Real Relationships Real Revenue - Audio Edition | Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career

Mo asks Mike Duffy: What is your personal definition of business development? Simply put, business development is helping others, connecting dots, and developing healthy and long lasting relationships. When you understand who your client is, whoever that happens to be in the moment, and add value for them, that's how you get stuff done. Where is the value chain and how are you adding value? It doesn’t end with the person you are talking to right now. Servant leadership is the foundation for Mike’s relationship philosophy. He’s always asking himself internally about how he can be helpful to not only his client, but also his client’s clients. When you ask the right questions, you get some interesting answers. Questions allow you to understand what motivates and drives someone, what concerns them, and what brings them joy. When you’re in a dot-connecting mode, all of that info helps you know who to link up. Helping people when there is no chance of commercial gain is your moment of truth. Connecting dots for people is how you leave a legacy. It’s worth the fight. Choose your attitude every day and build your resilience over time so you can keep pushing forward. If your definition of business development is helping people, getting a no every once in a while is not an issue.   Mo asks Bill Ruprecht: What story did your parents tell you that shaped how you thought about business development? Bill’s mother was always extremely bright and driven, but she wasn’t terribly happy in her life. His father had the knack of being able to find commonality with almost anyone. It was at the dinner table where Bill was constantly challenged with questions on how he would deal with a variety of hypothetical situations. When Bill started in the antique business he was working with Persian rug dealers and in the process he learned what was relevant to them and how to build rapport, despite the considerable difference in their culture. Bill understood that those conversations with his parents around the dinner table were like batting practice, and those skills served him well in his work later on in life. When you do something for a long time, you give yourself the opportunity to get lucky. If you position yourself in the right way and do the work, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful, but it does mean you can get lucky. There wasn’t one single pivot moment where Bill got lucky and his career took off. It was a gradual process of taking on more risks and responsibilities over time and pushing past the fear to take the leap each time.   Mo asks Cyril Peupion: What is your personal definition of business development? Cyril’s definition has evolved over the years. What began as selling became serving. Cyril is very clear on who he helps and how he can do it, as well as the people that he’s not right for. Cyril’s passion for what he does is derived from clarity on who can help. When it comes to first meetings, the goal is not to sell his services but to simply find out if they are a good match and to find the right solution for the prospect, even if that means referring them to someone else. It’s vital to surround yourself with the right people and have an environment of accountability while keeping a mentality of continuous learning. Masterminds and accountability partners are crucial for your personal and business growth. Find people who are playing at the same level as you and with the same giving mindset. People typically allow their day to be filled up but all the little things that inevitably come up. One of the first exercises Cyril has leadership teams walk through is creating their ideal week, and then creating a calendar by working backward from the most important things you can do with your time.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com Mike Duffy on LinkedIn wslb.com

Mo asks Jane Allen: What is your personal definition of business development? Jane’s definition is simply proactive problem solving. If you are trying to sell something, it should be something they need and may not know they need it. It’s about showing them a problem they have as well as the solution. People don’t like to be sold to, but they do like to buy. If you’re struggling with being proactive, realize that it’s not the job of the prospect to call you or respond to your email. It’s your job to get the meeting. One of the best kinds of meetings is when someone says that they are not going to work with you, then at least you’re not going to waste your time. Don’t waste their time. Even if you think you have all the answers, you don’t. The goal of the first meeting is to ask thought provoking questions and to determine whether you have a solution to their problem. If you can’t resolve everything in one meeting, the goal is to secure the next. The prospect should understand the importance of the next meeting and you should give them enough of a cliffhanger that they anticipate it.   Mo asks Jeff Berardi: What is your personal definition of business development? Business development is creating a pipeline of future growth opportunities. You won’t know when they come to fruition or how, but it’s a steady process of cultivating and building relationships. There is never enough when it comes to business development because you never know when the well is going to go dry. By having a large pipeline, you have the ability to choose who you work with rather than having to take whatever comes your way. The lack of control is a major source of stress for people. Business development activities give you back the control over who you work with and how. You may be busy, but you must set aside time for business development opportunities or you might end up resentful of how much you are working. By having more opportunities than you need, you can say no to stuff you don’t want and the more you’re going to get paid. You also regain control on who you work with and which big ideas you get to work on. The commonality in cases where people are struggling with business development and people who thrive is fear. For those who are already successful, it’s a fear of losing what they’ve achieved. For those who are struggling, it’s a fear that they can’t be successful or that business development is beyond them. When you change the mindset from a fear of not being capable, to being afraid of too much success, you open the door of opportunity. The rainmakers have learned the tools they need to succeed and they have confidence in the process. Knowing that business development is a learnable skill is what flips someone from fear to confidence.   