Episode 245
You Don’t Have to Suffer to Succeed
In Episode 245 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy dismantles the toxic belief that suffering is required for success. If you’ve been grinding endlessly, sacrificing your peace for performance, this episode is your wake-up call. Kelly reveals how the real wins in business development come not from burnout, but from clarity, calm, and consistent execution. Through personal stories, industry truths, and sharp insights, he shows you how to break free from the hustle trap and still hit your biggest revenue goals.
This is not just motivation — it’s a new blueprint for high-performance business development without self-destruction. Kelly walks you through sustainable habits, powerful mindset shifts, and the exact math behind building a stress-free, scalable strategy. If you’re a founder, executive, or business developer ready to stop burning out and start building smarter, Episode 245 will change how you show up, sell, and succeed.
Key Takeaways:
1. Burnout is not a badge of honor — it’s a warning sign that your business development process needs a serious shift.
2. You don’t need more hours; you need better systems. Success comes from clarity, not chaos.
3. Rest is not a reward — it’s a requirement for long-term performance, creativity, and consistency in BD.
4. Meetings are the metric that matter most. Revenue is built by reverse-engineering how many qualified meetings you need each month.
5. Stress is not proof of progress. Chronic stress kills decision-making, momentum, and client relationships.
6. Business development is a long game, and calm confidence outperforms frantic hustle every time.
7. Track weekly wins, not just closed deals. Progress momentum builds consistency and fuels confidence.
8. Daily mindset resets and weekly planning are your secret weapons. Use tools like the “Move the Needle” list to stay aligned and focused.
9. Boundaries protect your value. You’re worth more when you’re focused, not constantly reactive.
10. The best business developers work from vision, not fear. When you understand your metrics, the pressure turns into a plan — and peace follows.
✨ Join The Catalyst Club – You Belong Here
If this episode hit home, you're exactly who The Catalyst Club was built for. This is more than a community — it's your support system, your strategy hub, and your space to grow without burning out.
Inside, you'll find:
- Weekly live workshops, coaching, and Q&A
- A network of high-performance founders, business developers, and leaders who get it
- Tools, templates, and systems to build real momentum
- Encouragement, community, accountability, and clarity when you need it most
You don’t have to do business development alone — and you don’t have to keep pretending everything’s fine when it isn’t.
You belong here.
Let’s build something sustainable, powerful, and built to last.
🔗 Join us inside The Catalyst Club:
Transcript
Welcome to episode 245 of the Business Development Podcast.
Speaker A:What if your biggest breakthroughs came after you stopped burning out in the grind and started leading with strategy and wellness?
Speaker A:Today, we're diving into how taking care of yourself can unlock your most powerful business development results yet.
Speaker A:Stick with us, you won't want to miss this episode.
Speaker B:The great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.
Speaker B:Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.
Speaker B:And we couldn't agree more.
Speaker B:This is the Business Development Podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and broadcasting to the world.
Speaker B:You'll get expert business development advice, tips and experiences and you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps.
Speaker B:You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business brought to you by Capital Business Development capitalbd ca.
Speaker B:Let's do it.
Speaker B:Welcome to the Business Development Podcast.
Speaker B:And now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.
Speaker A:Hello.
Speaker A:Welcome to episode 245 of the Business Development Podcast.
Speaker A:My gosh, 245 episodes, guys, we are closing in on 250 here real shortly.
Speaker A:We have an absolutely incredible episode scheduled for 250.
Speaker A:So I can't wait to get there with you guys.
Speaker A:But today, today I wanted to chat all about how do we succeed in business development consistently, sustainably and without burnout.
Speaker A:My gosh.
Speaker A:I've been in business development a long time, guys, and I remember the hustle culture.
Speaker A:I remember what it was like to be a new business developer and just feeling frankly over my head underwater, sick, tired and still having to perform.
Speaker A:And so today's episode is for my business development specialists, my entrepreneurs, my executives, leaders and salespeople.
Speaker A:I want to talk to everybody in the rat race who's trying to achieve lofty goals, sales quotas and is struggling to find contentment or see the prize at the end of the long tunnel.
Speaker A:I totally get it, guys.
Speaker A:I totally get it.
Speaker A:And my hope today is that by the time we get to the end of this episode, we can start to map a path of peace and contentment for you.
