By definition a rainmaker is an individual who generates an unusually high amount of revenue for an organization by bringing new clients and new business to the company.
Listen in as I talk with Matt Dixon, author of a new groundbreaking Harvard Business Review article titled What Rainmakers Do Differently! We break down the 5 Principal Profiles and discuss the Three C’s that can turn anyone into a Rainmaker
Drink of the week….Triple C Welcome Cocktail
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Julie Brown:
Matt Dixon
For many of you.
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:You know, especially
listeners around my age.
3
:The first time you may have heard
of the term Rainmaker was when the
4
:film, the Rainmaker written and
directed by Francis Ford Coppola was
5
:released in 1997 or when the book,
the movie was based off of written by
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:John Grisham was published in 1995.
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:By definition.
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:Uh, Rainmaker is an individual who
generates an unusually high amount
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:of revenue for an organization
by bringing new clients and
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:new business to the company.
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:Rainmakers outperform others in
the organization through their
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:ability to bring in new ventures.
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:And their contributions are considered
critical to the success of the business.
14
:Welcome to episode one 70.
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:One of the shit works, a
podcast dedicated to all things.
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:Networking relationship building
and business development.
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:I'm your host, Julie Brown.
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:Speaker author and networking coach.
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:And today I am joined by Matt Dixon.
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:Founding partner of DC and insights
and coauthor of the groundbreaking
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:article and the most recent issue
of Harvard business review titled
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:what rainmakers do differently.
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:The subtitle of the article.
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:What rainmakers do differently is
business development and professional
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:services firms is outdated.
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:Here's what works now.
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:And I couldn't agree more.
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:Business development is outdated.
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:I work with a number of firms who
want to improve their business
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:development activities and identify.
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:Who within the office might have the
secret sauce or the it factor to become
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:a successful door seller or a Rainmaker.
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:If you prefer.
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:Well, lucky for us.
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:Our guest and his firm has done the
heavy lifting, conducting research
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:that has revealed the five distinct
profiles that define how all partners
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:approach business development.
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:Research that further reveals that
only one of these profiles has a
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:positive impact on the performance
and revenue of their company.
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:And that only 22% of the people
possess the characteristics that
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:make up this Rainmaker profile.
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:I bet you're curious to know what the
characteristics of this profile are.
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:So without further ado, let's
welcome that to the podcast.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
Hey, Julie.
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:How you doing?
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:Thank you for having me.
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:Track 1: Yeah.
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:First I wanna thank you and your
co-authors, Ted, Rory, and Karen for
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:this research, which is so in depth and
so eye-opening, and as I mentioned in
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:the article, like the five profiles that
you've discovered, like how did you decide
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:that you wanted to conduct this research?
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:This was what you wanted to
spend a chunk of your time on.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
Yeah, it was, it's kind of an
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:interesting, uh, background story.
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:Uh, Julie, so I, my background and as well
as, uh, uh, Karen and Ted, uh, we kind
56
:of grew up as researchers at a company
called CEB, which is now part of Gartner
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:Group, and we were all part of the.
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:Business to business sales practice.
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:So we were serving chief sales officers,
chief revenue officers, heads of sales
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:effectiveness, sales enablement, you know,
uh, all the, all the industries were.
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:Sales is not a four letter word.
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:So it's basically like one minus
professional services, um, or, you
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:know, financial services as well.
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:So we're really focused on, um, serving
heads of sales in software, medical
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:devices, pharmaceuticals, logistics, uh.
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:We'd spent probably 20 plus years
studying what great business to business
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:sellers do, star sellers do differently.
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:We wrote a number of books on it, a number
of HBR articles, and one of the things I
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:learned really quickly, uh, is that, uh,
the doer seller world is quite different.
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:I remember, actually remember a, an
experience where I presented some of our
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:work from, uh, a book we wrote called
The Challenger Sale, uh, which was very
72
:popular in business to business sales.
73
:And I was called into.
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:A large consulting firm to present, uh,
the findings at the partner retreat.
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:Uh, this is going back like a decade
and, um, you know, two thirds of the way
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:through my presentation, the managing
partner kind of stood up and, and called
77
:Time Out and asked me to stop talking,
which is a little bit unsettling.
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:Um, and I said, you know, I was gonna take
questions at the end, but please, you're.
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:You're paying the bills.
80
:So go ahead, Um, and he said, you know,
you keep using this term sales and you're
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:talking about salespeople and selling
and, um, you know, all this stuff.
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:And what you need to understand is that
at our firm, we actually don't sell,
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:we don't use that term internally.
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:It's not what we do.
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:And, um, I, I said back, uh, in
response that, um, let's stipulate
86
:to the fact that there's a mysterious
process by which the client's money
87
:ends up in your firm's bank account.
88
:And we're gonna call it sales
for the next 15 minutes.
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:I could just finish up my presentation
and everyone had a good laugh, but it
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:did, as I delved into it, and I kind of
continued to have these experiences when
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:I was called in by, you know, law firms,
accounting firms, investment banks.
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:Wealth advisory firms, um, PR
firms, executive search, um,
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:uh, partnerships that this doer,
seller world is quite different.
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:Um, a lot of things we talked about
in our previous work is how you need
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:to deliver challenging sales messages
that lead to your company's product.
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:But what if you are the product, right?
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:If the product is your own
advisory skills as a partner in a
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:professional services firm, that's
a very different ball of wax and.
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:As you know very well, um, partners
in professional services, it's, look,
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:it's tough to be a good salesperson
when sales is your full-time job.
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:Um, and we've learned that
over, you know, 20 plus years
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:of studying great salespeople.
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:It's even harder where sales is
a part-time job, and you've gotta
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:be responsible for generating
the business with your clients
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:and professional services and
then executing it with your team
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:is a very, very different motion.
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:Um, that puts a lot of
pressure on partners.
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:So I always had sort of.
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:Uh, kind of back pocket, uh, kind
of curiosity or or study idea to go
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:out and do a lot of what we've done
in B two B sales, but a, a sort of
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:bespoke clean sheet of paper, new
study of the do or seller world.
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:Um, fast forward to when
we founded our company.
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:Um.
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:Uh, two years ago, DCM Insights.
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:Uh, one of our partners, uh,
is a guy named Rory Chan.
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:Rory actually spent, um, four years
as Chief Chief Business Development
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:Officer at a big law firm, uh, McDermott,
will and Emery, uh, Enam Law 50 firm.
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:And at the time I had left cb, he
and I, he was a former CB guy too.
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:He actually hired me.
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:I was working at Korn Ferry at
the time, running their sales
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:effectiveness consulting practice.
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:He hired me and my team to come in.
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:Study what their top rainmakers
were doing at McDermott.
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:So it was our first time ever studying
doer sellers, you know, putting aside
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:everything we know about B two B sales,
but looking at doer sellers as kind of a
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:unique, um, breed, a unique population.