Mo asks Henning Streubel: What is your personal definition of business development? Henning prefers the term relationship development, which he considers the foundation of every successful service provider. Henning learned early in his career not to take things personally. If someone doesn’t respond to him, he assumes they must be busy and it’s not about the other person not liking him. Many experts hesitate to reach out when they don’t get a response right away. It’s important to understand what matters to people and to offer them something they are interested in. Understand how their mind works on the professional side and send them information that would appeal to that, but don’t be afraid to also reach out on the personal side. The biggest barrier to relationship success is us. Henning has a process for understanding where his relationships are in three categories: professional, personal, and friendship. He is always trying to think about how to develop a relationship to take it to the next level. Simply writing down the top five to ten relationships that are most important for your future self is a powerful tool. Knowing where you want a relationship to go helps you understand how you can be the most helpful. One of Henning’s mentors told him early in his career to keep doing the right thing and success will come. Investing in the right relationships will eventually have a commercial benefit. You don’t need to have all the answers if you can refer a prospect to someone else who can help. Role model the behavior for your team if you want that behavior to permeate. Make the time to show that you put the mindset into practice and celebrate the effort that people are putting into the work. Celebrating the little things where you went above and beyond what a normal professional relationship would be. That creates momentum and the right spirit to invest in relationships.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com ec.co jane.allen@ec.co jberardi@baretzbrunelle.com Jeff Berardi on LinkedIn Jeff Berardi's Bio linkedin.com/in/henning-streubel-phd on.bcg.com/henning - Use the envelope icon on this page to get in touch with Henning directly

Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: What's your personal definition of growth? Ultimately, it's all about impact, but in order to make an impact you need fuel. Creating complex partnerships is very aligned with good development practices, which is valuable for Jonathan because growth at Habitat for Humanity means having conversations around fundraising. When he made the mindset switch to solving someone’s problem, raising money became much easier and simpler. It's not about pressuring, or trying to get somebody to do something they don't want to do. It's about really trying to understand what people are trying to accomplish or the impact they want to have, and then looking for a fit and where there is one, finding ways you can help them have that impact in a really joyful way. Before a big meeting, you have to do the research. Jonathan will have a brief on the person’s biographical information, passion, and overall strategic goals so that he can create alignment in the potential partnership. Creating win/wins is the goal and when you can do that, growth becomes easy. Negotiation is usually won or lost based on preparation and framing, not on the actual tactics of the conversation. After the research, the first step of the meeting is creating a point of connection and establishing the relationship. The goal of the first meeting is to come away with clear next steps, not to close the deal.   Mo asks Katrina Johnson: What is your personal definition of business development? Katrina likes helping people. For her, business development is about cultivating opportunities to help people. Business development doesn’t always have a great reinforcement mechanism, but having a process established makes it much more consistent. Creating a habit around communication that makes it simpler, more meaningful, and consistent is what has helped Katrina stay the course. Using the tools and communication methods that your client uses is crucial. Katrina tries to make her communications quick and useful when touching base with someone and on whatever platform works for them. Lots of little touches can be extremely powerful relationship builders. Katrina carves out time on Mondays to reach out to people, but she also has notes on her calendar and a Protemoi list that help her keep track of communications. Just having a list of names of the most important people to you can be enough to encourage you to take action.   Mo asks Tyler Sweatt: What is your personal definition of business development? Simply put, it’s all about value creation. The entire spectrum of taking a prospect from completely cold to raving fan is the process of growth. Content creation is part of the effort, similar to an at-scale give-to-get. When someone hits the pipeline, Tyler focuses on qualifying them immediately and moving quickly on closing the deal. For marketing and lead generation, you need to figure out the three most important metrics you need to cover and orient on those. That will make everything else easier. Referrals are a big indicator of both effectiveness and product-market fit. Try to avoid measuring too many metrics at the same time. You need to think about business development from the customer’s buying process and how you can remove as much friction from their buying process as possible. Make it as easy to buy from you as possible. Focus on a positive buying experience and make it easy for the customer. Being customer-centered will be extremely valuable in everything you work on.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com habitat.org linkedin.com/in/jonathanreckford Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World by Jonathan Reckford katrina@kcjconsult.com linkedin.com/in/tylersweatt secondfront.com

