Episode 181

Community Questions: October 2024

In Episode 181 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy dives into the October 2024 community questions, sharing his insights on business development challenges. He answers questions on managing inbound leads, the use of CRM tools, and how to approach multiple leads from the same company. Kelly explains that while inbound leads can be valuable, they are often best managed by inside sales or operational teams, reserving business development for outbound growth strategies. He emphasizes using a CRM like Pipedrive exclusively for tracking, instead of complicating workflows with additional tools like Excel, to maintain a streamlined process.

Kelly also discusses effective follow-up techniques, advocating for a kind, once-per-week follow-up approach to avoid coming across as pushy, and emphasizes the importance of calendar management to stay productive in a global outreach role. In the spirit of Halloween, he shares his love for the spooky season with a personal ghost story, adding a fun twist to the episode. Wrapping up, Kelly introduces his Business Development Mastery Program, aimed at helping listeners build successful business development processes for the coming year.


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Transcript
Kelly Kennedy:

Welcome to episode 181 of the Business Development Podcast.

Kelly Kennedy:

community questions, October:

Kelly Kennedy:

Stick with us.

Kelly Kennedy:

This is an awesome episode.

Mark Cuban:

The great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.

Mark Cuban:

Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.

Mark Cuban:

And we couldn't agree.

Mark Cuban:

This is the Business Development Podcast, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and broadcasting to the world.

Mark Cuban:

You'll get expert business development advice, tips and experiences.

Mark Cuban:

And you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps.

Mark Cuban:

You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business brought to you by Capital Business Development capitalbd, ca.

Mark Cuban:

Let's do it.

Mark Cuban:

Welcome to to the Business Development Podcast.

Mark Cuban:

And now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy:

Hello.

Kelly Kennedy:

Welcome to episode 181 of the Business Development Podcast.

Kelly Kennedy:

mmunity questions, October of:

Kelly Kennedy:

And guys, it's coinciding with Halloween.

Kelly Kennedy:

Two incredible, incredible things.

Kelly Kennedy:

As you know, I absolutely love the community questions aspect of this show.

Kelly Kennedy:

Guys, if this whole show was just community questions, I think I would, I would enjoy it immensely.

Kelly Kennedy:

And as some of you may know, I'm a huge fan of the spooky season.

Kelly Kennedy:

I'm an absolute gigantic fan of Halloween and spooky stories.

Kelly Kennedy:

And some of my favorite podcasts are podcasts like Jim Harold's Campfire and Scared to Death with Dan and Liz Cummins.

Kelly Kennedy:

And in spirit of that, the fact is, we are two days from Halloween.

Kelly Kennedy:

If you are listening to this and you're getting it, the day of Release, it is October 30th.

Kelly Kennedy:

So if you're hearing this and it is the day of release, tomorrow is Halloween.

Kelly Kennedy:

And so for fun, just for fun, something we don't typically do on this show, I wanted to share my very own ghost story.

Kelly Kennedy:

And you know, I've had a few experiences in my life, so I thought it would just be fun because I know we talk business all the time, but the reality is we're all living life.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I know there's probably a few of you out there with a ghost story of your own.

Kelly Kennedy:

And while I know it is not the typical thing for this show, we did have Brennan Storr come on last Halloween to come and chat about his book A Strange Little Place, which talks about Revelstoke bc, which is a super amazing book.

Kelly Kennedy:

And you guys should definitely go get it.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's probably one of my favorite books of all time.

Kelly Kennedy:

Of the spooky things in Canada.

Kelly Kennedy:

But for this time, for this particular Halloween, I thought it would be fun just to share an experience that I had in a house that I rented for a little while.

Kelly Kennedy:

And we used to have board game nights, guys, every single Friday.

Kelly Kennedy:

Yeah, I'm a nerd.

Kelly Kennedy:

You know it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Me and my friends, we would have a board game night on Friday nights.

Kelly Kennedy:

And it was a Friday night not unlike the night you might be listening to this.

Kelly Kennedy:

It was dark out about 10 o'clock and we'd had, we'd been hanging out and just playing board games.

Kelly Kennedy:

If you are from Canada, you are probably very aware that we can have winter whiteout blizzards that just come out of nowhere.

Kelly Kennedy:

And this one night, it was board game night and it had been snowing and snowing and snowing.

Kelly Kennedy:

And so our walks, guys, completely covered with snow.

