to grow your business and have the capacity to do so, start today – be proactive and make the call.

Additionally, you should never underestimate the power of a personalised, human approach. Think about a scripted, copy and pasted hard-sell you’ve received and how it immediately put you off – this should be the basis of what not to do.

Instead, do a bit of research and get to know prospective clients on a personal level. Consider who they are outside of work, and not just what they do from 9-5, as connecting with people on a deeper level will allow you to develop a much stronger connection with them.

As a standard, I always start my initial interactions with a new contact to see how they are doing.

The initial meeting

When you meet with a client for the first time, take the time to understand their specific pain points. In initial meetings, I work off the ratio of 70/30 – in terms of them telling you about their needs vs you telling them about your service.

Once I understand what they need, I’m better able to advise them on how I can help. It’s often at this point that the prospective client is ready to buy; they just need to be convinced why they should.

After initial meetings, always send a follow-up email thanking them for their time. In this email, I mention that if I haven’t heard from them by the end of the week, I’ll follow up with a call – something that shows your motivation and commitment to them.

Selling your service and sealing the deal

To seal the deal, you need to articulate your unique service offerings and points of difference clearly.

Communicate how you provide value and how your service can alleviate their pain points.

For me, in recruitment, we don’t sell people, we sell time, so when I convert a lead, I make sure that people consider if they have the time to do what we do, to our standard, themselves – (often, they soon realise they don’t!).

Once you sign a client, it’s vital to maintain the relationship and meet with them in person. At Black Wolf Group, we make it a habit to meet with clients while finding them candidates and after they’re placed.

Final Thoughts

Despite the challenges, business development will always be advantageous to your growth. While there is a lot to consider, I hope that the tips listed above can offer beneficial guidance and make the process a little less daunting.