Breaking BizDev

In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright break down the Natural Planning Model—a five-step framework originally created by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done (GTD). Rather than wasting endless billable hours in directionless planning meetings that end up stuck in a three-ring binder, this methodology gives doer-sellers and firm leaders a fast, structured path from initial ideas to concrete execution.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Step 1: Purpose & Principles: How to establish a unified "Why" and define strategic guardrails before jumping straight into brainstorming.
• Step 2: Outcome Visioning: How painting a vivid, detailed picture of success anchors your team's focus.
• Step 3: Brainstorming: Unlocking wide-open, creative idea generation without letting judgment squash good proposals prematurely.
• Step 4: Organizing & Prioritizing: Structuring raw ideas into logical buckets and ranking your top priorities.
• Step 5: Next Actions: Assigning clear, accountable physical steps and setting a review cadence so your plan actually gets executed.
• The 25-Minute Planning Sprint: A practical exercise individuals and small teams can use to plan projects in under half an hour.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome
02:13 Why Planning Matters
04:07 Natural Planning Model Overview
05:23 Step 1 Purpose Principles
10:32 Step 2 Outcome Visioning
14:02 Step 3 Brainstorming Rules
18:28 Step 4 Organize Prioritize
20:43 Step 5 Next Actions Cadence
23:08 30 Minute Planning Sprint
27:57 Conclusion

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While "doer-sellers" balance billable work with one-to-one sales conversations, many technical experts are far better suited to leverage their subject matter expertise across one-to-many marketing channels. In this episode, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright coin the term "Doer-Marketer" and explore how visible expertise upstream shortens sales cycles, eliminates price friction, and unlocks premium pricing.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How doer-marketers differ from 'doer-sellers'
• Why marketing's true job is reaching the 95% of buyers not actively searching
• How visible authority and client stories reduce price friction to boost fees
• Why leads from visible experts shorten sales cycles by building early trust
• Why doer-marketers shouldn't be buried writing proposals
• Practical baby steps to turn frequent client FAQs into original content

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Building trust with clients takes WAY too much time and energy....right?

In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright take a tongue-in-cheek look at how professional services firms inadvertently destroy client relationships across the entire sales lifecycle. Because trust in expert-led industries is built in drops and lost in buckets, avoiding common sales pitfalls is essential for sustainable firm growth. 

Through a satirical "masterclass" on what not to do, John and Mark break down the 10 worst sales behaviors—from initial lead generation to final contract execution—and explain how to replace bad habits with trust-building actions.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome
02:07 If you know anyone
03:38 Push new leads FAST
04:55 Death by slide deck
05:52 Let the robots do the caring
07:23 Fire and forget a PDF proposal
09:14 Talk about yourself
10:34 Front-load the resumes
12:11 Art of the assumption
14:33 The 'wing it' power move
16:16 Be the smartest person in the room
17:10 How to build trust for real

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Have you built your sales plan for next year?

As fourth-quarter planning season approaches, many professional services firms fall into the trap of setting arbitrary top-down financial targets or simply crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. To build a predictable, growing firm, doer-sellers need a realistic bottom-up sales plan that grounds abstract growth strategy in real dollars and cents. 

In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark introduce a Three-Part Framework—a visual, structured approach that connects day-to-day revenue execution with long-term sales strategy.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why billing work differs from steering long-term growth
• How to sort work into Committed, Probable, and Possible pursuits
• Why doer-seller ownership creates higher accountability
• How revenue layers map to delivery, sales, and marketing
• When to revisit and refine your plan without overreacting

CHAPTERS:
00:00 A Wakeup Call
01:09 Revenue vs Sales Planning
05:23 Different Sales Plan Approaches
07:18 Three Bucket Framework
09:04 Committed Revenue
12:28 Probable Revenue
15:35 Possible Revenue
25:18 Build Your Sales Plan In Q4

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Before a prospect ever lands on your website or schedules an introductory call, an invisible filter may decide whether your firm even deserves to be in the running.

Today's B2B buyers are bypassing traditional search bars and asking AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to curate custom shortlists of top service providers. This shift means the machine is secretly screening, evaluating, and filtering your firm long before you ever know that lead exists. 

In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark explore what this behavioral shift means for marketing a professional services firm. They are joined by guest voices from SEO specialist Geoff Kerbis (Director of SEO at Assembly Global) and Austin McNair (Head of Marketing at Hinge Marketing) to break down how Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is fast-forwarding the buyer's journey and what you must do to ensure your brand actually shows up.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How AI search tools help buyers bypass the first 63% of the buying journey
• How a decade-old employee review can warp your digital brand
• Why your marketing team must focus on earning brand mentions and citations.
• Which platform is the most reputable, highly cited source domain for professional services AI engines
• Technical, practical steps you can take today, like adding organization schema on your website backend and claiming your Google Search Profile.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome
04:15 SEO vs GEO
15:00 Measuring AI Share of Voice
17:04 How Firms Should Evolve Their Marketing Strategy
25:20 The Role of Thought Leadership

Catch the full interviews with Geoff and Austin on the Breaking BizDev YouTube Channel