Kelly Kennedy:

So if somebody walks through the walks, you're going to see footprints.

Kelly Kennedy:

This is the kind of key takeaway for this particular story.

Kelly Kennedy:

ing late, it's probably about:

Kelly Kennedy:

And guys, I kid you not, out of nowhere three big knocks on the front door.

Kelly Kennedy:

My dogs lose their absolute minds.

Kelly Kennedy:

They go down there, they're barking and I kid you not, I grew up with kind of what I like to call a spooky, maybe haunted house.

Kelly Kennedy:

So I'd been used to weird things happening.

Kelly Kennedy:

So for me it wasn't a big surprise.

Kelly Kennedy:

My friend, my roommate at the time, he's like the biggest skeptic you've ever met.

Kelly Kennedy:

Not afraid of anything, never had any experiences.

Kelly Kennedy:

He goes down to the front door and he looks out and he looks at me, guys, white as a ghost.

Kelly Kennedy:

And he goes, I don't know what just happened.

Kelly Kennedy:

There are no footprints, There are no footprints outside.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's a whiteout, it's still snowing.

Kelly Kennedy:

Nobody physical could have knocked on that front door, guys.

Kelly Kennedy:

But I kid you not, it fooled us, it fooled the dogs 100%.

Kelly Kennedy:

Somebody knocked on the front door that night.

Kelly Kennedy:

So I don't know if you guys have spooky stories of your own.

Kelly Kennedy:

I would love to hear them.

Kelly Kennedy:

Feel free to share them in the comments on our LinkedIn or to shoot me an email on it.

Kelly Kennedy:

I absolutely love spooky stories.

Kelly Kennedy:

Huge fan of them, listen to them all the time.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if you are looking for a good listen this Halloween, a great show.

Kelly Kennedy:

I'm going to recommend three actually.

Kelly Kennedy:

I want you guys to check out Astonishing Legends.

Kelly Kennedy:

They have an amazing Halloween special.

Kelly Kennedy:

You absolutely need to hear it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Check out Jim Harold's Campfire for all year long spooky stories and make sure that you check out Scared to Death by Dan and Liz Cummins.

Kelly Kennedy:

They are absolutely incredible husband and wife duo and they do an absolute great job.

Kelly Kennedy:

So for those of you who know me, I love a good spooky story.

Kelly Kennedy:

solutely incredible Halloween:

Kelly Kennedy:

All right, guys, show update.

Kelly Kennedy:

We are sitting at 2,879 followers between Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Kelly Kennedy:

I cannot believe it.

Kelly Kennedy:

We are closing in on 3,000 followers, guys.

Kelly Kennedy:

That feels huge for a show that started out in my basement.

Kelly Kennedy:

So I'm pretty happy about that.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I wanted to thank each and every one of you who have followed us on Apple podcasts and Spotify.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if you are finding us for the very first time today, welcome.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's an absolute honor to have you join us on the Business Development podcast.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if you enjoy this show, there are hundreds more like it and you can absolutely go back through our catalog and check them out and find things that are relevant to you.

Kelly Kennedy:

But I would love it too if you could also follow us on your platform of choice, helping us to reach further and further and further across this incredible globe we all live on.

Kelly Kennedy:

I never thought, guys, when I started this show that the Business Development Podcast would become a worldwide show.

Kelly Kennedy:

I just, I never thought that.

Kelly Kennedy:

I thought, yeah, maybe we'll have some influence in Edmonton, maybe we'll have some influence across Canada was probably the biggest hopes that I had.

Kelly Kennedy:

But the fact that we have influence around the entire world, we are helping people grow business around the world.

Kelly Kennedy:

It is an honor and a privilege.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I just want to say thank you for allowing me to do this.

Kelly Kennedy:

You guys coming in and listening to these shows is what allows me to keep coming back.

Kelly Kennedy:

We have incredible sponsors like Hyper Vac Technologies, Biz, Sync Solutions at Work, Office Furniture.

Kelly Kennedy:

We've had some amazing help along the way and could not have done this without you could not continue to do this without the support of our sponsors.

Kelly Kennedy:

And so if you love this show, don't just reach out to us, guys.

Kelly Kennedy:

Let our sponsors know that you appreciate their support.

Kelly Kennedy:

It really does help us to continue to grow this show and meet new people and keep things going.