Speaker A:Whether you're in sales, whether you're in business development.
Speaker A:I want to remove some of that anxiety, that low level anxiety that we all live with and hopefully get you into a mindset of contentment and peace.
Speaker A:Because that is where the long game lives.
Speaker A:That is where the long sustainable path of business development, sales leadership lives.
Speaker A:We have to find clarity, we have to find peace, we have to find calmness.
Speaker A:That is going to be the best version of whatever your career is, if we can find that.
Speaker A:And I would say that as a business developer, as an entrepreneur, I am at my best when I am calm, when I am clear, when I am hopeful, when I am peaceful.
Speaker A:That is where I am living my best life.
Speaker A:That is where my business is doing the best.
Speaker A:And that is typically when I am doing my best business development.
Speaker A:And so today's show is all about contentment, sustainability and momentum.
Speaker A:In order to start down this journey, guys, we have to take a step off of the endless hamster wheel and we have to try to find peace, excitement, and dare I say, even some joy in your business development and entrepreneurship journey.
Speaker A:And we are going to do that without hitting the wall first.
Speaker A:We have to start with a story.
Speaker A:And that is my story.
Speaker A:And if you haven't heard it before, I've talked about it on a couple different episodes.
Speaker A:But we're going to get into it today because like I said, when I started the journey, I think I started where everybody starts.
Speaker A:And it really is on that endless hamster wheel of anxiety, performance, pressure, you name it.
Speaker A:We have to talk about it before we get into how can we improve it.
Speaker A:Now, you may or may not know, but I was not always the business development ninja before you.
Speaker A:In fact, I fell into business development running full tilt in the other direction.
Speaker A:It's a funny story, guys.
Speaker A:I didn't want to do business development.
Speaker A:I didn't want to do sales.
Speaker A:I actually went to college to get out of doing sales.
Speaker A:I started working on a car lot when I was 17 years old and I parked a hell of a lot of cars and I knew them inside and out.
Speaker A:And I remember going and talking to the sales manager when I turned 18 and I remember saying, hey, I'm 18 now.
Speaker A:I could technically be a sales guy.
Speaker A:Can you put me on car sales?
Speaker A:Can I sell cars?
Speaker A:And my sales manager at the time looked at me and said, absolutely not, Kelly, absolutely not.
Speaker A:You need some sales experience.
Speaker A:At the time, they weren't willing to train me.
Speaker A:And so he said, why don't you go get a sales job somewhere, work there for six, eight months and come back and we'll talk then.
Speaker A:And so that is exactly what I did.
Speaker A:And so As a young 18 year old, I went to work at Visions Electronics.
Speaker A:It was and still is a major electronics store here in Canada.
Speaker A:And Yeah, I sold TV.
Speaker A:I sold TVs for six months working at Visions Electronics something six or eight months.
Speaker A:And I ended up going back.
Speaker A:I went back to, to the car dealership that I Worked at in town.
Speaker A:And I said, okay, I'm ready, I've got my experience, can I do it?
Speaker A:And I got hired right on the spot.
Speaker A:And so about a week later, I started selling cars.
Speaker A:And the funny thing about this story was maybe funny, maybe coincidence, we'll call it what it is, Synchronicity, the universe.
Speaker A: This was late: Speaker A:And for those of you who are old enough, you may rem that was an absolutely horrible time to be in Canada or the United States.
Speaker A:We had a massive economic crash.
Speaker A:So the funny thing about that time was, is that nobody could actually afford cars.
Speaker A:And so we were getting lots of people in who either shouldn't be buying a car and maybe could get approved or just flat out couldn't get approved.
Speaker A:And so it was a very hard time to be selling anything, let alone cars.
Speaker A:And so my car sales journey was very short lived.
Speaker A:I want to say six months before I quit and went into parts sales.
Speaker A:After that I basically ended up in the sales space and I, like I said, I sold cars, I went into part sales for a little while, sold electronics when I worked at Visions.
Speaker A: And I found myself at: Speaker A:And my sister had just started college and she said, Kelly, what the heck are you doing with your life?
Speaker A:I think you should go to school.
Speaker A:And so I had no idea what I wanted to do, guys.
Speaker A:But I just knew that ultimately I didn't want to do sales anymore.
Speaker A:I was done with that.