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:And we found some interesting
things in that study, um,
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:that just again, further, I.
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:Um, piqued my curiosity around what we
might find if we did a broader study.
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:So, um, we've had our company two
years ago, um, and we partnered
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:with, uh, Intap, who, as, uh, many
of your listeners know, is a big,
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:uh, cloud provider to professional
and financial services, uh, firms.
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:And Intap agreed to underwrite a
large global study of doer sellers.
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:Uh, so we, um, we embarked on that.
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:Probably about a year and nine months
ago, um, we scoped out the study.
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:We started recruiting
firms to participate.
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:And as you know from the article,
uh, we got, uh, 23 firms, global
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:firms and 1800 partners to actually,
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:uh, complete the study.
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:Um, we didn't get any hate mail from
partners, but it was a pretty long study.
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:it, it's a long survey.
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:The, the thing that we got a lot of
responses from folks saying, um, this
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:was a really hard survey to fill out.
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:It wasn't a simple I check the box,
kind of, you can blow through it really
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:quickly.
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:There were kind of forced
trade off questions.
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:It really forced partners to think
very critically about how they engage
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:clients, how they spend their time,
um, what tools and resources they use,
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:how they pitch for business, et cetera.
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:Um, it, it forced a lot of introspection,
I think, on the part of the respondent.
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:So,
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:Track 1: Mm-Hmm.
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:. What I . I thought one of the great
points of this article was a problem
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:in business that it pointed out,
which is that most businesses believe,
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:Hey, you do really good work and your
clients will keep coming back to you.
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:But your research showed that there's
a shift in the loyalty of clients.
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:Like,
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: yeah.
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:Track 1: and so the shift is happening
and you're, you're prospecting
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:that it's going to get worse.
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:The shift in loyalty
is gonna get worse, so.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
We actually, as part of the
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:study, we actually collected,
um, or we, we organized a panel
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:of a hundred c-level executives.
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:So these are, these are executives,
big companies that have, you know,
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:individually, decades of experience
hiring law firms and accounting
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:firms and investment banks and
search consultants and management
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:consultants and the like.
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:So if you edit all up, it was like
thousands of years of buying experience
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:with professional services firms and
partners, and we asked them, uh, a
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:series of questions, but one of the
most revealing ones was, you know.
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:If you had a new need that arose
and provided the firm you're working
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:with right now had done good work
for you in the past, would you be
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:inclined to just hire them again?
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:Would you just go back to
the, well, in other words, or
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:automatically go back to that firm?
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:We asked 'em to think about what the
response would've been five years
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:ago, what it would be today, and then
what it would be five years from now.
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:These respondents, uh, the responses
came back were pretty eye-opening,
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:um, 70, um, nearly three quarters.
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:It was like 73% of respondents
said five years ago.
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:Yeah, I would just go
back to those same firms.
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:So this was, you know, a, a time where
professional services purchasing Was
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:not really the domain of procurement.
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:It wasn't highly formalized.
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:Um, and, uh, you know, senior executives
could kind of put their thumb on the
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:scale for the firm or partner they really
preferred and maybe where they had a
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:personal relationship or they'd gone
to law school together with somebody
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:or business school or worked together
with the partner, their, um, who's, uh,
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:uh, you know, pursuing the business.
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:Today, that number is around half.
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:So about 53% of respondents said,
yeah, we would go back to the same
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:firms thinking out five years from now.
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:It's only about a third.
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:It's a slightly more, it's 37%.
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:And so this really is exactly
what you're talking about, Julie.
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:It's a degradation in the stickiness
of our client relationships.
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:Um, it is a more competitive environment.
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:We interviewed a lot of these
c-level decision makers as part
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:of this research, and what we
heard, um, was pretty astounding.
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:Many of them said, look, in the past.
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:Nobody really cared where, you
know, which law firm I hired,
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:which consulting firm I went with?
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:I could put my thumb on the scale.
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:No big deal.
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:It was a black box.
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:Today, everything is competitive.
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:Everything is a formal pursuit.
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:Procurement is involved.
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:And you know, for, um, fiduciary,
ethical, uh, legal reasons, I cannot be
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:seen as putting my thumb on the scale.
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:That's actually, we had people tell us.
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:Look, I, if I have a personal
relationship with a partner, I will
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:recuse myself from the purchase decision.
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:And we had CFOs and CHROs and GCs
and heads of m and a telling us,
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:you know, we are doing our firm and
our shareholders, our stakeholders,
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:our employees, a disservice if
we don't competitively bid out
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:each piece of business.
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:'cause we owe it to ourselves to
hear what everybody has to say
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:about our problems and our needs.
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:It, you know, we're kind of
shooting ourselves in the foot.
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:If we just go back to the same
partners we've always used, we
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:need to cast that broad net,
which then means the door is open
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:for you as a partner to lose that,
you know, longtime client relationship
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:because they're bidding it out.
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:Track 1: What would be an interesting
follow up study to this is in five
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:years when they, when client loyalty
is down to 30, you know, 33%.
228
:If people are still as happy or if
they wished that they had you gone
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:back to their previous providers.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yeah, that
is an, that is an interesting question.
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:Will that all that shopping
around actually benefit clients?
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:You know, or
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:will they feel like
they've missed something
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:because they've not gone back to the,
the providers who really know them and
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:their firms and their teams very well?
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:Uh, that, that is a really
interesting, uh, question.
237
:But I, you know, what's,
what's so interesting is I.
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:When we talk to partners, a I would
say the vast majority of partners
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:are very frightened by this prospect.
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:They say, this is, this
is not good for me.
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:And it's exactly for the
reasons you just articulated.
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:Julie, I've grown up in a world where if
you did good work, you, you didn't have
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:to compete for the next piece of business.
244
:The client just
245
:came back to you for, you know,
the next consulting engagement.
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:The next legal matter, the next, uh, tax,
you know, advisory piece of business,
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:they would just come back
to you automatically.
248
:So it's frightening for the majority of
of partners, but there's a small segment
249
:of partners who are pretty excited about
this and say, look, there are clients
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:that I'm looking to get in with, uh,
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:uh, stat, I think from, uh, Russell
Reynolds found, um, that a huge percent,
252
:I think 20 to 30% of Fortune 500 GCs are
gonna retire in the next like five years.
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:Track 1: Yeah.
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:Oh yeah.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
It's gonna put $60 billion of
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:outside council spend up for grabs.
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:And so these, you know,
rainmakers, these top performers
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:are like, this is great.
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:And, and these firms will, these
companies will not automatically
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:go back to the firms they've used
for years and years and years.
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:They're the door's now open.
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:I'm gonna get an invitation to compete
for it and I might win some of these.