Kelly Kennedy:

So thank you so much for all you do.

Kelly Kennedy:

Thank you for supporting us and please do follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if you like this particular episode, Community Questions, guys, it is my favorite.

Kelly Kennedy:

I absolutely love it.

Kelly Kennedy:

And we are always, always, always looking for questions for the upcoming months episode.

Kelly Kennedy:

So if you like this episode and you would like to submit questions for November, please do shoot them on over podcastapitalbeed ca or send them to me directly over LinkedIn direct message and I will make sure that we get this handled for you on an upcoming Community Questions episode.

Kelly Kennedy:

And guys, I actually have some more big news for you.

Kelly Kennedy:

We bought a house.

Kelly Kennedy:

Me and Shelby just bought a beautiful, beautiful home.

Kelly Kennedy:

I have my own podcast studio in it.

Kelly Kennedy:

I am recording today's show, the very first show from my forever studio for the business development podcast.

Kelly Kennedy:

It is pretty empty right now.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's got some empty bookshelves in it.

Kelly Kennedy:

I'm going to be putting some doors in.

Kelly Kennedy:

We're going to deck this place out.

Kelly Kennedy:

But guys, I have my own little studio and I am so freaking excited.

Kelly Kennedy:

I just had to say it.

Kelly Kennedy:

I had to let you guys know.

Kelly Kennedy:

We are, we are in the process of moving in.

Kelly Kennedy:

I am absolutely exhausted.

Kelly Kennedy:

It always takes longer than you thought.

Kelly Kennedy:

We did like multiple trips with like a 26 foot U haul and it has been a weekend, but we are getting to it.

Kelly Kennedy:

We are getting moved in.

Kelly Kennedy:

Can't wait till I can start to really build this studio out.

Kelly Kennedy:

But you guys will see it as we go.

Kelly Kennedy:

It'll be in our clips and videos and hopefully we'll get it populated with some things on these shelves sooner rather than later.

Kelly Kennedy:

But it is absolutely exciting and I cannot, cannot wait to continue this show into the future from here.

Kelly Kennedy:

All right, let's just get into it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Community Questions, October:

Kelly Kennedy:

My gosh, there were some challenging ones.

Kelly Kennedy:

You guys are never easy on me.

Kelly Kennedy:

And that's okay.

Kelly Kennedy:

All these questions that I answer from you are my own personal opinions.

Kelly Kennedy:

Understand there might be other people that have other opinions.

Kelly Kennedy:

There may be multiple ways to answer these questions.

Kelly Kennedy:

I am going to do my best to answer them in the best way that Kelly Kennedy, Capital Business Development and the Business Development Podcast can, okay, you know, take all answers with a grain of salt.

Kelly Kennedy:

We do the best we can and I speak from my own experience.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if I don't have experience in it, I will let you know.

Kelly Kennedy:

Okay?

Kelly Kennedy:

So that's how I handle these community questions.

Kelly Kennedy:

I do do my best with them.

Kelly Kennedy:

But understand, you know, these are, these are just my opinion.

Kelly Kennedy:

Take them to heart.

Kelly Kennedy:

We'll just do our best for you.

Kelly Kennedy:

My first questions are from a listener named Daniel.

Kelly Kennedy:

And Daniel's first question is about handling inbound leads in business development.

Kelly Kennedy:

He asks, when it comes to managing inbound leads, is it appropriate for business development professionals to handle new customer inquiries, or should this responsibility typically fall to an inside sales specialist?

Kelly Kennedy:

How do you determine the best approach for managing inbound versus outbound leads?

Kelly Kennedy:

That is an incredible question.

Kelly Kennedy:

Daniel and in a lot of cases, I would actually say inbound leads should typically go to a director of operations or an inside sales specialist who can then handle that request.

Kelly Kennedy:

Remember, business development is typically about new.

Kelly Kennedy:

This could be a business development task.

Kelly Kennedy:

So I just want to like say it doesn't have to be an inside sales rep or a director of operations or somebody who can actually handle the order.

Kelly Kennedy:

It could still be filtered through business development.

Kelly Kennedy:

Daniel and maybe it should.

Kelly Kennedy:

But typically what I would consider is business development is outbound.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's finding those opportunities, it's making the connection, it's setting up the meetings.

Kelly Kennedy:

Unless you wanted to maybe take that inbound lead, turn it into a meeting, see if there's something real there, and then hand it over.