Mo asks Henning Streubel: When was the moment that growth and business development was something you wanted to focus on? Henning is intrinsically motivated to help people, but it’s less about business development and sales. Whenever he meets someone, he has a tendency to ask deep questions. Early in his career working for a utility client in Germany, he realized that the client’s company had many more problems than he initially thought which he discovered by simply having a deep conversation. Because of those conversations, the client was able to take Henning’s thoughts and ideas back to her boss and make positive changes. For Henning, relationship development starts with insights, which allows you to create an impact and trust. Many highly analytical people have difficulty talking about anything outside of the project. Henning recommends understanding that everyone is a human being which means they share a common foundation. Being genuine about being curious is key. Don’t just use small talk as a way to open a conversation. Follow up on the topics and go deeper. This shows your interest in them as a human being. Establishing a personal relationship makes connecting with them easier outside the context of the work. It creates an entry point that lets you have the impact you want to have. When you open up on your experience, you become more vulnerable and that creates a better foundation for trust. This was something that Henning had to learn and practice. Having a few stories in your back pocket can make it easier.   Mo asks Linda Klein: When was the moment that you realized that growth was great? Linda separates the ideas of business development and building a relationship. In the beginning of Linda’s career as a lawyer, she spent a lot of time learning about her client’s business and that relationship building always paid off. It’s not about developing the business, it’s about developing the relationship. Linda tells the story of how her grandfather started a grocery business in the early days of the Great Depression, how understanding and getting to know the people in the community became a crucial reason for their success, how that also inspired Linda and how she built her career. When meeting new people, Linda is always looking for the things outside the day-to-day business relationship that are important to them. There is always a place where you can connect. It’s important to be hireable and to share your expertise, but it’s more important to be human first. Start with something relatable instead of leading with your area of expertise and what services you can offer. The number one correlation to likeability is commonality. Always look for the common areas you can connect on. Every conversation and interaction you have will be different, but the person you’re speaking with will always give you clues. By offering details and asking for details, you’re going to find areas of commonality. It’s extremely important for diverse members of your team to feel like they can find areas to connect.   Mo asks Mark Harris: Tell me a story of when you realized that you needed to focus on business development. Mark takes us back to the summer of 1994 when he took on a job selling books door-to-door, a path that some of the most successful rainmakers have followed. It started off as a way to make more money than working at the local McDonald’s but it became a skill that Mark learned he could get better at. All skills are both learned and earned. Mark was initially not good at sales at all and after 12 hours of hearing no, he decided to flip his approach and try to make a connection with the person first. He also learned that he needed to create little wins throughout the day to manage his energy and motivation. The steps to a purchase are the same no matter what you’re selling. Connect with the person first and find out if you can solve their needs. Mark also learned how to deal with his emotions at that time, and when he figured out how to do that he became a lot more relatable and fun to be around. That whole first summer was all about being more relatable to people immediately after meeting them. After a couple sales, Mark figured out what he was really providing people with, and it wasn’t a book. When he took the focus off the money and made it about helping the other person, the sale became much easier. By breaking the process into each individual piece, Mark created a series of small wins that were under his control. Even a rejection can be a learning experience. When you put yourself outside your comfort zone, you become more capable emotionally of handling the experience and more likely to overcome the next hurdle, and every hurdle you jump builds your confidence. Think about what you can do every single day to get you closer to your ultimate win. You don’t know when your next sale is going to happen, but if you can focus on what you can control it will happen.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com linkedin.com/in/henning-streubel-phd on.bcg.com/henning - Use the envelope icon on this page to get in touch with Henning directly lklein@bakerdonelson.com linkedin.com/in/lindakleinlaw Mark_C_Harris@glic.com linkedin.com/in/mark-harris-9ba1b53