263
:So they're pretty, they're pretty
energized by this prospect.
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:Track 1: Yeah.
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:It's funny.
266
:I do a lot of college and university
lecturing on networking and business
267
:development, and one of the first
things I say to him is like.
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:Do you think everybody else
in this room is a dumb ass?
269
:Besides you?
270
:Like being good at your job
is the barrier to entry.
271
:Now let's talk about all the things
that are gonna help you stand out.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yeah.
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:Yeah.
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:Track 1: Um, so as I mentioned, your
research found five distinct profiles,
275
:which in my, in my experience in working
business to business we're spot on.
276
:So I wanna dive into them a little bit.
277
:The, so the.
278
:For the listeners, the five
distinct profiles are the expert,
279
:the confidant, the debater,
the realist, and the activator.
280
:And one of these is the rainmaker profile.
281
:So let's examine elite a, a little
bit of each of them, because I
282
:think people will be like, yes, I
know who that person is in my firm.
283
:Yes, I am that person in my firm.
284
:Um, so great.
285
:Let's start with the expert
because I think this is what
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:everybody strives to be like.
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:I'll just be an expert in the field
and everybody will come to me.
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:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
Yeah, it's, no, you're exactly right.
289
:Um, so what, a couple thoughts,
just as I go through these.
290
:I think one is, Julie, you're right.
291
:The first thing that people do is they
think about themselves, um, and then they
292
:think about their colleagues and then
they think about the, in their firm, who
293
:are the top, some of the top rain makers.
294
:Um, where do the people you
think are kind of doing it wrong?
295
:What, what profiles they go into?
296
:If you're a firm leader,
you're starting to think about
297
:skylines, like, where are we?
298
:Overweighted and underweighted.
299
:Um.
300
:Cautionary points.
301
:One, I would say every single
one of the:
302
:a combination of all five.
303
:However, uh, statistically every single
one of them majored in one of those five.
304
:We all spike in one, right?
305
:But people are complicated and
partners in professional services
306
:are especially complicated people.
307
:So they, so, you know, this is,
um, it's a messy, messy business.
308
:The other thing I would
tell you is that, um.
309
:This almost, I always say this upfront,
but it almost always comes back as a
310
:question that we didn't study personality.
311
:And I think when pe
when we go through this,
312
:Sometimes.
313
:people say, well, this feels
like you're born with it, right?
314
:It feels like you, you just, you have
that kind of personality that will
315
:put you in one of these profiles.
316
:We studied, uh, behavior skills,
time spent characteristics, use of
317
:tools and resources, uh, techniques.
318
:So these are things that with
the right training, coaching,
319
:um, and support from the firm.
320
:Every partner can get better at.
321
:Now, why a partner ends up in any
of these five is probably partly
322
:because of their personality and
what they're comfortable with.
323
:But, um, the profiles themselves did not
have personality based characteristics
324
:to them.
325
:Uh, if that makes sense.
326
:So, back to your question.
327
:So the expert, uh, first profile here.
328
:Um, and, and, sorry, one more
One more piece of background.
329
:So the way we did, not I,
this is really important.
330
:We didn't invent these,
um, these profiles.
331
:So this is a, we use a technique
called factor analysis.
332
:Factor analysis looks at a large data set,
it washes out the insignificant variables,
333
:then it isolates the significant ones.
334
:And typically in a large model,
uh, the data ends up clumping into
335
:groups and those groups move up
and down in the model together.
336
:So if you have something in the bucket,
you tend to have the other things.
337
:If you lack something, you tend
not to have the other things.
338
:We've used this technique in the past.
339
:I mentioned the challenger
sale research in B two B sales.
340
:And this is the second
time we've deployed this.
341
:Um, and I actually think it worked
better in professional services than
342
:in the B two B sales study we did.
343
:So the first one, um, that the
model identified is the expert.
344
:The expert I would describe as
a reluctant business developer.
345
:So this is the person who would
tell you, look, Julia, I didn't go
346
:to law school to be a salesperson.
347
:Right?
348
:Or, you know, I didn't.
349
:You get my degree in, uh, in tax
accounting to be a salesperson.
350
:But we all know when you make partner
in a firm, you're expected to bring in
351
:the business, not just execute on the
business as part of the job, but because
352
:they're reluctant and, and arguably
uncomfortable with business development,
353
:they take a very reactive order taker
approach to business development,
354
:meaning they try to signal to the market.
355
:If you are looking for, let's say, an
at like, um, an IP litigation expert
356
:in pharma, or if you are looking for an
m and a advisor, uh, in, uh, consumer
357
:packaged goods, I am your person.
358
:So the way they signal to the outside
market is through thought leadership.
359
:They do a lot of publishing.
360
:They do a lot of speaking at
361
:conferences.
362
:They serve on industry panels and things
like that, and what they're hoping is
363
:that if a client has a need that aligns
with their expertise, the client will pick
364
:up the phone and call, or they'll send
365
:an email and say, Hey Julie, we gotta,
you know, I, we found you in our search
366
:for an IP litigation expert in pharma.
367
:We have a matter coming up.
368
:We could use your, uh, advice on this.
369
:Now, what that means in practical terms is
that by the time the client has found you.
370
:They've probably found several
other people who also claim to be
371
:an expert because nobody, like you
said, there are not a lot of dummies
372
:out there, and there are a lot of
people who claim to be experts in,
373
:in very, very specific niche areas.
374
:Nobody owns a domain unto
themselves, and so they get pulled
375
:into a lot of competitive bids.
376
:So that's our first, uh, profile is
377
:the, is the expert.
378
:Track 1: The second
profile is the confidant.
379
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Correct.
380
:Now, the confidant, the confidant,
I think the best way to think
381
:of them is as the classic kind
of old school trusted advisor.
382
:And what I mean by that is they now, and
this is probably not to the letter of
383
:the book or ha as it's described by the,
the creators of that model, but rather.
384
:The way that it's interpreted by partners
in professional and financial services.
385
:Um, meaning what they do is they,
they kind of find a small group of
386
:clients, maybe three to four key
clients that kind of bear hug those
387
:clients, they they bend over backwards
388
:forum.
389
:Many of these clients are clients that
they had preexisting relationships with.
390
:So we went to law school together, went to
391
:business school together.
392
:We worked in the Corporate
development, um, uh, department
393
:of a Fortune 500 firm together.
394
:Now I am the partner
and you are my client.
395
:Um, so these are
longstanding relationships.
396
:They have.
397
:They bend over backwards to these clients.
398
:They deliver very client-centric,
a very client-centric experience.
399
:They deliver a great work product.
400
:Um, and their mindset is, if I
do all those things, what I'm
401
:effectively doing is building a moat
around this client that makes it
402
:impossible for anybody else to steal
403
:the relationship.
404
:And I should be good.