Kelly Kennedy:

That would be a good way to business development at Daniel but typically if you have inbound leads, they've already found you, which is awesome.

Kelly Kennedy:

That's really what we want with business development, though.

Kelly Kennedy:

We need to educate the world and get them to come to us.

Kelly Kennedy:

And we facilitate the meeting all the way to typically a RFP or an order stage.

Kelly Kennedy:

At that point, it is typically off the business development plate.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's handed over to an account manager, a director of operations, someone who can really look after that client.

Kelly Kennedy:

And we're going to go back to the beginning.

Kelly Kennedy:

But I would say you could have a business development specialist handling both the inbound calls and the outbound leads.

Kelly Kennedy:

I don't see anything wrong with that.

Kelly Kennedy:

As long as you cut it off when it becomes an order, someone else takes it over at the order stage, at the becomes a customer stage, and you go back to the beginning.

Kelly Kennedy:

So take that one as you will.

Kelly Kennedy:

That's a tough question.

Kelly Kennedy:

It can be handled either way.

Kelly Kennedy:

Daniel but yeah, it's just up to you and what's best for your organization.

Kelly Kennedy:

Thanks for that one.

Kelly Kennedy:

His second question is about using multiple tools for tracking in business development.

Kelly Kennedy:

He said in addition to using a dedicated CRM tool like pipedrive, do you also rely on other tools such as Excel, Google Sheets to track important information like LinkedIn, introductions, calls and emails?

Kelly Kennedy:

And if so, how do you integrate these tools effectively for a streamlined workflow?

Kelly Kennedy:

My opinion on this, Daniel, is no.

Kelly Kennedy:

If I'm using A CRM.

Kelly Kennedy:

I am using a CRM to its full capacity.

Kelly Kennedy:

I don't want to use Excel and Google Sheets and a CRM.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's just too much.

Kelly Kennedy:

So in my opinion, I would use simply your pipedrive CRM.

Kelly Kennedy:

I would pack it full of information and I would stop using Excel or Google Sheets.

Kelly Kennedy:

Unless you just wanted to use like Google Forms or something like that to collect some information.

Kelly Kennedy:

But no.

Kelly Kennedy:

Typically I keep all of my customer and deal data inside of my CRM in one place.

Kelly Kennedy:

You and me both know, Daniel, doing the data entry is probably the bane of our existence.

Kelly Kennedy:

Why would we want to do more?

Kelly Kennedy:

In my opinion, I would simplify your data entry as much as possible.

Kelly Kennedy:

And the best way to do that is to integrate it all and put everything into your CRM.

Kelly Kennedy:

Great question.

Kelly Kennedy:

Daniel's third question is handling multiple leads within the same company.

Kelly Kennedy:

If you're working several leads from a single company and two of them respond with a firm objection, how would you proceed with the remaining leads?

Kelly Kennedy:

Do you continue engaging with them or is it better to move on in such situations?

Kelly Kennedy:

What strategies would you suggest of managing multiple contacts from one organization when objections arise?

Kelly Kennedy:

Okay, great question, Daniel.

Kelly Kennedy:

The answer is no.

Kelly Kennedy:

If this is a prime target for my client and they absolutely want this company and I get two no's, that could be two no's from a branch level for all we know, right?

Kelly Kennedy:

Unless you are at like the director level of the company, the highest reaches, and you're getting nos from like the director of operations or the director of procurement and supply chain, or heck, maybe even a CEO or a vice president, you probably can keep going.

Kelly Kennedy:

Remember that a lot of big companies, you know, large construction companies, large energy companies, they have multiple branches.

Kelly Kennedy:

You might only be talking to one plant, for instance, and they're giving you a no.

Kelly Kennedy:

Okay, fine.

Kelly Kennedy:

Maybe it is a no at that one plan.

Kelly Kennedy:

The funny thing is, if you get a yes from the executive level of the entire company, that one plant that gave you a no might end up buying your people anyway.

Kelly Kennedy:

So understand that it really depends on making sure that you have the right person that you're reaching out to make sure that you absolutely know that the target individual, the target position at the company is the right position.

Kelly Kennedy:

If the answer is yes, you've talked to the right position.

Kelly Kennedy:

You know that that's the position.

Kelly Kennedy:

You know that you're the highest up in the company that you're going to get.