Speaker A:I was going to go take business admin.
Speaker A:That was the goal.
Speaker A:I'm going to take a business admin in class and then I'm going to be able to just go and do operations or like day to day business tasks out of business.
Speaker A:I had no idea what that meant, guys.
Speaker A:I had no idea what day to day business tasks were, what operations was, what any of that was.
Speaker A:I just thought, okay, it'll be straight, I won't have to sell anything and it'll just be like obvious what I need to do day in and day out.
Speaker A:It's at the time that it seemed like a very content path to go on from someone who was running from sales.
Speaker A:So when, when I got out of college, I ended up getting a job working business administration.
Speaker A:So day to day kind of office tasks, a data entry, payroll, that sort of thing.
Speaker A:And about a month into that job, my boss pulled me into the office and he said, Kelly, with your Sales background and now your understanding of our organization.
Speaker A:You would be really great at business development.
Speaker A:And yeah, my heart sunk a little bit because first off, it sounded like sales and I had no idea what it was.
Speaker A:And that was funny because actually went to college, had no idea business development had never came up in any of my classes, any of my books.
Speaker A:And so literally I was like, oh, interesting, I'll look into it.
Speaker A:And literally went back to my computer and had to Google, what is business development.
Speaker A:I know I'm not alone in that.
Speaker A:I've had plenty of messages from listeners of this show saying that they had to do the very same thing when someone had first talked to them about it.
Speaker A:So it's funny, but about a month later, guys, I had a new title, Administration and business development manager.
Speaker A:And that eventually went on to operations and business development manager.
Speaker A:And I spent 10 years at that organization.
Speaker A:Guys, a lot of it was the hustle culture of business development, right?
Speaker A:This was Alberta.
Speaker A:This was oil and gas boom times.
Speaker A:It was go all hands on deck, move forward, bigger quotas, more clients, more people out the door, right?
Speaker A:The endless hamster wheel.
Speaker A:It wasn't really until much later in my business development career that I realized, holy crap, I've been doing this maybe the wrong way for a really long time.
Speaker A:And that if I just changed a few things, I could make this so much better.
Speaker A:Business development, once you understand it, is probably one of the best positions in any company.
Speaker A:I've talked about this many times.
Speaker A:I absolutely love business development.
Speaker A:And when done right, when done sustainably and peacefully and calmly, it is probably one of the best positions in any company, bar none, period.
Speaker A:It just, it can be absolutely incredible.
Speaker A:From a reward standpoint, from a feel good about yourself standpoint, from a feel good about your company standpoint, you really get to be the advocate, the cheerleader for the organization.
Speaker A:And you tend to be loved by almost everyone in the organization because you really are that person who's moving the needle for the company week over week, month over month, year over year.
Speaker A:But we have to do it in a sustainable way.
Speaker A:We have to do it in a way that not only is good for the company, but is also good for us as well.
Speaker A:And if we're not doing it right, if we are on the hamster wheel, it can really feel thankless, exhausting, inauthentic, demoralizing.
Speaker A:The expectation to perform at 100% week in and week out can burn out even the most seasoned business development specialist.
Speaker A:Today I want to focus on performance, pressure, hustle culture, and habits that Put happiness and peace back into your day to day.
Speaker A:I want to leave you guys, like I said, with a sustainable plan, with a way to handle business development that's not going to burn you out, that's not going to run you into the wall, that's going to take you off of the endless hamster wheel.
Speaker A:Let's talk about some of the pressure that business developers are under in a lot of different organizations.
Speaker A:Hustle culture was absolutely beat into sales and beat people.
Speaker A: siness development from about: Speaker A:If you ask any business development person how their week is, any of them seriously, just go and talk to somebody right now, just say, how is your week going?
Speaker A:I bet you get one of these answers.
Speaker A:I'm super busy.
Speaker A:I'm wiped.
Speaker A:I have four meetings this week.
Speaker A:I'm on the road all week long.
Speaker A:I could already hear some of you guys laughing.
Speaker A:I'm laughing.
Speaker A:I'm absolutely sure that they do have those things to do.
Speaker A:But the expectation is that there's always something happening, right.
Speaker A:If they say, oh, you know what, it's actually a really great week, or I actually don't have that much going on this week, or I have two or three really good meetings I'm excited for, there's something about that just doesn't seem important, that doesn't seem like they're doing something.