Mo asks Scott Winter: When was the moment that you realized that business development was great? Scott started his career off in sales with LexisNexis and that developed into a role in consulting. Eventually he made the switch to a product management position with Interaction where he focused on CRM and client relationships. Interaction is the world’s largest CRM system for law firms and by coming up in that environment, Scott learned a lot about the technical aspects of the software which helped him better serve his clients. Scott had the typical mindset about sales in college that most people have, but he reframed his perspective after getting some actual experience in sales positions. The one key moment when Scott realized that business development was a powerful tool for growth was after having a simple conversation with someone on a plan. Just listening carefully and remembering what he learned blew that person away when they met again many months later. Scott has a knack for having a conversation on any subject and being able to find a point of connection. He also tends to add notes in his phone of a particularly interesting detail (powerlifting, ironman training, etc.) and makes use of his CRM to keep track of everything. Remembering details about someone is an art and a science, but there are tools you can use to make it easier.   Mo asks Dennis Baltz: When did you realize that business development is something that would be interesting to you? Dennis’s interest in business development goes all the way back to his high school days in 1987, where he was trying to find people to participate in market studies. It was a tough gig and he had to stretch outside his comfort zone to get things done. Knowing that he had something of value to offer to the people gave him the confidence to ask for something they may not be initially open to. Dennis learned to be interested in the person first and think about the value he could provide, instead of assuming the ‘no’ right away. Dennis has been on all sides of the transaction when it comes to risk during his career, so that gives him some perspective on what potential buyers are looking for. Initial meetings are simply about identifying problems and how you can be helpful. Preparing for the meetings ahead of time is crucial to Dennis’s success. Following up usually involves finding resources or people to connect the prospect with that can help solve the problem in the meantime. Introducing techniques from another industry is a great way to appeal to a potential client’s desire for both safety and innovation. On the human side of things, Dennis realized that he needed to stay in front of clients at the beginning of the pandemic and that turned into a monthly blog post that he sends to clients and colleagues. Being open and vulnerable, and sharing some of the personal elements of his life, have had a tremendous impact.   Mo asks Andrew Cogar: When did you realize that business development was really important? It really clicked when Andrew started thinking about business development not as a means of getting business but as a means for the firm to get the business they need to forge their own path. After one particular project that went exceedingly well, Andrew understood that those kinds of projects could become a habit rather than a lucky break. The GrowBIG System is essentially about doing the right things so that you have control over the kinds of clients you work with. Being proactive gives you so much work that you can pick and choose the projects that you want most. It’s easier to be reactive on the front end because you don’t have to do the introspective work it takes to shape your vision and be proactive on finding the right business. It’s easier in the long term to adopt the right principles to attract the right clientele. Mo and Andrew do a review of their recent experience working together. In terms of business development, Andrew was simply looking to get to know Mo and the family and understand what he was looking for. As an architect, Andrew is hoping to gauge how open someone is to suggestions and that’s an intentional part of the conversation. At the end of the day, who Andrew works for and who he works with, has become more important to him and the firm than what he works on. Do a little research before a client meeting and come with a set of questions and follow-up questions for them. Don’t be afraid to give some ideas away during the meeting. When you give away a little, you get value back in the things you learn. If you go in with a sales pitch, you don’t learn anything. Show up with questions, not qualifications.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com scott@index.io Scott Winter on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/dennisbaltz dennis.baltz@willistowerswatson.com historicalconcepts.com Visions of Home

Mo asks Brian Caffarelli: When was the moment that you realized that business development was something you wanted to focus on? Brian’s first job out of college was in selling automobiles as a wholesaler to dealerships. Everything began for Brian with his first sale, and how that came about because of developing a relationship with another human being. Seeing salespeople that were successful and respected helped Brian navigate what it took to grow in a sales career. So much of success is simply about being in the environment and paying attention. If you want to grow your skills, start with the fundamentals of communication and psychology. It’s also important to apply what you learn along the way instead of just taking it in. Consider what you’ve done well and what you could have done better. Translating his business development skills to a virtual environment is something that Brian is working on, as well as working on learning new things and being open to seeing things differently. A recent study revealed the Learned Dogmatism effect and how people tend to become more closed-minded the more expert they become in a specific domain. One of the keys to Brian’s success is striving against that and always being willing to learn.   