Kelly Kennedy:

You know what you're talking to corporate and not just a branch, then maybe, maybe that's the time to make the call and say, okay, this company is not interested.

Kelly Kennedy:

But it really comes down to what is the directive of your company.

Kelly Kennedy:

If you're getting a company directive from the top, that's saying we want this large oil and gas company, we want this large manufacturing plant or whatever it is you work in, then yeah, keep going.

Kelly Kennedy:

Keep going until you are absolutely positive that you've gotten to a director level and that there's nobody else who could potentially give you a yes.

Kelly Kennedy:

But if you're at the top, you get the no.

Kelly Kennedy:

Take the no.

Kelly Kennedy:

But if you're not sure that you're at the top, you're not sure that you have, you know, the exact right person.

Kelly Kennedy:

My advice is keep going.

Kelly Kennedy:

I can tell you that a lot of the large oil and gas companies that I got into, I had quite a few people tell me this probably isn't something they're interested in.

Kelly Kennedy:

Why bother?

Kelly Kennedy:

I'm too busy to meet with you, whatever it is, until I got to the right person.

Kelly Kennedy:

And when I got to the right person, it was an immediate, yeah, yeah, this sounds great, let's set it up.

Kelly Kennedy:

So a lot of times you just have to get to the person who actually understands what your product and service is and how important it is to their company.

Kelly Kennedy:

When you get to that person and they tell you no, then it's probably a no.

Kelly Kennedy:

But until you get there, you keep going.

Kelly Kennedy:

Because trust me, that yes is probably closer than you think.

Kelly Kennedy:

Amazing questions, Daniel.

Kelly Kennedy:

Daniel is an incredible listener of the show and we appreciate him greatly.

Kelly Kennedy:

My next question comes from listener April.

Kelly Kennedy:

April asks about building trust and personality in written outreach and she asks, how can a business development professional effectively convey their personality and build trust through emails and messages?

Kelly Kennedy:

What tips do you have for creating a genuine personable connection in written outreach to engage potential clients?

Kelly Kennedy:

Great question, April.

Kelly Kennedy:

You likely cannot build trust through emails and messages.

Kelly Kennedy:

Remember the whole point of our of our written outreach, our messages, our emails, it is to build enough interest to get us to a meeting.

Kelly Kennedy:

We then build trust through the meeting through our personal connection.

Kelly Kennedy:

It is very, very hard to build trust with somebody through the written word if you do not already know them.

Kelly Kennedy:

You really need to be able to have that interaction that teams call, that video call that in person meeting to build rapport and build trust between two real people.

Kelly Kennedy:

Very hard to do with someone you do not know through written word.

Kelly Kennedy:

I want you to focus your messaging, April, through email and messages to building interest to why they would want to meet with you.

Kelly Kennedy:

Further, once you get that face to face meeting Whether that be through a teams call, whether that be through an in person lunch or a meeting such as that.

Kelly Kennedy:

That is the situation that you are going to be able to build trust and create genuine personable connection.

Kelly Kennedy:

That is the secret.

Kelly Kennedy:

You're not going to be able to do it through writing and in a lot of ways the harder you try to do it through writing, the more it actually pushes away the other person.

Kelly Kennedy:

Instead, focus your writing on building interest in your products and services and then push for the meeting.

Kelly Kennedy:

April's second question is how do we follow up without sounding persistent or pushy?

Kelly Kennedy:

And she goes following up is crucial in business development, but it is easy to come across as pushy or overly persistent.

Kelly Kennedy:

How can we follow up effectively without using phrases like did you see my last message?

Kelly Kennedy:

What approaches or phrases would you recommend to keep the follow up feeling refreshed and non intrusive?

Kelly Kennedy:

Incredible question April.

Kelly Kennedy:

I absolutely love this and I have always gone with the once per week rule.

Kelly Kennedy:

We only reach out once per week.

Kelly Kennedy:

That is the secret.

Kelly Kennedy:

Anything more than that is too much.

Kelly Kennedy:

Anything less than that is too little.

Kelly Kennedy:

If we follow up with a kind voicemail and we never ever call them out, let's just talk about that right now.

Kelly Kennedy:

We never say did you see my last message?

Kelly Kennedy:

Always treat them with respect.

Kelly Kennedy:

Treat it like they're busy and they missed it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Whatever it is, always approach it new.