405
:If next time the client needs help,
they're gonna come to me automatically.
406
:It shouldn't be a competitive pursuit.
407
:And so I basically build these
ATM machines and then I stand
408
:by it and collect the money.
409
:Right Now, one of the other, uh,
interesting rubs about the confidant
410
:is because they've invested so deeply
in these relationships and because
411
:they cannot afford to have any of
them, um, uh, go south or go sideways.
412
:They don't share those relationships
413
:with their colleagues internally,
so they don't collaborate,
414
:they don't make referrals.
415
:I had one, uh, uh, chief marketing
officer of a big accounting
416
:firm said, I know these people.
417
:These are the people who call me up every
month and say, why did my client get the
418
:firm newsletter without my permission?
419
:Like,
420
:how did they even get the client's email?
421
:You know,
422
:Track 1: Yeah.
423
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
and they don't put any notes
424
:in the CRM system again,
425
:Track 1: Yeah.
426
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
they cannot afford for somebody else
427
:to come in and, and screw it up.
428
:Track 1: Yeah.
429
:Yeah.
430
:I, I worked construction for
17 years, architecture and
431
:construction for 17 years.
432
:And there was a lot of this that the,
this is my client, I take care of
433
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
It's my, yeah,
434
:that's right.
435
:My is is used often by the
436
:by the Cond.
437
:Track 1: I, I think the most, the two
most I saw in, in, in architecture,
438
:engineering, and construction
was the expert in the confident,
439
:sort of side by side together.
440
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
You're right.
441
:I think those two, actually I think
it's a really good point, so I don't
442
:wanna skip ahead, but if you look at
how they distribute by sub-vertical,
443
:which you can talk about like law
versus accounting, um, those are
444
:the two that dominate the landscape.
445
:So, um, so you are a hundred percent
right, and, and when I talk to firms
446
:about this, they either say we are
over without even doing the survey or,
447
:or having any data to support that.
448
:Say they just know deep down
we're overweight and confidants,
449
:or we're overweight and experts,
450
:but it's very rarely we're over overweight
in one of the other three, which we'll.
451
:Track 1: Yeah.
452
:Yeah.
453
:So the third one is the debater,
which I found interesting.
454
:I actually didn't recognize this
profile in anybody that I saw, so
455
:I'm, I was curious about this one.
456
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yeah.
457
:So the debater in.
458
:Maybe un charitable words of their
colleagues would be described as a, uh,
459
:sharp, elbowed, opinionated know-it-all
so that may describe a lot of partners out
460
:there, but these folks, so their, their
MO with a client and, and so these
461
:folks, you find a lot of these folks in
industries like investment banking or,
462
:you know, you do find a big chunk of
them in places like executive search.
463
:And I think the reason is that, um.
464
:These are spaces in which the fees
are the same across all the firms.
465
:The assets that an, an investment
banker, uh, would represent or be
466
:able to sell, you know, uh, on your
behalf or, um, to you are pretty open.
467
:Just like an executive search.
468
:Like we all have the, every
search consultant has the
469
:same Rolodex of candidates.
470
:It's a LinkedIn, right?
471
:There's nobody, like, there's nobody
where from this is my candidate, right?
472
:Um, and so these folks end up getting
pulled into a lot of competitive bids.
473
:So you do find this debate or approach
where their goal is to come in and
474
:say, I'm gonna box out every every
other player who's competing for the
475
:business by telling you, giving you
a completely different point of view.
476
:So I had a search consultant who told me
that, um, this was his go-to playbook when
477
:he got call called into like, let's say
ACFO search from a big, for a big client.
478
:Um, and he knew that he was up
against the other big search
479
:firms, which we all know by name.
480
:His goal was to come in and
basically tell the hiring committee,
481
:um, that they're thinking about
the job spec completely wrong.
482
:And my goal is to say
like, turn it upside down.
483
:And what he said was, he said, it
doesn't always work, but every once
484
:in a while it boxes everyone else out.
485
:And then they're starting to be
skeptical that because all the other
486
:people competing for the business,
they're telling them the same.
487
:They're telling you x I'm telling you y.
488
:And if I do that, create
white space and I can win's.
489
:Interesting.
490
:Part of this is that.
491
:For those listeners who are familiar
with the Challenger sale, again, I
492
:mentioned this a few times, this is our
study of business to business sales.
493
:That approach was actually the
winning approach in B two B sales.
494
:So coming in, reframing the clients,
understanding what they need, upending
495
:their, you know, breaking their mental
model, shaking them by the lapels,
496
:shaking them outta their comfort
zone, figuratively, not literally.
497
:Um, that was a winning approach.
498
:Um, but what's interesting in tipping my
mid, we'll get to the results in a moment,
499
:these debaters don't do particularly
well in professional services.
500
:And I think the reason is that
if you're selling software.
501
:It's all well and good to come in and
reframe the client's world and blow
502
:up their conception of what they need.
503
:If you're selling yourself and you
are the product, it's exhausting for a
504
:client.
505
:And we had clients tell us this.
506
:They said, I, you know, we had a
specific question in our client
507
:interviews we asked about, um, I.
508
:You know, how important is it to you that
your partners and your firms you work
509
:with push your thinking and challenge you?
510
:And, and they all said,
absolutely, it's critical.
511
:I don't want any, I, I don't
want yes people, right?
512
:I want people who push me, make me a bit
uncomfortable, push my thinking a bit.
513
:I need a, a thought, thought partner.
514
:But they also said, if every time
I sit down with them, they're
515
:telling me I'm doing it wrong.
516
:Like,
517
:I don't have time for that.
518
:Sometimes
519
:I just need you to do
what we know we need.
520
:Right?
521
:So that is, uh, that is
our debater, uh, profile.
522
:Track 1: Yeah.
523
:Um, the, I'm glad I haven't
come up against that a lot.
524
:in my professional career.
525
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yeah,
it's, by the way, and to your point,
526
:and I think there's a specific point,
uh, reason I think Juliet, maybe for,
527
:for I, you're not the first person who
said, I, I don't know if I've worked with
528
:Track 1: Mm-Hmm.
529
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
or been pitched to by those folks.
530
:Those were the smallest percentage
overall in professional services.
531
:So it, again, I think because
you're selling yourself and it is a
532
:relationship focused business, that
it kind of weeds out people like that.
533
:I mean, you do have some, but
they're, they're not very prevalent.
534
:Track 1: So the fourth one is the realist.
535
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yes.
536
:Yeah.
537
:So realist is another one that
you, it's a unique profile.
538
:This is completely unique
to professional services.
539
:This is the above board.
540
:Truthful, transparent.
541
:Um, you know, I'd say the, the
truth teller of, uh, to the client.
542
:Tell the client what they need to
hear, not just what they wanna hear.
543
:They're very comfortable saying
no, they do not sign up for work.