Mo asks Katrina Johnson: Tell us the moment when you realized that business development was good and worth doing? Katrina’s big aha moment was when she realized that the skill of business development can be learned. She started in academia and fell into consulting almost by accident, and she enjoyed her consulting work but she felt like her hands were tied. As a subcontractor, Katrina wasn’t able to deliver the work in the way that she thought would be the most powerful for her clients. It wasn’t until Katrina met Mo and learned about the GrowBIG system did she realize what was missing from her work. With a background in neural science, Katrina knew that the research and material were pointing her in the right direction, but in some ways digging into the research was also a curse. Katrina sometimes falls into the habit of using research as a way to hide and avoid putting it into practice. This is where her second big realization came into play, and that she had some underlying issue that was preventing her from executing. She decided to start off small and refine the process from a place of action. She began by going to networking events and trying to follow up with people, most of those efforts didn’t pan out though. She landed a few speaking engagements with small groups of people and used that as a basis to create a relationship with people. She embraced deeper relationships rather than looser connections and in doing so stretched herself outside of her comfort zone. She doesn’t set out to get meetings with important decision makers, but that often flows from naturally deepening relationships with people and being helpful. Katrina learned a lot about the value of targeting over the last year. She realized that when she can work with the management of an organization in some combination of assessment and coaching she’s at her best.   Mo asks Cannon Carr: When did you realize that business development was great? There was not one moment, but a story stands out in particular for Cannon. When his father was retiring from the firm he was working at, he told him that he was a great analyst but not a great salesperson, and if he wanted to succeed, he would need to figure that out. When a professional services firm reaches a certain revenue threshold, the same things that got them to that point won’t help grow past it. Simply hiring a rainmaker won’t necessarily solve the problem. You need a broader team working towards business development to tap a broader network to grow a firm. The real mindset shift that unlocks the power of business development is “Are you selling, or are you helping to solve problems?” Take the sales hat off and integrate yourself into your client’s lives. Understand what their problems are, and if you can be alongside them during the inevitable transitions in their life, you can deepen the relationship. It’s about relevancy and solving problems. The sales and referrals will come naturally out of that. Life has transitions that create challenges along the way. Cannon helps his clients with a wealth plan that keeps their legacy and lifestyle intact.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com brian.caffarelli@stsconsulting.com linkedin.com/in/briancaffarelli katrina@kcjconsult.com ccarr@cornercap.com cornercap.com

Mo asks Craig Budner: When did you realize that business development is good? Craig’s brother was a litigator and from an early age had his own firm. This taught Craig the necessity of creating a brand and cultivating referral sources in order to grow the firm. Craig took a slightly different path from his brother in that he joined one of the firms in Texas. It was there that he created the relationships and connections that made him realize the value of being an advisor to someone and not just on legal issues. After creating a relationship with one of the firm’s important executive clients, a partner encouraged Craig to run with what he was doing. During his associate days, Craig learned the value of doing a great job for clients and nurturing relationships. When he understood that clients were actual multiple sources of revenue, and that if he could cultivate relationships with people directly in his path of work delivery, he started to get the first call. He was being trusted by the people in charge of important projects, and that gave him the opportunity to do more fun kinds of work. How do you advise others to think about business development? Demystifying business development is the first step. The characteristics of good parents, friends, and listeners are the characteristics that make a good business developer. It’s not about the money at the end of the line, it’s about growth and learning, and getting better at putting yourself in the shoes of someone else. What do you think about mutually beneficial relationships? You have to be a better listener than a talker to develop deep relationships. If you’re always thinking about what you’re going to say, you’re not going to get enough information out of that relationship to make it mutually beneficial. Think about how you can be helpful to that person. You can leave a positive impression on that person by reflecting back that you have heard them and you’re going to try to advance their issue.   