Kelly Kennedy:

So I typically might say, hey, I'm just following up my last email.

Kelly Kennedy:

Still can't wait to meet with you.

Kelly Kennedy:

Do you mind if we set something up?

Kelly Kennedy:

I may respond with something like that.

Kelly Kennedy:

I may just leave a brand new voicemail.

Kelly Kennedy:

Hey it's Kelly trying to reach you.

Kelly Kennedy:

Working with XYZ company.

Kelly Kennedy:

We have this product, this product, this product.

Kelly Kennedy:

I think it's something that you and your company be super interested in.

Kelly Kennedy:

Can we set up a meeting sometime in the next two weeks?

Kelly Kennedy:

Can't wait to hear from you.

Kelly Kennedy:

You can get me back at xyz xyz xyz, right.

Kelly Kennedy:

This is the secret.

Kelly Kennedy:

The secret is to always treat them like they never saw it.

Kelly Kennedy:

But always leave the kindest voicemails that you absolutely can work to be short, sweet, concise and always ask for the meeting.

Kelly Kennedy:

Always ask for what you want.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if you're feeling like, okay, I've left like four voicemails.

Kelly Kennedy:

Don't be afraid to swap it out with an email.

Kelly Kennedy:

You could send a voicemail one week, an email, the next week a voicemail, an email, however you want to do it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Just keep to the once per week rule and then Heck, if you get to like 10 outreaches, 12 outreaches, you can decide then if it's worth it or if you need to find a new contact.

Kelly Kennedy:

A lot of the times if you're at 10, 12, 14 outreaches and you haven't gotten any response, you may actually just have the wrong person.

Kelly Kennedy:

So it makes sense to then maybe try to track down another contact and start over.

Kelly Kennedy:

But understand that the secret to not coming across as pushy is by being kind, always giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Kelly Kennedy:

Understanding that these people are incredibly busy.

Kelly Kennedy:

Understand I've met with supply chain directors who probably get a thousand reach outs a week.

Kelly Kennedy:

If you are one of a thousand reach outs, April, you can't really blame them for not wanting to call us back right when we want it, right?

Kelly Kennedy:

So understand that it's not typically that these people are blowing you off.

Kelly Kennedy:

People that work in supply chain are incredibly, incredibly busy.

Kelly Kennedy:

People that are running projects, incredibly, incredibly busy.

Kelly Kennedy:

And unless they need your product in that moment, you're probably not top of mind.

Kelly Kennedy:

But understand that the whole goal here is just to create an introduction that gets us an opportunity sometime down the line.

Kelly Kennedy:

So you don't need to feel pressured either.

Kelly Kennedy:

Understand that if it takes you 12 weeks to book the meeting, that's not the end of the world.

Kelly Kennedy:

Just keep at it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Stay persistent, but use the one week rule.

Kelly Kennedy:

We reach out one time, once per week.

Kelly Kennedy:

That's it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Follow up the next week if you don't hear anything back and make your call about when you're going to cut it off.

Kelly Kennedy:

A great question, April.

Kelly Kennedy:

That was a really good one.

Kelly Kennedy:

The next question April had was exploring alternative channels for product exposure.

Kelly Kennedy:

And she goes beyond traditional platforms like LinkedIn and email.

Kelly Kennedy:

What are some alternative ways to get a product in front of the target audience and make a memorable impression?

Kelly Kennedy:

Are there any specific methods or channels that you would recommend for adding value and visibility without relying solely on digital outreach?

Kelly Kennedy:

Okay, this is a good one.

Kelly Kennedy:

We really live in a time, April, where digital outreach is where it's at.

Kelly Kennedy:

It just is.

Kelly Kennedy:

From a targeting perspective, we're just able to get our products and services in front of the right people.

Kelly Kennedy:

We're able to connect with the right individuals that buy our products and services.

Kelly Kennedy:

So my opinion would be utilizing an active marketing process of using a Digital introduction through LinkedIn, finding the contact information, direct email, direct phone number, reaching out to get a face to face meeting.

Kelly Kennedy:

This is the best way.

Kelly Kennedy:

This is a hundred percent the best way to market in B2B.

Kelly Kennedy:

But yes, there are lots of traditional Channels that people have used for a very long time.

Kelly Kennedy:

You could attend trade shows, you could set up a booth.