Speaker A:And there's just this expectation as a business developer, as a salesperson, that you have a thousand things going on.
Speaker A:Like it's literally frowned upon if you don't say that you have a thousand things going on, that you're exhausted, that you're wiped, that you're tired, that you know it's been another crazy week.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:That is the terminology we are all facing as our expectation.
Speaker A:Business development people are expected to appear at 100% always.
Speaker A:I interviewed a gentleman named Brad Warren friggin amazing person.
Speaker A:You should absolutely check out my episodes with him.
Speaker A:I have two with him right now, I think.
Speaker A:But he has a saying from his old boss.
Speaker A:And his old boss used to tell him, Mickey Mouse can't have a bad day.
Speaker A:Think about that.
Speaker A:If you go to Disneyland, it doesn't matter who is in the Mickey Mouse suit.
Speaker A:Mickey Mouse has to be happy, has to be 150%, has to be having the best day ever.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Business development and salespeople are under the same expectation.
Speaker A:And despite the whole be authentic, it's okay to share your feelings.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:But a Lot of organizations still expect that when their business development person, when their salesperson shows up to that meeting, shows up to that boardroom, that they have a big smile on their face and that they are 150%.
Speaker A:And I can tell you from my own personal experience, I have sat in meetings where inside I was having the worst day of my life.
Speaker A:I was feeling crushed.
Speaker A:I had something horrible happen.
Speaker A:You name it.
Speaker A:I was feeling like a big sack of shit, and I had a smile on my face bigger than you could ever imagine.
Speaker A:I got incredibly good at faking a smile, at being excited when I wasn't.
Speaker A:And unfortunately, that was just a part of the business development hustle culture.
Speaker A:And I'm still contending with some of that today.
Speaker A:I can tell you that a lot of your business development people out there and a lot of the people listening to this right now have been in the exact same situation.
Speaker A:The pressure to bring in opportunity is immense.
Speaker A:Business development people, we get an unfair expectation that we have to keep the business running.
Speaker A:And I know I have felt the weight of a business, not just my own business, but the businesses of people that I've worked with, the businesses of clients that I've worked for, where that expectation can really feel like, even though I don't really have the control to make that business successful, it can feel like it's up to me.
Speaker A:It's up to me to get those meetings.
Speaker A:It's up to me to close that business.
Speaker A:It's up to me to find the next big cheese that keeps this organization moving forward.
Speaker A:Many business development people feel this expectation.
Speaker A:The pressure to perform week over week is also immense.
Speaker A:We're always out there trying to identify the next big opportunity, keep the next meeting coming, right?
Speaker A:And the thing is, too, you can get like, four meetings.
Speaker A:You can have an incredibly good week.
Speaker A:For instance, maybe you book four meetings this week, and then the next week, you're right back to square zero, right?
Speaker A:The expectation is, okay, great, you booked your four meetings.
Speaker A:Give us another four next week.
Speaker A:I'm going to give you guys, like, a little bit of an example of the lengths that business development people can go, especially when they're working in that hustle culture to make the next big thing happen.
Speaker A:I once drove 12 hours to attend a lunch meeting, and I literally drove through a tornado.
Speaker A:I kid you not.
Speaker A:I kid you not.
Speaker A:I'm not even.
Speaker A:I'm not even blowing this out of proportion.
Speaker A:The sky went black.
Speaker A:I had no idea if the tornado was on the road in front of me, if it was behind me, the Friggin.
Speaker A:The radio alarms were going off like it was time to probably pull a over and stop.
Speaker A:But I had no idea, I had no idea where this damn thing was.
Speaker A:And so I literally just kept on driving and I basically, I have no idea whether it's behind me, in front of me, whatever, but I basically drove through a damn tornado to get to this lunch meeting that took me 12 hours to drive to.
Speaker A:And guess what?
Speaker A:It was a total flop.
Speaker A:I probably didn't even need to go on that drive.
Speaker A:But at the time that was what was expected.
Speaker A:Business developers will go the distance because we care.
Speaker A:We truly want success.
Speaker A:I have yet to meet somebody in the business development field.
Speaker A:Whether they're an entrepreneur, whether they're a business developer, whether there's a sales specialist, whatever it is, that was not intrinsically driven to succeed, that truly wanted the best for the organization, whether it was their organization or somebody else's organization.