544
:They can't, they know, they can't
deliver on, they will not sign up
545
:for work that the client hasn't
allocated, um, enough budget for.
546
:And they will always set proper
expectations with their clients.
547
:Again, tipping my midst of the results.
548
:Clients think that this approach
is, they appreciate it, but it can
549
:be a little bit of a downer, right?
550
:It's a little bit of a glass
half full approach, especially in
551
:places like strategy consulting
552
:where, you know, sometimes it's about
painting the art of the possible
553
:and, and, you know, uh, the blue
sky kind of thinking our bluish
554
:in strategy, uh, type of approach.
555
:And so clients can find that.
556
:If you will, Debbie Downer kind of
557
:approach should be a little bit deflating.
558
:Now, it, it is interesting that you
find these people in professional
559
:services, and I think the reason
is that, um, professional services
560
:is, it's not like buying software.
561
:It's not like buying a medical
device, which you can test out.
562
:You can see the features and benefits.
563
:You can touch it, you can feel
it, you can pilot it, right?
564
:Um, when you're buying a service
from a firm in professional services,
565
:you are hiring for expertise
that is not possible to assess.
566
:Until you get into the engagement and
you're kind of taking a leap of faith.
567
:And I think what these realists understand
is that every client out there has
568
:been burned in the past by a partner
that has overstated their capabilities.
569
:A firm that is overpromised
and underdelivered
570
:a, a lawyer who's like, who sends
surprise invoices after the matter
571
:is concluded that are well in excess
of the stated budget that, you
572
:know, was articulated way upfront.
573
:So everyone's had that experience.
574
:And so these folks try to set themselves
apart by kind of going overboard.
575
:On the truthfulness.
576
:Now, again, this is not to say
you don't want every partner
577
:to be truthful and transparent and
honest, but these realists know that
578
:unfortunately that is not the case.
579
:And so they try to really set themselves
apart, um, and get clients to understand
580
:that if you really want the honest
truth, you come to me, I'm the person.
581
:Never gonna tell you, um, uh,
you know, uh, never gonna spin.
582
:I'm always gonna tell you what you need to
hear or not what you wanna hear sometimes.
583
:So,
584
:Track 1: Mm-Hmm.
585
:. Um, so the activator is our
final profile, which spoil?
586
:Alert.
587
:That's the rainmaker profile.
588
:. Um,
589
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
When we get to that point,
590
:Track 1: right.
591
:So this is, I.
592
:I, I think I am the activator profile,
like I and I, so I just, I wanna dig
593
:into all the pieces of it because I
think this is part of the activator
594
:profile is that relationships, it's
relationships inside the office with
595
:the clients, making new relationships.
596
:So I, I wanna dig into the activator.
597
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yeah,
so the activator, uh, to summarize is
598
:I would call them a super connector.
599
:So, um, they are su like if you looked
at what we had a set of questions
600
:around, for example, LinkedIn
601
:usage or how a partner engages
with clients at a, a firm sponsored
602
:event or an industry conference.
603
:Activators, they are heavy users of
LinkedIn and, and, and technologies
604
:like Sales Navigator for instance.
605
:Um, they are purposeful
attendees at events, meaning.
606
:Most partners will go to
an event and it's there.
607
:You're there to consume the event,
have a nice dinner, have a couple of
608
:cocktails, maybe you meet somebody, um,
maybe some business falls into your lap.
609
:Great.
610
:Um, but activators are there as a
business development event, right?
611
:So they look at the attendee list, they
612
:schedule meetings in advance,
coffees, breakfasts, you know,
613
:lunches, dinners, side conversations.
614
:They're looking at the attendees
and they're specifically saying, I
615
:want, my goal is to meet this person
and that person, this other person
616
:now.
617
:They leave that event with a stack
of business cards or connections
618
:they've established, and then they
try to convert those, uh, connections
619
:into conversations and then use those
conversations to create paying clients.
620
:Now what's also interesting about
these conversations is they are very
621
:proactive in nature and they're, it's
all about bringing clients new ideas.
622
:So, um, the, that is the way they move
somebody from the outer rings of their
623
:network where they're just a connection.
624
:Just somebody I met at a conference or I.
625
:Into the inner circle where
I become a paying client.
626
:What I'm trying to do is spot an
opportunity for that client, whether
627
:that's a regulatory change, it's
an m and a event in their space.
628
:It's a, a change in the labor market.
629
:It's um, you know, gen ai, right?
630
:There's lots of different
things that are happening.
631
:Tax court decisions, you name it.
632
:Things that clients don't
have time to monitor
633
:these activators say, yeah, I.
634
:I can put myself in a great position
if I don't wait for the phone to
635
:ring, but I spot an opportunity.
636
:I say, Julie, I don't know if you
saw this tax court decision in
637
:your jurisdiction, but I think it
might represent a threat or perhaps
638
:actually an opportunity for your firm.
639
:I'd love to hop on a Zoom
640
:or, or grab a coffee.
641
:Let's talk about it.
642
:Now, what's also interesting is
these activators will tell you, I'm
643
:not looking to bill for that time.
644
:But what I am trying
to do is pay it forward
645
:to give them a chance to kick the tires
on me as an advisor, and also earn
646
:a bit of goodwill so that when Julie
realizes, Hey, this is a real need.
647
:I wanna carve out budget for this.
648
:We need to hire a service provider.
649
:I've, and even if it's
competitive, I've got a leg up.
650
:'cause I brought the idea to
you and I paid it forward.
651
:Where every other partner's
only gonna talk to you if you,
652
:they can bill for the time.
653
:I'm gonna pay it forward
with a bit of free advice.
654
:Now the last thing about
activators, which is very.
655
:Interesting is that unlike the confidant
who kind of hoards relationships,
656
:these folks are the exact opposite.
657
:So activators believe that, um, in a
world of diminished client loyalty,
658
:the way that you create stickier
relationships is that you gotta shift
659
:the locus of loyalty from me to we.
660
:In other words, I've gotta get
that client to stop being just
661
:loyal to me as a service provider.
662
:My goal is to bring in my colleagues
in other practice areas in my firm
663
:because when I do that, that, becomes
a multi-point, kind of multi-threaded
664
:connection, which a client will think
twice about severing and going with a
665
:competitor when we serve
them across so many different
666
:functional areas and domain areas.
667
:Um, and so they are actively
looking to bring people in.
668
:Um, and you know what's also interesting?
669
:We talk to activators
and they'll say, look.
670
:I also, um, leverage my network as
a strategic asset for my client.
671
:So a client, and it's the very best
activators you talk to will say that.
672
:Let's say, um, uh, we spoke to, for
example, um, a partner in a law firm
673
:in the uk and he told us, he said,
I get calls all the time about I.