Kelly Kennedy:

You could, you know, join your local chamber of commerce and go to all the meetings and stuff that they do.

Kelly Kennedy:

But understand that all of that stuff, it's nice.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's really fun.

Kelly Kennedy:

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love going to Edmonton chamber events.

Kelly Kennedy:

They're incredible.

Kelly Kennedy:

They're a lot of fun.

Kelly Kennedy:

I don't do a lot of business at them, though.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's strictly because you're meeting a bunch of people and you don't know what any of them do.

Kelly Kennedy:

You don't know if there's even going to be someone there that can buy your products and services or that has a need for them.

Kelly Kennedy:

You're really just shooting in the dark, right?

Kelly Kennedy:

And we don't want to shoot in the dark.

Kelly Kennedy:

We want to, like, target the right positions at a company as precisely as possible to save time because you are busy.

Kelly Kennedy:

I am busy.

Kelly Kennedy:

I don't have time to waste.

Kelly Kennedy:

I barely go to events now, April.

Kelly Kennedy:

And it really is because I'm just so busy with my time that trying to balance that if I can't get something for sure out of it doesn't really make sense.

Kelly Kennedy:

So, yes, there are lots of different ways that you can do it.

Kelly Kennedy:

You can do digital flyers, you could do billboards, you could do radio ads, you could do expos.

Kelly Kennedy:

You could do all sorts of stuff.

Kelly Kennedy:

And there's nothing wrong with doing it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Except for a lot of these mediums are made for brand exposure.

Kelly Kennedy:

What they're really made to do is get your products and services in front of as many people as possible.

Kelly Kennedy:

It doesn't mean that those are people that can buy your products and services.

Kelly Kennedy:

That's kind of the challenge with it all.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's really great for brand recognition and I'm a huge advocate for passive strategies for brand recognition.

Kelly Kennedy:

I'm an advocate for getting yourself on, on radio, on tv, on podcasts and all sorts of things.

Kelly Kennedy:

But understand that they're probably not going to pay you back in direct returns right then and there.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's a long game of creating brand recognition and exposure.

Kelly Kennedy:

It works.

Kelly Kennedy:

Problem is, it's slow.

Kelly Kennedy:

We need to most of the time.

Kelly Kennedy:

We need to be more targeted to grow our companies in the way that we want to.

Kelly Kennedy:

So, absolutely, there's lots of different options.

Kelly Kennedy:

You can try all of them and see which ones that you like.

Kelly Kennedy:

I think you will find, though, that using a business development strategy that is about an active marketing process, like we talk about on the show, that is going to be your quickest, most value driven approach that you can take.

Kelly Kennedy:

All right, thanks, April.

Kelly Kennedy:

Those were incredible questions.

Kelly Kennedy:

Our last question comes from a listener named David.

Kelly Kennedy:

And Daveed's question is about staying on track amid global outreach opportunities.

Kelly Kennedy:

He goes for a sales or business development professional.

Kelly Kennedy:

Reaching out to a global audience can be both exciting and overwhelming.

Kelly Kennedy:

With so many potential clients and limited hours in the day, how can one effectively maintain a schedule and stay on track with outreach follow ups and meetings?

Kelly Kennedy:

What are your top strategies for managing time and prioritizing tasks in extensive outreach role?

Kelly Kennedy:

Incredible, Daveed.

Kelly Kennedy:

I'll be honest, dude, I've gotten so much better at this particular part of the task over the last couple years.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I live by a calendar.

Kelly Kennedy:

I absolutely do.

Kelly Kennedy:

I schedule my time, I schedule cold call time, I schedule digital introduction time.

Kelly Kennedy:

I make sure that I send out calendly invites to people for meetings so that they're booking within time windows, so that I'm not necessarily pushing time windows that I've already banked aside for for specific tasks.

Kelly Kennedy:

But it really does come down to calendar management, David.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I know you don't want to hear this, nobody wants to hear this because we all want to live within our freedoms.

Kelly Kennedy:

But let me tell you what, when I started living by my calendar, I schedule everything, dude.

Kelly Kennedy:

I schedule all of my work stuff.

Kelly Kennedy:

Whether that be client meetings, whether that be cold call time, whether that be digital introduction time.

Kelly Kennedy:

Everything that I need to be doing throughout a day, I schedule.