Speaker A:The intrinsic motivation to succeed within business development specialists is, I would say, unmatched.
Speaker A:So what if success did not cost your piece, your safety?
Speaker A:And what if burnout was not a badge but a warning that it's time to find a better way?
Speaker A:Let's discuss some of the common hustle culture myths that many business developers and salespeople and entrepreneurs are facing.
Speaker A:Number one, more hours equals more deals.
Speaker A:Listen, more hours often means more inefficient hours, okay?
Speaker A:We are wasting a ton of time at work.
Speaker A:And look, you can't listen to this right now and say, Kelly, no, I've got it all locked down.
Speaker A:Nothing I do is inefficient.
Speaker A:Listen, I'm inefficient at times and I know better, right?
Speaker A:The reality is we are all doing a lot of things at work that don't move the needle, okay?
Speaker A:Top performers don't work more, they work smarter.
Speaker A:There is no secret.
Speaker A:The secret is there is no secret.
Speaker A:The best performing people are not smarter than you.
Speaker A:They're not better than you.
Speaker A:They don't have this like magic formula.
Speaker A:They might have process, but they don't have a magic formula.
Speaker A:They are focused on doing things that move the needle for their business or their company.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Focused, intentional work that is outcome driven is the secret.
Speaker A:Time spent does not correlate to a bigger, better opportunity pipeline.
Speaker A:Clear targeting, solid messaging and consistent follow up does.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:It's not how many people that you have necessarily reached out to, it's how good were those people.
Speaker A:Did you identify your ideal customer profile?
Speaker A:Did you send them the right message?
Speaker A:Not too long, not too short, Something that's actually gonna build interest.
Speaker A:And did you give them an appropriate amount of follow up?
Speaker A:Most business development people and salespeople are giving up after the second call.
Speaker A:Guys.
Speaker A:Statistically, it takes anywhere between 6 and 11 calls on average to get a hold of that person and potentially lock down that first meeting.
Speaker A:Burnout is disastrous.
Speaker A:It kills creativity, happiness, clarity, and your ability to make good decisions.
Speaker A:No deal is worth that trade.
Speaker A:And guys, just speaking to process, okay.
Speaker A:It was process that changed everything for me.
Speaker A:As a business developer, I used to shoot from the hip like many of you, right?
Speaker A:I used to show up on a Monday and just be like, okay, I talked to four people last week.
Speaker A:I'll reach out to them again.
Speaker A:I'll check the job boards to see what opportunities are out there for companies to reach out to.
Speaker A:Like, I remember.
Speaker A:Remember that world.
Speaker A:After many years of building my process for my own organization, I can now do more in a focused eight hours than I used to do in an entire week of unfocused hustle culture.
Speaker A:Guys, seriously, I'm not even kidding you.
Speaker A:I do more now in eight hours than I used to do in a week.
Speaker A:Probably more now on eight hours on my own business than I used to do in two weeks for somebody else's business.
Speaker A:I just didn't know better.
Speaker A:None of us are dumb.
Speaker A:We just don't know.
Speaker A:And what you don't know is holding you back.
Speaker A:And I question it all the time.
Speaker A:If you ask any of my peers or my business friends, one of the things that I always say is, what don't I know right now that is holding me back?
Speaker A:What is that one thing that I just don't understand, that I just can't see that is holding me back the most?
Speaker A:And it's crazy, because once you can identify what that one thing is, it'll absolutely change your world.
Speaker A:And the funny thing is, once you identify one thing, you'll be able to identify other things that are also holding you back.
Speaker A:And so maybe you've been in this business a long time.
Speaker A:Maybe you understand your business, maybe you understand business development, maybe you understand sales, and maybe you have a process that works well for you.
Speaker A:But don't stop asking yourself, what is one thing that I'm missing?
Speaker A:What is that thing?
Speaker A:Because I guarantee you, no matter how long you've been in business, no matter how great of a business developer you are, salesperson you are, business owner you are, there is something you don't know right now that is holding you back in a major way.
Speaker A:Never stop looking for that thing.
Speaker A:Myth number Two.
Speaker A:Stress means you're doing it, right?
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:Total bullshit.
Speaker A:Stress is not proof of growth.