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While many professional services firms focus on massive strategic shifts to close deals, it is often the tiny, day-to-day behaviors of doer-sellers that quietly make or break a sale. In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark break down the five critical sales habits that successful professionals exhibit to build trust, take control of opportunities, and win more work. Through humorous roleplay skits and practical good-vs-bad behavioral breakdowns, they show you how to transition these actions from intentional effort into second-nature habits.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Proactivity: How to take the initiative and anticipate client needs instead of waiting for RFPs to drop or letting deals stall in "the waiting game".
• Ownership: Why true accountability means setting clear revenue goals and owning the outcomes of your pursuits—especially when assuming responsibility for the losses.
• Curiosity: How to ditch the slide deck and focus entirely on the client's business problems through disciplined preparation, active listening, and client-focused storytelling.
• Situational Awareness: How to "read the room," spot subtle verbal and visual cues (even over Zoom), and dynamically pivot the sales conversation rather than sticking to a rigid script.
• Humble Confidence: How to strike the perfect balance between knowing your value and putting the client's needs first, including mastering "the power of I don't know" and redirecting prospects to competitors when you aren't a good fit.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome
03:27 Proactivity
07:51 Ownership
11:10 Curiosity
16:56 Situational Awareness
23:16 Humble Confidence
29:01 Final Thoughts

Relevant Past Episodes:

• Slides Don't Sell 
• The Perfect (Sales) Proposal
• Create Stronger Client Bonds With Empathy and Understanding

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When the economy is booming, winning new business can feel effortless, but what about when times are hard? How do the behaviors of buyers and sellers shift?

For doer-sellers and professional services BD pros, navigating economic cycles requires adapting your strategy without falling into common traps—from sacrificing future pipeline during busy periods to exuding desperation when work slows down. In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark break down how buyer psychology shifts between good and hard times, and share actionable habits to keep your pipeline healthy through every phase of the economic cycle. In this episode, you'll learn:

• How buyer behavior shifts between economic booms and market downturns.
• Why you must avoid the utilization trap during boom times to protect your future pipeline.
• How to build a proactive referral habit while client relationships are thriving.
• Why offering cut-rate loss leaders backfires—and how 3-option tables save margins.
• How to avoid commission breath and lower self-orientation when deals are scarce

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome
02:12 Reading the Market Signals
03:46 Buyer Mindset Shifts
06:59 Biz Dev in Boom Times
16:09 Selling Through Downturns

Past episodes mentioned:

• The Power Of Saying 'No': Turning Down Opportunities May Actually Be a Good Thing
• A Referral Process
• How to Maximize Un-Billable Hours (And Not Squander Them)
• 7 Content Frameworks for Lead Generation
• Looking in the Mirror: How to Be Accountable Even When You Lose
• 3 Option Tables Part I: The Power of Three
• Building Trust At Scale (Without 1,000 Coffee Chats)

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Many experts are eager to stop asking questions and start doing "the work," but rushing to solve a problem is a massive trap.

For doer-sellers and professional services BD pros, knowing exactly when to shift from listening to advising can feel like a guessing game. It is tempting to jump straight into providing solutions to prove your expertise, but true discovery is a continuous process that shouldn't end just because a contract is signed. In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark explore the difference between generalized and applied expertise, and reveal the exact information you need to uncover before presenting your recommendations. In this episode you'll learn...

• Why sales discovery and asking questions should never truly stop
• How to navigate prospects who demand free sample deliverables
• Mark's 3-question litmus test for when you can start advising
• Why identifying the "cost of inaction" is the ultimate motivator

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Is your firm measuring the return on thought leadership just by looking at immediate leads and revenue?

For doer-sellers and professional services BD pros, true thought leadership isn't just regurgitating AI-generated content—it's establishing an original point of view that works as a 24/7 salesperson for your firm. 

In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark break down the often-overlooked benefits of becoming a well-known, visible expert, from commanding premium pricing to dramatically shortening your sales cycle. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why true thought leadership requires original ideas, not AI-generated summaries.
• How to track ROI using metrics like pipeline velocity and media value equivalents.
• Why estimating the "cost of inaction" is just as important as measuring direct returns.
• How establishing yourself as a visible expert unlocks your ability to charge premium prices.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup
01:40 Beyond Leads and Revenue
02:40 What Thought Leadership Really Is
04:45 A Visible Expert Advantage
06:35 Collabs and Long Game Proof
08:42 Monetization Boundaries and Closing
10:05 Shortening the Sales Cycle
12:33 Cost of Inaction Mindset
15:26 Compounding Reputation and Pricing Power
18:43 Quantifying Visibility in Dollars
21:59 Sharpening Your Perspective
24:53 Reducing Speaking Engagement Travel Cost
27:06 Measuring Success

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Asking an existing client for a price increase is one of the most stressful, sweat-inducing conversations a consultant can have, often catching the client off guard and triggering defensive reactions. So instead of presenting a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum, professionals must treat these fee increases with the exact same rigor and discovery process as a brand-new sales opportunity. 

In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark explore how to gracefully manage scope creep, handle inflation, and structure your requests so that both the client and consultant walk away happy. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why presenting a single-number price increase feels like an ultimatum and damages trust.
• How to treat expanding scopes and fee adjustments as a fresh discovery opportunity.
• The exact 3-option structure (Low, Middle, High) to confidently present your new pricing.
• How to use a "High Option" to set boundaries and reveal the true cost of unconstrained scope creep.
• Why you must periodically audit your existing engagements to realign with what your client values now.

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