Mo asks Bill Ruprecht: When did you first start thinking about business development as something important that you wanted to do? Bill spent many years in business when there were two kinds of business development. The first was a form of gunslinging more focused on extracting value and the second was centered around building more long term relationships. Inevitably, you come to realize that building relationships and adding relevance to potential customers is the way to go. There are three ways to differentiate a business: be an innovator and make things that no one has seen before, be cheap and provide the lowest cost service, or you can be customer centric and know more about your customers than anyone else in the world. Nobody should own a client. The team should always work together to get the job done well. If you have a lot of history with a client or they demand that a particular person is involved, that should be accepted. The end result of a deal is always a combination of relationship and price. In Bill’s line of work, certain clients tend to push on price but that always makes things tougher. Chasing the margins on a deal down to the point where the service provider doesn’t care about the outcome is always a poor choice. For another client, Bill tells the story of a semi-regular delivery of BLT sandwiches and how they were a barometer of the relationship. They may not have gotten the business because of the sandwiches, but they definitely didn’t hurt.   Mo asks Andrew Robertson: When did you first realize that business development or relationship development was a good thing? The first time Andrew realized business development was fundamentally about discipline was while working as a barman in Maidenhead where he learned how to connect with people and build rapport very quickly. It was there he met an insurance broker that offered him a job. As a student working in the evenings, Andrew learned that if he made 100 phone calls on Monday night he could line up 10 meetings for the rest of the week, which would usually result in 3 sales. He started experimenting with the approach he was taught and learned two important lessons very quickly. The method he was taught was tried and tested, and if he didn’t do the work of making the calls, he didn’t get the results he needed. No one else was going to make those calls if he didn’t do it. He wasn’t in the relationship-building business yet, that came later. Andrew learned the importance of discipline and trusting the process. The idea that people are born with the habits that make them successful is incorrect. Discipline can be learned like any area of expertise. The most important thing is to get a meeting, not to have everything prepared. Don’t get ahead of yourself. If you focus on the delivery first, you’ll never set the meeting in the first place. You need to pick up the phone and offer them something valuable and interesting as quickly as you can. That’s how you earn the time to develop a relationship afterward. Pulling insights from other proposals and using them to intrigue other prospects enough to get a meeting is a good example of an offer that gets people interested. You don’t always have to go straight to the ultimate decision maker. Getting a meeting with a mid-level manager can be a great opportunity too. Every meeting is useful in learning more about the company or the industry.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com craig.budner@klgates.com K&L Gates Client Conversations Podcast andrew.robertson@bbdo.com

Mo asks Cyril Peupion: When was the moment you realized that growth was great? Cyril started his own business with a partner after completing his MBA so he had an interest in business development right from the beginning. With time, he realized how much he had to learn about sales and relationship building. Impact is a keyword in how Cyril views the world. If he had only one principle piece of advice to give to people, it would be to prioritize your calendar according to impact. Cyril tells the story of a client he was working with and the impact on their life the work had. As great as getting to inbox zero and having an organized and neat work environment, being able to sleep at night and actually turn off her mind was completely life-changing. When you have something as powerful and impactful on people’s lives, business development becomes easy and natural. Cyril considers his business to be in service to his clients. When you change your way of working it changes your life, which is why Cyril doesn’t view his work as business development. Instead, he sees it as bringing his service to the people that need it. When it comes to prioritizing for impact, you have to start with a mind shift. High performers don’t look at when things are due, they look at the impact of the things they need to do first. Think quarterly, plan weekly, and act daily. Thinking quarterly is one of the most effective time frames to think about work while incorporating your long-term vision. Planning each week is an important tempo for progressing your top two or three priorities. A crisis will arrive eventually, but you need to run your tasks through the four-word framework of What Impact Long-Term.   Mo asks Debby Moorman: Tell me the moment when you decided that business development is something that you wanted to focus on. Debby fell into business development almost by accident when she was in college after taking a sales job one summer. The key realization was when she figured out that she liked helping people solve their problems, and that was when she decided to shift her focus to professional sales. Debby went on to a professional sales role out of college where most of the training was technical in focus. It wasn’t until Debby moved into a national leadership role did she realize that business development skills are just as important as technical skills. That was when she became connected with Mo and the GrowBIG system. Now that Debby is consulting, the focus on business development is even more important. As a service provider, the reality is that you are helping your clients solve their problems, and that is the essence of business development. Companies tend to focus on technical training because there is often so much information to learn and such a large need for that information, businesses are incentivized to pay attention to it. An organization that wants to grow has to invest in its people beyond the technical side. Companies often throw structure at an issue in an attempt to solve a problem. Take the word sales out of your mind if you’re just getting started with business development. Retool your brain to frame the conversation as a way of figuring out what the other person needs and how you can help. If you can do that, the conversation becomes less intimidating.   