Breaking BizDev
What does "business development" mean anyways?
On Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright break down, beat up, and redefine that nebulous term 'business development' for the modern professional services firm.
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Episodes
76 episodes
How to Maximize Un-Billable Hours (And Not Squander Them)
Unbillable time is often treated as an afterthought—but it shouldn’t be.In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright reframe unbillable hours as one of the most important investments you can make in your ...
Is Your Referral Process Broken?
Doing great work isn’t enough to generate referrals.In fact, relying on that alone might be exactly what’s holding you back.🤨In this episode of Breaking Biz Dev, Mark and John take a diagnostic approach to one of the most po...
3 Option Pricing Tables Part II: Elements & Examples
In this episode of Breaking Biz Dev, John and Mark go deep into the mechanics of three option pricing tables—how to actually build and present them in professional services.They walk through several practical frameworks for struct...
3 Option Pricing Tables Part I: The Power of Three
Most professional services firms present prospects with a single proposal and hope it sticks.But the best firms structure their pricing differently.In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman introduces a powerful conc...
Slides Don’t Sell
In this episode, Mark and John take aim at the traditional pitch deck — and explain why it no longer works in modern business development.From distraction overload to one-sided broadcasts, they outline five reasons slides don’t sell and ...
What Other Industries Know About Growth (That You’re Missing)
Most professional services firms approach growth the same way: copy what their competitors are doing, refine it slightly, and hope for better results.In this episode of Breaking BizDev, we explore why that mindset creates stagnati...
Follow-Up DOs and DON'Ts for Business Development
Most business development conversations don’t fail in the meeting—they fail in the follow-up.In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright unpack the DOs and DON’Ts of follow-up and explain why it’s one of...
The Doer-Seller Bell Curve
Most professional services firms depend on doer-sellers—but few take the time to examine how sales responsibility is actually distributed across the organization.In this episode, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright introduce The Doer-Sel...
5 Business 'Black Holes' Draining Your Time, Culture, and Profit
Some of the biggest threats to your firm aren’t competitors or market conditions—they’re internal “black holes” that quietly consume time, focus, and profit.In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright un...
8 Elements of Sales Choreography: Turn That 'Maybe' Into a 'Yes'
Sales doesn’t fail because of bad stages—it fails because of missing behaviors.In this episode, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright break down the eight elements of sales choreography that help professional services sellers build tru...
Why AEC Firms Struggle with Business Development (and How to Fix It)
The AEC world is full of brilliant engineers, architects, and builders—yet many firms still struggle to grow the way they should. In this episode, John and Mark break down what’s actually broken in AEC business development by bri...
Building Trust At Scale (Without 1,000 Coffee Chats)
Everyone knows trust is the currency of professional services—but most firms are trying to earn it in the slowest way possible: one lunch/coffee/zoom chat at a time. In this episode, John and Mark break down how to scale trust usin...
The Engagement Meeting: Take a Step Back and See The Big Picture
Most consultants say they’re “too busy doing the work” — as if that’s a badge of honor. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: you never stop to ask “are we still doing the right work?” In this episode, John and Mark break down the co...
The Power Of Saying 'No': Turning Down Opportunities May Actually Be a Good Thing
Saying yes feels good. It’s helpful, it’s human—and it’s how your firm quietly bleeds to death. 😵In this episode, John and Mark dive into the real power of saying NO: qualifying hard, protecting your pipeline, and choosing clients and m...
The Pipeline Graveyard: Bringing Cold Leads Back to Life
Your CRM is haunted. Not by ghosts...but by cold leads, stalled proposals, and “maybe next quarter” conversations that never saw the light of day. In this episode, John and Mark take you on a guided tour of the Pipeline Graveyard—where dead dea...
Partner Involvement in Sales and Marketing: What Could Go Wrong?
Go ahead, put all of BD on the shoulders of your most expensive asset. What could possible go wrong? In this episode, John and Mark explore the pros and cons of partner involvement in business development. They look at the benefits...
Listen Up! Create Stronger Client Bonds With Empathy and Understanding
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale CarnegieIn this episode, Mark and John explore the importance of understa...
Quit Your Pitching! How NOT to do Social Selling
Before you pitch slap that prospect, listen to this episode.John and Mark tear down some terrible 'pitch slaps' from their LinkedIn DMs and offer a better way to approach social media. Shift your social media marketing from spammy sales...
The 3 Buyer Archetypes: How to Engage With Each Role on the 'Buying Committee'
What kind of buyer did you talk to on your last sales call?When it comes to buying professional services, there is usually more than one buyer. Some refer to this as a 'buying committee.' So what different roles do each of these buyers ...
Account Expansion: Unlock Revenue You Already Earned
Why expand existing accounts when you can chase new logos forever? 😵💫On this episode, John and Mark break down the concept of 'account expansion' — growing revenue from existing client accounts:• The difference between upsell a...
Digital Marketing Strategy for Consulting Firms
For consulting firms that have exhausted their network and the referral well has run dry, a digital marketing strategy is essential to attract new clients. But how?In this episode, Mark and John walk through
Selling or Serving: Is Your Firm Truly Client-Centric?
Professional Services. It's in the name. If you're in professional services, you're in the business of SERVING clients.On this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark take a look at the transformative power of adopting a client-centri...
The Psychology of Familiarity: Building Trust with Mere Exposure
*Trust* is what wins new business in professional services...but your ideal clients can't trust you if they don't *like* you, and they can't like you if they don't *know* about you. On this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark...
Monthly Recurring Revenue: Predictability for You AND Your Clients
Say goodbye to feast and famine. In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John Tyreman and Mark Wainwright tackle the elusive concept of monthly recurring revenue (MRR) for professional services firms. Tired of the roller coaster of inc...
What's Broken About BizDev in Accounting? + 2025 AAM Summit Recap
In this episode of Breaking BizDev, John and Mark dive into the complexities of business development within the accounting industry, like the steep challenges of differentiation, pricing models, and the annual scramble leading up to tax day.