Speaker A:It's often a symptom of poor systems and a lack of alignment.
Speaker A:Whether that be personal alignment or just business alignment in general.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Business development is meant to be challenging, but it shouldn't be soul crushing.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:It's never going to be easy.
Speaker A:I've been doing business development a really long time.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I have processes that work.
Speaker A:I know how to identify the right buying profiles.
Speaker A:I know how many calls it takes to book a meeting.
Speaker A:I still struggle to make my damn calls.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You're not alone in this.
Speaker A:I'm not exempt.
Speaker A:I still struggle to do the basic business development tasks, as does every other business development specialist in the world.
Speaker A:As does every other entrepreneur in the world.
Speaker A:We still struggle with these things.
Speaker A:The secret isn't the fact that we struggle with them.
Speaker A:It's that we found a way to have our feelings about it, but do it anyway.
Speaker A:But it takes time.
Speaker A:It takes time, right?
Speaker A:And it takes a mindset to get there.
Speaker A:It doesn't have to be soul crushing.
Speaker A:If you are struggling with this, it's likely that you have some process challenges that are getting in the way.
Speaker A:It's likely there's just a missing piece.
Speaker A:And once you understand that, it'll make it so much easier for you.
Speaker A:Chronic stress will lead to decision fatigue, emotional detachment, and client mismanagement.
Speaker A:If we get there, guys, it's game over.
Speaker A:It's game over.
Speaker A:We can't let ourselves become chronically stressed.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So much of business development is mindset.
Speaker A:And if we are chronically stressed out, we are getting depressed.
Speaker A:We can't think clearly, we can't think rationally.
Speaker A:We start to make bad decisions, we start to get down on ourselves, and eventually we might even mismanage some clients and it's game over.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:We have to have to look after ourselves and look after our mental health as well.
Speaker A:We have to replace stress with clarity.
Speaker A:Are you overwhelmed or are you just operating without process and structure?
Speaker A:I would likely say that if you are facing extreme overwhelm or overwhelmed to a point where you were getting chronically stressed out, it's likely something to do with the way that you do your weekly process.
Speaker A:And by even creating a weekly process that you can follow, I guarantee you it can start to put some of that control back in your pocket and give you back some peace of mind.
Speaker A:It was once I realized that I needed process, that was the thing that I was missing.
Speaker A:And it's so funny because I can go to business and the process is just cookie cutter, right?
Speaker A:And most businesses, especially in the business development realm and sales realms, they are simply missing process.
Speaker A:They put it all on the business developer.
Speaker A:They put it all on them to figure it out and to create something that's going to work for the organization.
Speaker A:But the truth is that most organizations have no idea what process would actually work.
Speaker A:And so that's the secret, guys.
Speaker A:As business developers, we have to find consistent process that we can follow that is going to work in our favor, that is going to support us, not hurt us.
Speaker A:Myth number three, you can rest when you hit your goals.
Speaker A:Listen, rest is not a reward, it's a requirement.
Speaker A:You need rest to be successful.
Speaker A:You need happiness to keep this momentum going for creativity, for consistency and long term impact.
Speaker A:The goalposts always move.
Speaker A:If rest and happiness are tied to a finish line, you'll never get there.
Speaker A:You'll never get there.
Speaker A:And I'm speaking to my entrepreneurs right now because we're the worst for it.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:We have to celebrate the milestones, we have to celebrate the small wins.
Speaker A:Because here's the thing, if you're waiting for one goal post, you'll get there.
Speaker A:You'll smash it.
Speaker A:You'll be excited and happy for a day and then you'll be depressed.
Speaker A:The goal post will keep moving.
Speaker A:Waiting to rest leads to reactive business development, not proactive growth.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:We have to be looking after our mental health and we have to trust in the long game.
Speaker A:Business development is a long game and when we treat it that way and we can find happiness in the journey, you're going to be better off week over week, month over month, year over year, and you're going to be able to perform consistently.
Speaker A:Make rest a non negotiable and integrate it into your weeks, not just your someday.
Speaker A:Remember, great business development is built on consistent weekly effort and sustainability, not burnout.
Speaker A:Instead, focus on building sustainable business development habits.
Speaker A:Remember, burnout isn't just exhaustion, it's momentum in the wrong direction.
Speaker A:Now let's shift gears from pressure to process.