674
:You know, uh, hey Jim, do you know
any, um, search consultants in our
675
:space or we're looking for a tax
advisor in, you know, Malaysia,
676
:or we're looking for an m and a?
677
:You know, but you've always get, you've
always, you have a great deep network
678
:and you always steer us the right way.
679
:And so he will point people
to others in network, say, you
680
:gotta really talk to Julie.
681
:You gotta talk to Susan.
682
:You got to, you know, here's, here
are the people you should talk to.
683
:And they say, I know I get blowback value
for that, even though I don't even do the
684
:work, but because I can connect my clients
with talented people in my network.
685
:That is a huge source of
value, uh, to my clients.
686
:So a lot going on there.
687
:What I, the way I summarize it
back to your points, activators
688
:really do three things.
689
:So,
690
:um, and one of which I didn't, didn't
actually mention, the first thing,
691
:um, they do is they have a real
commitment to business development.
692
:So, um, of the five profiles.
693
:These were the only partners who told us
that they carve out time to do business
694
:development every week, if not every day.
695
:Now it's not a ton of time, right?
696
:It's, um, but it's, it's
meaningful and purposeful time.
697
:Maybe it's a half hour in
the morning or the afternoon.
698
:They do not let it get scheduled over.
699
:And if it does for an urgent client,
um, uh, uh, engagement, they move it
700
:to another time of their calendar.
701
:They
702
:always make sure they get to it.
703
:It's like going to the gym.
704
:If I miss my gym workout in the
morning, I go in the afternoon.
705
:Um.
706
:Every other partner in our study said,
I do BD when I have time to do bd.
707
:We're not busy, busy
serving clients, right?
708
:These folks don't view it that way.
709
:Why does that matter?
710
:Because we are in a world
of lower client loyalty.
711
:So you better have a pipeline behind
that, those handful of key clients.
712
:Quick, uh, story on that one.
713
:Um, one of the PR firms that participated.
714
:Um, in the research, um, told us that one
of their, um, top rainmakers a person had
715
:been a top rainmaker at their firm for
many, many years, um, had a huge global
716
:consulting firm as their key client and
leadership had always tried to encourage
717
:this rainmaker to broaden his portfolio
of clients to not be so Single, you know,
718
:exposed to a single client, and every
time they tried to do it and they tried to
719
:feed 'em other opportunities, they said,
no, no, I'm too busy serving these guys.
720
:You know, they need me for an event.
721
:They need me on site.
722
:They need me to go meet
with the leadership team.
723
:Never had time to create a pipeline
behind that one key client.
724
:Then, uh, just this year, that key
client put the work out to bid,
725
:and this PR firm lost the business.
726
:That guy went from their top rainmaker
for probably 15 years to the lowest
727
:performing partner in the firm.
728
:Overnight.
729
:We had nothing, nothing to fall back on.
730
:So that's the first thing we call it.
731
:Uh, this is the.
732
:Three pillars of act.
733
:The first one is commit
to business development.
734
:The second one is connect.
735
:And we talked about this before.
736
:Um, building your network at both
internally and externally as a
737
:strategic asset to be leveraged, right?
738
:They understand that, um, a
multi-threaded, a multi-point
739
:connection with the client is
way stronger, especially in the
740
:current buying environment than
a single threaded relationship.
741
:So bring your partners in, bring
your colleagues in, create a high
742
:tensile strength, multi-point
connection web with your clients.
743
:That will help you weather, um,
weather the storm, because again, those
744
:clients are gonna think twice about
pulling up the 10 stakes and leaving.
745
:And then the last pillar, uh, so
that's, so we got commit connect.
746
:And the last one is create, so I mentioned
this before, but activators know that
747
:in today's world where clients want to
bid out the work force you to go through
748
:RFP is competitive pursuits, et cetera.
749
:and and they wanna put you in a box and
they wanna assume like, you're all the
750
:same, whoever who's gonna cut us the
best price possible for this engagement.
751
:Um, what they understand is that
in that world, way better to create
752
:demand than to react to demand.
753
:So I need to be out in front of this.
754
:I need to bring my clients' ideas, not
wait for the phone to ring, because
755
:doing so allows me to shape the RFP
if there's gonna be one, but at least
756
:shape the client's understanding
of what they need in a way that
757
:feeds to me as the best service
758
:provider
759
:Track 1: Mm-Hmm.
760
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: So.
761
:Track 1: So a couple of things when
you were talking about the activator.
762
:My first thought was in order for each
and every firm to have . Activators,
763
:we need to look at how people
are compensated for the work they
764
:bring in and the clients they have.
765
:Because I think our compensation plans
and schedules force people into that, that
766
:confidant role and that these are mine.
767
:I don't wanna share the, you know,
the, the, you know, uh, promotions
768
:or, or money or bonuses or whatever
that come with keeping this client.
769
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
Yeah, you're totally right.
770
:In fact, you know, I should
say I, it's kinda skipped a
771
:little bit of the punchline.
772
:We already said the activators win,
but just to put a finder point on that,
773
:when we ran a regression analysis,
which we talk about in the article,
774
:we looked at, if you put, for lack
of a better description, if you put
775
:these five profiles into a horse race,
and you said, let me take the average
776
:performing partner, and let's see what
would happen if they chose to lean
777
:harder into any of those five approaches.
778
:Four of those five.
779
:Um, realist debaters, um, uh,
confidants and experts actually
780
:have a negative correlation with
business development performance.
781
:So in other words, the more a,
you know, your average partner
782
:leans into those approaches, the
worse they do, uh, relative to
783
:what they could potentially do.
784
:They think they're stepping on the gas,
but they're actually stepping on the
785
:brakes on their own business development
786
:only one.
787
:It was the activator that had a
positive straight line statistical
788
:correlation with performance to
really get down to brass tacks.
789
:If you took the average partner.
790
:They went from not very good to very
good on the activator dimensions.
791
:They could lift their own personal
revenue generation by 32% up to 32%.
792
:So it's a big, big change.
793
:Now you hit on, it's so interesting to
me because when I talk to firms, um, I.
794
:You know, we, and we
show them the results.
795
:More often than not, they say exactly
what you just did, which is, uh, they
796
:look at, you know, I show them the
results and they're overweighted,
797
:let's say in confidants or maybe
in experts, which is where most
798
:firms end up being overweighted.
799
:Um, and almost always
the, the chair or the.
800
:The CBDO or you know, the managing partner
will say, we did this to ourselves.
801
:Like there, this is not just
happenstance that people all went
802
:into this confidant approach.
803
:If you look at our comp plan, if you
look at who we hold up and we celebrate,
804
:you look at the lateral
hires, we're bringing in the
805
:people we put on a pedestal.
806
:We shine a bright, we
put their name in lights.
807
:Like every signal that our
younger, uh, associates and, and
808
:income partners and, and junior
partners get is, this is the way to
809
:make it.