Kelly Kennedy:

And then I send out calendly invites to clients or to people that I'm meeting with in order to make sure that they're fitting within my time windows.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I really do live this way, David.

Kelly Kennedy:

I really do.

Kelly Kennedy:

I live 100% by a calendar now.

Kelly Kennedy:

And it has made me so much more effective at getting the things done and balancing my meetings in the same time.

Kelly Kennedy:

You know, I probably have five to 10 meetings every single week, whether that be BDP meetings, whether that be interviews, whether that be client meetings, whatever it is I'm doing.

Kelly Kennedy:

I have a lot of meetings during my week.

Kelly Kennedy:

I also still do active business development for clients and so I may have time scheduled for that.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I'm doing active business development for myself for growing the podcast.

Kelly Kennedy:

And so yeah, man, it's, it's tough.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's tough.

Kelly Kennedy:

But every week I want you to focus a little harder on focusing in on that calendar.

Kelly Kennedy:

And if you're kind of struggling with prioritizing tasks, which is something that I struggled with years ago, I started doing top things to do today.

Kelly Kennedy:

So every single day when I sit down in the morning and I have client work to do or I'm doing work for myself that day, I Write out Top 5 Things to do today.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I will write down, like I said, the top five to 10 things to do that day.

Kelly Kennedy:

And I'll write them in order of importance.

Kelly Kennedy:

And yes, a lot of the times it'll be the stuff I really don't want to do in the first two.

Kelly Kennedy:

Because guess what?

Kelly Kennedy:

The sooner that you can bust out those cold calls, the sooner that you can finish all your digital introductions and invites for the week, the better off you're going to be because you're getting in front of more people.

Kelly Kennedy:

So my recommendation to you is really live by a calendar schedule time.

Kelly Kennedy:

Don't break that time, right?

Kelly Kennedy:

Follow it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Follow the time blocks that you've given yourself and start using a notepad.

Kelly Kennedy:

Top things to do today, every single day.

Kelly Kennedy:

Check them off as you go.

Kelly Kennedy:

Your productivity will start to skyrocket when you start to do this.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's an absolute great question.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's a hard one for each and every one of us.

Kelly Kennedy:

But as we're growing businesses, we have to grow too.

Kelly Kennedy:

And it's just one of those things that goes with it.

Kelly Kennedy:

Thank you, Daveed.

Kelly Kennedy:

That was an incredible question and I appreciate you and your listening.

Kelly Kennedy:

My friend, if you have enjoyed this show and you're struggling with your business development process, you're struggling to grow your company, you need better processes.

Kelly Kennedy:

That's the problem.

Kelly Kennedy:

Most of us have.

Kelly Kennedy:

Guys, I have an absolutely incredible coaching program.

Kelly Kennedy:

It is called the Business Development Mastery program with Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy:

It is a three month program.

Kelly Kennedy:

It's six sessions spread out every two weeks.

Kelly Kennedy:

goals, your growth goals for:

Kelly Kennedy:

We are going to identify the right people at the organizations to market to.

Kelly Kennedy:

We're going to work on your LinkedIn strategy.

Kelly Kennedy:

We're going to work on your CRM strategy.

Kelly Kennedy:

n active marketing process in:

Kelly Kennedy:

This program is for entrepreneurs, business owners, business development specialists, business development managers, anybody whose job it is to grow the business.

Kelly Kennedy:

This program is for you.

Kelly Kennedy:

You can book a discovery call with me for free at CapitalBusinessDevelopment CA or if you go on my LinkedIn page, you'll see the button that says amplify your impact.

Kelly Kennedy:

Click that button, book that discovery call and we can explore the options together.

Kelly Kennedy:

Guys, that takes us to the end of our show.

Kelly Kennedy:

Today has been absolutely incredible.

Kelly Kennedy:

If you've enjoyed this show and you want to submit community questions for a future episode, please do send them again.

Kelly Kennedy:

Podcastapital BD CA Happy Halloween everybody and we will catch you on the flip side.

Mark Cuban:

This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly kenner.

Mark Cuban:

business development firm in:

Mark Cuban:

His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.

Mark Cuban:

The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.

Mark Cuban:

For more, we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.ca.

Mark Cuban:

see you next time on the Business Development Podcast.

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The Business Development Podcast
The Business Development Podcast is an award-winning show dedicated to entrepreneurs, executives, sales, and business development specialists.

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Kelly Kennedy