Speaker A:Because success in business development isn't just about working harder.
Speaker A:It's about building habits that actually support your long game.
Speaker A:Here are five habits that I rely on to create consistent sustainable growth without the burnout.
Speaker A:Number one, time block for recovery, not just revenue.
Speaker A:Most business developers only calendar their meetings and targets.
Speaker A:If you're not also scheduling time to reset, you will burn out.
Speaker A:Even if you're hitting your numbers.
Speaker A:It isn't laziness, it's strategy.
Speaker A:Mental clarity fuels better decisions and better conversations.
Speaker A:If Recovery time isn't protected.
Speaker A:Performance eventually suffers, and so does your reputation.
Speaker A:Number two, weekly win tracking.
Speaker A:Business development is filled with delayed gratification.
Speaker A:Tracking your weekly progress.
Speaker A:Outreach conversations.
Speaker A:Positive signals.
Speaker A:It builds momentum.
Speaker A:We have to celebrate every win, not just the big ones.
Speaker A:It's a simple habit that builds confidence and resilience, even when deals are pending.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:We move forward faster when we acknowledge progress, not just results, not just the big win.
Speaker A:Number three, boundaries around Urgency.
Speaker A:Urgency.
Speaker A:Culture is real, but it's often a reaction and not a requirement.
Speaker A:Set expectations clearly with clients and colleagues.
Speaker A:If you're done at five, you're done at five.
Speaker A:You're more valuable when you're focused, not constantly reacting.
Speaker A:Clear boundaries support better service, not less.
Speaker A:Number four, daily mindset reset.
Speaker A:Starting or ending your day with five to 10 minutes of reflection can shift your entire approach.
Speaker A:This could be journaling, gratitude, or simply reviewing the day with intention.
Speaker A:It keeps you centered and helps you lead with clarity, not anxiety.
Speaker A:Listen, one of the things that I want to talk about with regards to this is I talk about a list that I create once a week.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I create a weekly move the needle list.
Speaker A:If you're part of the Catalyst Club or if you've been part of my coaching, you know about this pretty heavy.
Speaker A:So every single week on Monday, I typically write a move the needle list.
Speaker A:And this will be a list for not just me, Kelly Kennedy, but for my clients as well.
Speaker A:And then what I'll do is I'll have, let's call it 8 to 10 move the needle tasks, and I will spread them out throughout the week.
Speaker A:So I'll also create a daily task list as well of what are the things that I need to complete today to move the needle.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:It's a very clear direction that you can point yourself in.
Speaker A:And not only that, you can prioritize these tasks.
Speaker A:It really does help.
Speaker A:Whenever I'm feeling kerfuffled, whenever I'm feeling like I don't know what I got going on here, nine times out of 10, it's because I haven't put it down on paper.
Speaker A:Start putting down the critical tasks that will move the needle for you and your business every week, and you will start to see massive clarity start to come forth.
Speaker A:Whenever I'm struggling with what I need to be doing and I'm feeling anxiety, it's very likely I'm feeling that way simply because I don't have direction.
Speaker A:Sitting down, writing a list of tasks that you need to complete, it helps to clarify that direction.
Speaker A:And I always feel peaceful when it's done.
Speaker A:Number five, operate from vision, not fear.
Speaker A:Stop reacting to numbers in panic mode.
Speaker A:Define the business that you're building and the life that you want around it.
Speaker A:Do your meeting requirement math.
Speaker A:Okay, how many meetings per month do you really need to hit your revenue targets?
Speaker A:Guys, this is super, super easy.
Speaker A:Take your revenue growth goal for the year, let's call it a million dollars, divide it by your average customer value, let's call it $100,000.
Speaker A:And then divide that by your closure rate, let's say 50%.
Speaker A:Okay, so if you have a million dollar revenue growth goal, your average customer value is $100,000.
Speaker A:You need 10 customers.
Speaker A:If your closure rate is 50%.
Speaker A:On meetings, you need 20 meetings in order to hit your million dollar growth goal.
Speaker A:Okay, so that's just like a really basic example, but figure out exactly how many meetings you need to hit your revenue growth goal.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:This is a real target.
Speaker A:This isn't just a pie in the sky rat race idea.
Speaker A:You can use math and statistics to figure out exactly how many calls you need to make, how many people you need to talk to, and how many meetings you need to book in order to hit that.