810
:You know what was interesting is across
these 23 firms, there were a handful
811
:where they had a spike in activators.
812
:Which really kind of set them
apart from their peers overall,
813
:but also in their sub-segment.
814
:And so we spent a lot of time with
those leaders trying to figure
815
:out like, how did this happen?
816
:Right?
817
:'cause you're doing something differently.
818
:And what we found was, um, that
they're kind of, they're, that
819
:activator is not just about partner
skills, it's about firm capabilities
820
:and creating the right environment.
821
:So the first thing to your point
is, um, you've gotta have the right
822
:both monetary, uh, incentives and
non-monetary reward and recognition
823
:programs that signal to partners.
824
:Here's what we care about,
825
:right?
826
:We care about cross-sell,
we care about collaboration.
827
:We care about, um, network building.
828
:We care about purposeful use
of technologies like LinkedIn
829
:or events or, or what have
830
:you.
831
:We care about everyone carving out
and protecting time, uh, for bd.
832
:Um, you've also gotta have the right
training and coaching programs, right?
833
:That teach partners how to do this stuff.
834
:And here's the thing, almost every
one of those activator firms told us.
835
:We don't wait till people make partner to
teach them how to do business development.
836
:That's actually in many
respects, too late.
837
:What you wanna do is start investing
in them at the associate level.
838
:Because if you think about stuff,
activators do, commitment to bd, network
839
:building, being a proactive rather
than reactive, um, business developer.
840
:These are not things you need to
wait till you make partner just
841
:muscles you need to wait to develop.
842
:You can
843
:start developing them early.
844
:And then the last thing they
would talk about, um, was.
845
:Enabling an activator approach.
846
:So that is the way that you equip
partners with technology or the way
847
:that you support them with the BD team
or with, uh, thought leadership or the
848
:way you structure your events program,
um, and support partners to turn those
849
:events into real BD opportunities.
850
:Like they're, you gotta create kind of a
nest for your, uh, for your activators.
851
:So they're not swimming against
the system, but rather they're
852
:supported by the system.
853
:So I, I think that's one of
the most interesting parts of
854
:the story actually, is that.
855
:Again, it's, you could take a partner
in almost any other firm and you drop
856
:'em into one of these activator firms
where they're supported and all the
857
:nudges they're getting, tell them
to do things one way not the other.
858
:And the outcome can be quite different.
859
:So again, it is a story of
individuals, but it's also a story
860
:of, uh, firm leadership and firm
861
:capabilities.
862
:Track 1: you, you quite succinctly asked
my next question, which was, you know, if
863
:we need more activators in our companies,
how do we start creating them and giving
864
:them frameworks to become activators?
865
:I wanna go back to one thing
that you talked about about.
866
:When it comes to BD, that the activators
schedule it and they, they, they
867
:dedicate a certain amount of time,
and you didn't say how much time they
868
:dedicated, but research shows that about
six hours a week is the sweet spot for
869
:business development and or network
networking and business development
870
:at the, you know, in conjunction.
871
:And when I . Giving keynotes and I talk
about this magical six hour number,
872
:people are like, I don't have six hours.
873
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Yeah.
874
:Yeah.
875
:Track 1: Um, and I think
the activator reframes.
876
:What is networking and what is business
development as a very holistic part
877
:of the job you're already doing.
878
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
Yeah, that's right.
879
:You know, and, and I think, um, I
think sometimes partners get into this
880
:mode of like, okay, I'm gonna schedule
an hour a day or however much time
881
:a day to do my bd, and it's, that's
pitching for business time, right?
882
:Or it's going fine, responding
to RFPs or what have you.
883
:I.
884
:But, but it's a very, as you said, it's a
very holistic understanding of what is bd.
885
:So that hour might be spent, um, following
up on all the stack of business cards
886
:you collected at the last conference.
887
:It might be, um, scrolling the news to
look at, are there events here that I
888
:could bring to one of my clients and say,
this is an opportunity for us to talk and
889
:maybe potentially do business together.
890
:Uh, there was a partner, we, um,
interviewed a longtime partner, managing
891
:partner, actually, of a, uh, an Asian, uh,
Asian off office of a big global law firm.
892
:And he told us.
893
:And his kind of specialty area was, um,
patent and trademark kind of, uh, law
894
:within, um, within the food, uh, industry.
895
:Uh, and so he said, um, he
only ever had three things on
896
:his desk, uh, any given time.
897
:The first thing he had was his checklist.
898
:Here are the things I'm gonna
do today in, in the BD things.
899
:Here are the client thing.
900
:So there's your commit piece, right?
901
:This is, I've developed
a metronomic cadence.
902
:I don't let BD fall by the wayside.
903
:I, I'm always doing it.
904
:The second thing he had, he always had
LinkedIn open on his, on his computer.
905
:Never closed it, right?
906
:Always had it open.
907
:Track 1: I never close mine.
908
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944:
Never close it.
909
:Right?
910
:That's how we got connected.
911
:I think
912
:so.
913
:And then the last thing he had
was on his desk, the stack of
914
:today's news in the food industry.
915
:And he's going through it and he's
carving out time and saying, where
916
:is there some new, like, is there a
firm that's created new innovation?
917
:Have they patented that?
918
:Um, should I reach out?
919
:Is that an opportunity
for having a conversation?
920
:Um.
921
:And so that to me was really interesting
'cause you got that commit that
922
:the commit piece, the checklist,
you got the Connect, which is your
923
:LinkedIn and you got your create,
which is that those industry events.
924
:So I thought was a simple kind of way
to think about that activator playbook.
925
:But you're quite right, it's not.
926
:Now, if you look at, if you look at
average partners, what they tend to
927
:do, first of all, their time is way
overweighted to delivering work versus um.
928
:bd.
929
:And the reason is they believe
delivering great work is bd, right?
930
:That means if I deliver great
work, I'm automatically gonna
931
:get the next piece of business.
932
:So that's, and the other thing is
activators are equally weighted.
933
:Not they're, they're more evenly balanced
in terms of BD versus execution time.
934
:But also if you look at their BD time,
they're more evenly weighted across new
935
:versus existing client opportunities.
936
:Now, if you look at most other
partners are way overweighted
937
:to existing clients, right?
938
:I've already got this
relationship, I'm just gonna.
939
:Overinvest in time, shower them
with service and client centricity
940
:And
941
:um, uh,
942
:you.
943
:know, all kinds of, you know, great work.
944
:And then they'll just
hire me automatically.
945
:But again, that, that approach
may have worked 10, 20 years ago.
946
:You know, maybe we would've
seen the expert of the confidant
947
:was the winning approach.
948
:But today the client
environment is really changing.
949
:And look my.
