The market is noisier. Clients are better informed. Technology has lowered the barriers to entry but raised expectations. Most firms are discovering an uncomfortable truth (as shared by the military): “When things get tough, we don’t rise to the occasion, instead we sink to the level of our training/habits.”
If you’re thinking about how your firm should approach business development in 2026, here are the questions and considerations that actually matter.
1. Reactive Revenue Is Risky. Proactive Revenue Is Strategic.
Too many firms still rely on reactive revenue, waiting for the phone to ring, the referral to arrive or the tender to land. In 2026, that’s dangerous. You need a conscious mix of:
· Recurring revenue (existing clients, retained relationships)
· Proactive revenue (deliberate relationship building, thought leadership, targeted outreach)
· Selective reactive revenue (when the client gets busy, remembering not every opportunity is worth having)
When pressure hits, economic, regulatory, technological, firms without proactive pipelines stall fast. Ask yourself:
· Where will our next five client instructions come from?
· Who are the five relationships that could genuinely change the trajectory of the firm?
· Who are the five organisations/people we would like to work for?
· What are the five largest issues my ideal clients are dealing with?
· Who are the five joint referral partners I need to build relationships with?
2. Trust Is Still the Currency. But It’s Fragile.
Trust hasn’t changed. Expectations have. Trust is built on:
· Credibility – do you actually know your craft?
· Reliability – do you do what you say you’ll do on time, on budget?
· Intimacy – do clients feel understood, how well do you REALLY know them?
· Low self-orientation – It’s about them, not you!
What has changed is how quickly trust is formed or lost. In 2026:
· When everything is even, relationships win. When things are uneven, they still win!
· 70%+ of professional relationships now begin or are validated online.
· Reputation × visibility = brand value. If clients can’t quickly understand your value, someone else will fill the gap.
3. “What Got You Here” Won’t Necessarily Get You There
Many firms assume they’re protected by the “untouchables”:
· Legacy clients
· Long-standing partners
· Outdated service models
· Political compromises
But growth in 2026 requires strategy, not politics. That means asking harder questions:
· Who are we really designed for?
· Where do we genuinely create value?
· What should we stop doing, even if it’s comfortable?
If everything is a priority, nothing is. As Tzu said, don’t start a war on multiple fronts. So..
4. Choose Your Position. Don’t Drift
Clients no longer want generalists with nice brochures/websites. In 2026, firms are seen as one of four things:
· Strategic partners
· Business growth enablers
· Superior service providers
· Product providers (increasingly commoditised offering no loyalty opportunities)
Drifting is the fastest way to be forgettable. Clear positioning makes business development easier. Vague positioning makes it time consuming, exhausting and expensive.
5. Measure Value the Client Actually Cares About
Clients forget conversations. They remember outcomes. If you’re serious about business development, create scorecards that remind clients of:
· Improvements achieved. Financial and reputational.
· Risks reduced.
· Time saved.
· Revenue protected or grown.
· Capability built.
· Networks shared/Introductions made.
If you don’t articulate your value, the client will default to price.
6. Culture Eats BD Strategy for Breakfast?
You don’t have a BD problem. You have a habit problem.
High-performing firms and individuals focus on:
· Goals that are visible.
· Habits that reinforce behaviour.
· Incentives that reward contribution.
· Training that builds confidence.
· Leaders who model the behaviour they expect.
7. Stop Hoping. Start Training.
Hope is not a strategy. Many firms are still spending time and money on:
· Untargeted advertising.
· Sponsorships with no follow-up.
· Hospitality events that leads to little new revenue.
· Meetings that don’t convert into instructions.
· “Being busy” instead of being effective.
Instead: Build confidence by
· Training people how to sell. Properly.
· Educate clients consistently.
· Build multiple routes to market. Winners have up to 20.
· Find the 1% improvements that compound. One disciplined habit, beats ten good intentions.
Final Thought
If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less.
Business development isn’t necessarily about doing more. It can be about doing less, but better and on purpose.
The firms that win will be the ones that:
· Select clients and reach out deliberately.
· Build trusted relationships systematically.
· Measure what matters.
· Embed BD into how they work, not as an add-on.
Everything else is noise.
If you are unsure where to start your growth journey, reach out for some guidance.