Change Champions
How Coaches and Consultants Can Create More Opportunities Before They Need Them | Ep56
Newsletter for stories, tips and resources: leverageaccelerator.co Community to create more sales opportunities using relationship-first business development habits: networkandsell.com Layoffs are rising, budgets are tightening, and more coaches, consultants, trainers, and facilitators are thinking seriously about how much control they have over their next opportunity. In this behind-the-scenes episode of the Change Champions podcast, Riley and Ped unpack three practical ways to become more proactive about your work: get clear on who you want to help, review the relationships you already have, and build a simple system for staying in touch. They also share real client examples, including one person who uncovered 250 potential contacts from past projects and another who booked more than 40 conversations after believing his network had dried up. The conversation covers: - Why marketability matters when you’re a proud generalist - How to turn existing relationships into new conversations - Why networking and sales are often the same activity - How to structure a virtual coffee without making it feel forced - What a simple CRM needs to help you stay organised - Why being useful creates more opportunities than pushing for a sale This is a grounded look at relationship-first business development for people who want to create more control over where their work comes from. Chapters 00:00 Why layoffs and budget cuts matter 00:50 The risk of relying on job security 02:38 Why more people are creating their own opportunities 03:31 A client who replaced lost revenue quickly 04:22 Start by choosing who you want to help 04:56 Why generalists struggle with marketability 06:17 Claiming your corner 06:56 Review the relationships you already have 07:28 Finding 250 potential contacts 07:50 What happens when your network feels exhausted 09:00 Where marketing and sales become the same activity 10:04 How to structure a virtual coffee 12:50 Listen for problems, goals, and useful connections 13:39 Treat sales as an act of service 14:47 Replace “always be closing” with “always be serving” 15:37 Why you need a simple system 16:55 What a basic CRM should contain 18:07 How to track warm and cold opportunities 19:09 Why 250 contacts does not mean 250 conversations 19:34 The notebook habit that made sales more human 21:44 The three actions to take now 22:04 Final recap