950
:My, uh, guidance for partners is,
you know, if you're a top rainmaker,
951
:if you're a top performer and you
952
:Don't see yourself as,
953
:an activator, that's okay.
954
:There are top performers who are
on the other profiles for sure,
955
:Track 1: Mm-Hmm.
956
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: but
957
:I think it's also.
958
:a recognition.
959
:We all agree the client buying
environment today is different from
960
:how it was 10 or 20 years ago, and
if you buy the proposition that the
961
:world is changing, then by definition
you have to evolve your approach.
962
:What worked yesterday is
not gonna work tomorrow.
963
:And so I encourage partners
to think about this as.
964
:Not changing everything about who you
are and what you do, but rather, um,
965
:uh, building involving some new tools
to put in your BD tool, tool belt.
966
:Keep doing the stuff that made you
great, but understand as the title
967
:of the, um, the Wellknown book goes.
968
:What got you here is not gonna get you
there, and you gotta keep stepping on
969
:the gas and evolving your own approach.
970
:Thank
971
:Track 1: Matt, this was amazing.
972
:Thank you so much for taking so much
time to talk with us about this.
973
:Um, if people wanna learn more about
you and learn more, more about what
974
:you and your partners do at your
company, where, where should they, um,
975
:look to find you or go to find you?
976
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Uh, so our
company website is uh, d cm insights.com.
977
:Um, and that provides an
978
:overview of kind of
who we are, what we do.
979
:Um, we have offerings, as I
mentioned, we kind of cut our teeth
980
:in business to business sales.
981
:We do still do a lot of business
to business sales support, but also
982
:what we do to help partners and
firms on this activator journey.
983
:So can learn all about us and maybe
more than you wish to know on.
984
:Track 1: Um, and I'll put a, i for
those people who have a Harvard
985
:Business Review subscription, I'll
put a link to this article in the
986
:show notes as well, um, because
it's, it's a fascinating article as
987
:matt-dixon_1_11-07-2023_100944: Thank you.
988
:Thank you.
989
:And I should mention, by the way, I, I
love connecting with folks who've, um,
990
:heard me on a podcast or show like this.
991
:If you did, uh, send me a LinkedIn
invite, um, uh, Juliet, Julian,
992
:I'm very active on LinkedIn.
993
:I am, um, and I, I know I'd love
to connect with your listeners.
994
:If you have a follow-up question, hit me
up and happy to continue the dialogue.
995
:Okay.
996
:Take care.
997
:All right, so there you have it.
998
:I want to be a Rainmaker or want
to nurture them within your office.
999
:Start focusing on the three
CS commit, connect and create.
:
00:44:49,404 --> 00:44:51,894
Make time for business
development every day.
:
00:44:51,894 --> 00:44:56,634
And if not every day, every week,
Become a heavy user of LinkedIn, not
:
00:44:56,634 --> 00:44:59,814
just for connecting, but for commenting
and creating your own content.
:
00:45:00,414 --> 00:45:01,824
Start educating your clients.
:
00:45:01,824 --> 00:45:04,404
Don't wait for the phone to ring or
for them to reach out when they need
:
00:45:04,404 --> 00:45:08,334
help anticipate their needs and how
you can be a source of information.
:
00:45:09,264 --> 00:45:12,624
And convert those connections
into conversations.
:
00:45:13,104 --> 00:45:16,404
All things that we have talked
about on this podcast to still
:
00:45:16,434 --> 00:45:18,234
down and backed by research.
:
00:45:18,834 --> 00:45:23,874
And you know how much I fucking love to
say the research suggests take a drink.
:
00:45:25,164 --> 00:45:25,974
And with that.
:
00:45:26,351 --> 00:45:28,181
We are now onto the drink of the week.
:
00:45:28,601 --> 00:45:29,291
And it is.
:
00:45:29,951 --> 00:45:32,951
Based off of the three's commit,
connect and create it is the
:
00:45:32,981 --> 00:45:35,051
triple C welcome cocktail.
:
00:45:35,051 --> 00:45:36,371
And it's from taste and tipple.
:
00:45:36,581 --> 00:45:37,541
Here's what you're going to need.
:
00:45:38,051 --> 00:45:39,611
A quarter ounce of cinnamon syrup.
:
00:45:39,641 --> 00:45:42,431
We've covered how to make simple
syrup before and flavored simple
:
00:45:42,431 --> 00:45:43,931
served before in this podcast.
:
00:45:43,931 --> 00:45:45,371
So quarter rounds of cinnamon syrup.
:
00:45:45,881 --> 00:45:49,931
Two to three dashes of cardamom,
bitters, one ounce of cognac, four
:
00:45:49,931 --> 00:45:55,751
ounces of chilled, sparkling wine
and grapefruit twist for a garnish.
:
00:45:55,841 --> 00:46:01,601
So I think the three CS are going to end
up being cinnamon cardamom and cognac.
:
00:46:02,081 --> 00:46:03,251
I think that's the three series.
:
00:46:03,731 --> 00:46:06,941
Anyways, poor cinnamon syrup
into a champagne flute at two to
:
00:46:06,941 --> 00:46:08,621
three dashes of cardamom bitters.
:
00:46:08,681 --> 00:46:11,231
Add the cognac carefully
top with sparkling wine.
:
00:46:11,411 --> 00:46:13,721
You know, it could be
four seas if you use cava.
:
00:46:13,751 --> 00:46:14,021
Okay.
:
00:46:14,021 --> 00:46:14,471
I'm getting off.
:
00:46:14,531 --> 00:46:14,771
All right.
:
00:46:14,771 --> 00:46:18,131
Anyways, sparkling wine and
garnished with a grapefruit twist.
:
00:46:18,551 --> 00:46:18,941
Okay.
:
00:46:19,211 --> 00:46:19,871
All right, friends.
:
00:46:19,901 --> 00:46:20,681
That's all for this week.
:
00:46:20,741 --> 00:46:22,631
If you like what you heard
today, please leave a review
:
00:46:22,661 --> 00:46:23,921
and subscribe to the podcast.
:
00:46:24,251 --> 00:46:27,491
Also, please remember to share the podcast
to help it reach a larger audience.
:
00:46:27,761 --> 00:46:29,411
If you want more, Julie
Brown, you can find my book.
:
00:46:29,441 --> 00:46:31,451
The shit works on Amazon
and Barnes and noble.
:
00:46:31,451 --> 00:46:33,941
You can find me on
LinkedIn at Julie Brown BD.
:
00:46:34,151 --> 00:46:35,801
Just let me know where you
found me when you reach out.
:
00:46:35,831 --> 00:46:38,441
And I am Julie Brown underscore
BD on the Instagram, or you can
:
00:46:38,441 --> 00:46:39,881
just pop on over to my website.
:
00:46:40,331 --> 00:46:43,571
Julie round bd.com until next week Cheers.