In my last consulting business, iEngineer.net, I went at it alone. I hired software development consultants to do some of the work that I couldn’t do and did the rest myself. I didn’t do much in the way of business development or marketing since our work would lead to more work through word of mouth. However, I learned that I certainly couldn’t do everything myself. I still needed an attorney, an accountant, and my brother for some HR questions.
This time around, what I knew when starting ValTeo Tech was that I needed to put a lot more effort into business development, marketing and sales. I would still deliver on some of the consulting work, but my main focus was filling the pipeline of new gigs and ensuring our branding on the right track for VTT to be known as the leader in Digital Transaction Management consulting. I’ve certainly gained experience with some of these activities while working in other companies over the last decade, but none of it was direct business development or sales. In every instance, I wasn’t doing any hunting, so much as supporting the sales staff.
That’s why I decided to have at least some peers who may be experimenting or, better yet, have experience with business development, marketing and sales. In today’s video clip, I’ll cover the benefits I’ve already received from just such a group among the other weekly progress topics:
- On Choosing or Starting a Peer Group
- Why I Sought a Business Accountability Group
- What Skills and Variety to Search For
- What Rigor to Use
- This Past Week’s Plans
- Progress on Marketing / Education Material
- Progress on Large Deals
- A New Approach for Small Deals
- Plans for Week of 7/14
You’ll notice I have no plans for next week. That’s because I’m taking the week off to spend with my family who’s been so supportive and understanding of my efforts to startup and grow ValTeo Tech.