Speaker A:And it's going to give you clarity month over month to make sure that you know you're on track.
Speaker A:The biggest problem most business developers have is they don't know if they're winning or not.
Speaker A:This lets you know you're winning.
Speaker A:This clarity will pull you out of the grind and into consistent strategic execution.
Speaker A:Remember, when you understand your meeting targets, the pressure turns into a plan.
Speaker A:And that's where peace begins.
Speaker A:When I'm doing coaching, whether it's a one on one or whether it's a group coaching program, the first place we always start is with setting our meeting targets.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:In business development, meetings are everything.
Speaker A:It's absolutely everything.
Speaker A:And it's the one thing that you can actually control.
Speaker A:I think people look at business developers and think we're magical and we can just close business, right?
Speaker A:And yes, there are people that are exceptional at closing things, but that's not what I'm talking about here.
Speaker A:Most of that is out of our control.
Speaker A:And I think that's really important to emphasize is that as business developers, we need to focus more on the things we can control, on the statistical things that will move the needle for our organization that we can actually control.
Speaker A:And that is why I say as a business developer, we have to measure success in meetings.
Speaker A:And so if we can figure out a way to tie meetings to revenue goals using statistics, closure rates, average customer values.
Speaker A:We can essentially turn meetings into revenue over time.
Speaker A:And I've seen this happen over and over again, guys.
Speaker A:And the clarity that people get when we can basically take a revenue goal, a million dollar, multimillion dollar revenue goal, and break it into a number of meetings and then, heck, we can even break that down even further to the statistical amount of calls we have to make to close those meetings and really put it in something that a business developer, an entrepreneur, can control.
Speaker A:It's night and day, it's absolutely life changing and it can change the way that you look at business development forever.
Speaker A:I want to leave you guys with this because I think a lot of people in business development need to hear it.
Speaker A:You don't have to be running on fumes to be successful.
Speaker A:In fact, the people who build the longest lasting businesses usually operate from a place of clarity, not chaos.
Speaker A:Remember, you can pursue excellence without operating in survival mode.
Speaker A:Building a sustainable business development engine means protecting your energy, your time and your focus.
Speaker A:Peace and performance are not opposites.
Speaker A:They support each other.
Speaker A:And if something in today's conversation resonated, take a moment to reflect.
Speaker A:And if you need help with your strategy or systems, we have an incredible support community within the Catalyst Club.
Speaker A:Guys, this is like the community built on the value of uplifting each other, okay?
Speaker A:The entire Catalyst Club is about support, encouragement, long term sustainability and just having that peer group of people who understand exactly what you are going through.
Speaker A:We also have the Accelerator Group coaching programs and we have a program coming up here starting on July 15th.
Speaker A:And so if you're looking for that process, if you're looking for that support, that engagement, that roadmap, Business Development Mastery Accelerator will do that for you.
Speaker A:And you can find all the information on the Catalyst Club and the Business Development Mastery Accelerator at www.kellykennedyofficial.com.
Speaker A:remember, you're allowed to build success that doesn't drain you.
Speaker A:You're allowed to do this differently.
Speaker A:I would like to acknowledge some of the incredible founding members of the Catalyst Club today.
Speaker A:Danielle Foricade, Andrew Brown, Chris Jones, Colin Christensen, Megan Ralston, Brianna Kennedy, Tash Jeffries, Tina Green, Dan f, Mindy K.
Speaker A:McRae Broadbent, Patrick Keynes, Cindy Crane, Thorin Malitowski, Vajayan Swaminathan, selva Nadar, Alyssa McMasters, Abe Duik, Amal Khoury, David Fair, Jesse Shuchuk, Yan Hanat, Randy Lennon, Kelly Reading, Eric Portillo, Chris Young, Carmen LaBelle, Jamie Steffens, David Henriquez, Colin Harms, Tara Beherens, Chris McCarrity, Nate Simpson, Micah Dixon, Sherry Allen, Adam Kimmel, and Jamia Zagel.
Speaker A:Until next time.
Speaker A:You've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.
Speaker B:This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy.
Speaker B: business development firm in: Speaker B:His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.
Speaker B:The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.
Speaker B:For more, we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.
Speaker B:see you next time on the Business Development Podcast.