Mo asks Mike Duffy: When was the moment that you decided that business development was important and you needed to get great at it? Mike’s dad started in sales so he had a front row seat on making sales from the very beginning. He started his sales career by  selling ad space in a travel magazine, and once he got out of college, Mike started selling ladies clothes in California. He took a $500,000 territory and in 18 months turned it into $2.5 million. He won salesman of the year at the age of 24 and ended up having a beer with his sales manager which led to a conversation that changed everything for him. Mike took a deep dive into discovering what really makes a good sales program and he became a student of sales for the rest of his career. Mike teaches lawyers business development now under the assumption that he has to sell the idea to his students. The goal is to help them understand that adding value to a relationship or closing a deal is sales by another name. If we want to live the life we want, we have to get great at growth. Start with the people you are going to call and how you can have a conversation that creates curiosity. That allows you to learn about what they need. Business development is about helping people. Business development habits set you apart when it comes to employment as well. It’s hard to ascertain someone’s technical expertise in a 30-minute interview, but it’s obvious when you care, listen intently, and make the conversation about the other person. You always have to be thinking about the long game. Some prospects may not turn into clients for years, so you need to focus on just moving the ball a little bit further each day. Be transparent, have humility, and be honest. Tell people when they are your #1 target and allow them to shape the relationship in a way that’s valuable for them.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com debby.moorman@willistowerswatson.com Debby Moorman on LinkedIn Mike Duffy on LinkedIn

Jonathan Reckford shares his incredible experiences at the helm of Habitat for Humanity and how he’s helping to change the world by creating strategic partnerships with other organizations, and how it all starts with building relationships first. Find out how the CEO of Habitat for Humanity, one of the biggest non-profit organizations in the world, can still make time each month to work on his Protomoi List and why aligning a potential partner’s desire for impact with your goals is a great foundation to build a valuable long-term relationship on.   Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: When did you realize you wanted to grow something big and make an impact? Jonathan had a lot of great role models growing up, with his grandmother being one of the first women in Congress. She would always ask Jonathan what he was going to do to be useful, a mindset that he eventually adopted and grew into. Jonathan assumed he would follow her footsteps into politics and law, but quickly realized after college that law wasn’t what he wanted to do. He later talked his way into a job at Goldman Sachs, received a grant and moved to South Korea to work for the Seoul Olympic committee, and ended up working with the rowing team as their coach for a few years. That experience allowed him to reorient his perspective and after returning home, Jonathan came back with a mission. He went into business school and spent the next 15 years helping large organizations grow. After that time in the private sector, Jonathan went to India on short-term mission trips. Seeing the challenges and suffering in rural India touched his heart and he realized the power of small interventions in dire situations. Jonathan began focusing on helping churches grow and contributing to the mission of alleviating international poverty, ultimately culminating in working for Habitat for Humanity nearly 17 years ago. You can’t always connect the dots going forward, but when you look back you see how everything got you to where you are now. Jonathan’s experiences in his career lend themselves perfectly to his current role as the leader of Habitat for Humanity. Work on the ‘who’ before the ‘what’. Build your character and skills instead of looking for some grand career plan. No matter what you do in your 20s, consider it continuing your education. As long as you’re learning and aligned, you will eventually find your vocation where you have an impact that lines up with your passion and skills. Habitat for Humanity is thinking big for the future and is focused on making markets work more effectively to create just societies where really everyone can access safe, decent, affordable housing. Really bold leaders are ones that reframe everything. If you have the right mission for the problem you're trying to solve, you'll gain the power you need to get there. If you're focused on gaining power, that's ultimately going to be self-defeating. Start with crafting a story around why what you’re doing is making the world a better place and get clarity on your true purpose.   Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: What's your personal definition of growth? Ultimately, it's all about impact, but in order to make an impact you need fuel. Creating complex partnerships is very aligned with good development practices, which is valuable for Jonathan because growth at Habitat for Humanity means having conversations around fundraising. When he made the mindset switch to solving someone’s problem, raising money became much easier and simpler. It's not about pressuring, or trying to get somebody to do something they don't want to do. It's about really trying to understand what people are trying to accomplish or the impact they want to have, and then looking for a fit and where there is one, finding ways you can help them have that impact in a really joyful way. Before a big meeting, you have to do the research. Jonathan will have a brief on the person’s biographical information, passion, and overall strategic goals so that he can create alignment in the potential partnership. Creating win/wins is the goal and when you can do that, growth becomes easy. Negotiation is usually won or lost based on preparation and framing, not on the actual tactics of the conversation. After the research, the first step of the meeting is creating a point of connection and establishing the relationship. The goal of the first meeting is to come away with clear next steps, not to close the deal.   Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: What’s your favorite science, step, or story from GrowBIG Training or the Snowball System? Jonathan’s first favorite is the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument. He uses it all the time in talking with potential partners and tailoring the conversation to how they process information and think. Wrapping your data into a story is a great way to hit on more of the four ways people think, but also make your data more memorable at the same time. Jonathan’s second favorite is simply discipline with the Protomoi List. Every month, Jonathan and his team review his list and look at how they are adding value to those relationships. The takeaway was the discipline and rigor of being very intentional about your most important relationships. Jonathan makes sure that there is time booked into his calendar to make connections, either physical or digital, with the most important relationships in his life. Sending a note to someone has more weight to it when they know you’re busy.   Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: Tell us a development or growth story that you're really particularly proud of. Jonathan tells the story of a complex corporate partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Hilty, and how they’ve worked together closely after building a relationship over the years. Each year, the two organizations began to work more closely together and started developing new innovative approaches to achieving their mutual goals. There's not only funding, but it's making both parties better. They are achieving their goals as well inside a full strategic partnership which is much more exciting than just a transactional donor relationship. Jonathan’s role was in building trust with the head of the foundation. Without that relationship, the partnership probably wouldn’t exist. It also taught Jonathan a lot about building trust and being direct.   Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: You get to magically record a video and send it back to your younger self with some advice. What do you say? Jonathan spent most of his youth thinking about what he wanted to do instead of who he wanted to be. He would tell his younger self to focus on the ‘who’ before the ‘what’ first. If you never fail, it's likely you're not going big enough. Hope is built in the community. Volunteering gives you a sense of the community and how you can bring the virtues of kindness and love into the world. Following your passion is incomplete. You need to search for the intersection between what you’re passionate about and where your skills, ability, and talent lie. Jonathan tells the story of Doris, and how he grew up in a poor neighborhood in North Carolina and how his life completely changed after his mom qualified to buy a Habitat house in Optimist Park. Doris is the first person to grow up in a Habitat for Humanity house and to serve on the board as well. The story perfectly encapsulates the mission and purpose of Habitat for Humanity and how giving people a platform and foundation for a stable, healthy life can impact their community and society as a whole.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com habitat.org linkedin.com/in/jonathanreckford Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World by Jonathan Reckford

Mo asks Jonathan Reckford: You get to magically record a video and send it back to your younger self with some advice. What do you say? Jonathan spent most of his youth thinking about what he wanted to do instead of who he wanted to be. He would tell his younger self to focus on the ‘who’ before the ‘what’ first. If you never fail, it's likely you're not going big enough. Hope is built in the community. Volunteering gives you a sense of the community and how you can bring the virtues of kindness and love into the world. Following your passion is incomplete. You need to search for the intersection between what you’re passionate about and where your skills, ability, and talent lie. Jonathan tells the story of Doris, and how he grew up in a poor neighborhood in North Carolina and how his life completely changed after his mom qualified to buy a Habitat house in Optimist Park. Doris is the first person to grow up in a Habitat for Humanity house and to serve on the board as well. The story perfectly encapsulates the mission and purpose of Habitat for Humanity and how giving people a platform and foundation for a stable, healthy life can impact their community and society as a whole.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com habitat.org linkedin.com/in/jonathanreckford Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World by Jonathan Reckford