How to Use Mobile App Contests to Promote Business Development and Cross Selling

Did you know that over 90% of apps are downloaded once, then not used again? That fact bothers me.

Humans certainly do use technology that enables us to BUILD relationships. Look at the use of Linked In and internal social sites for business development. Look at our ability to schedule tasks, and calendar priorities, and key performance indicators...

However, lazy people complain about the accountability of Salesforce or any Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Or they may complain that investing in technology is like investing in a money black hole, where the value is indistinct and endless. That fear bothers me.

We can use technology to build relationships between people. At little cost. Consider this example.

Last week I met with two attorneys tasked with generating $1.5MM annually for their firm. They stated, "The #1 priority for us is business development. We talk about cross-selling. But we rarely do it." Like any firm with specialized skills, they track billable time (BT) and working time (WT).

I asked, "How valuable would it be for you to develop new business with your existing clients in other practice groups throughout the firm?"

They said, "Invaluable. If you can help us develop new business you will solve a massive problem."

During lunch, I shared an app that I had created for them. They downloaded it immediately.

Their comments exploded like popcorn: "This is a no brainer. We can start with our practice group. Imagine monthly business development workshops at the larger offices. Teams of 3-4 pay $100 to play for the day in a business development contest. Each team member must be in a different practice group. Corporate finance will be forced to talk with real estate, or environmental, or product liability. Those teams will upload content throughout the day. And answer questions based on a client case study. And populate or CRM system on Sharepoint. And then at 4:00 we can score the teams on a question like "Which of these teams is most likely to generate new business for our firm?" We can provide recurring monthly business development workshops. We can schedule sessions with facilitators in the conference room to learn how to use our current software for business development."

Attorneys are competitive by nature. What about your company?

Can you estimate the value to you and your company? $500,000 in new services? $1MM? More?

The steps are straightforward yet elusive: 1. define your business problem, 2. determine if you need to solve that problem, 3. determine if you need someone else to solve that problem, 4. if you need external service providers, determine who can help you the most.

Since 1997, we have provided consulting and executive coaching solutions. Then in 2012 a client asked us to develop apps that promote business development goals like cross selling. See details at http://www.action-learning.com or call 704.895.6479 today.

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