You Don't Need More Time for BD

​One of the most common things I hear from professionals I work with sounds reasonable on the surface.

“I know I should be doing business development — staying in touch, following up, putting myself out there. I just don’t have time right now.”

They’re busy. Client work is intense. Deadlines are real. The calendar fills up fast. None of that is a surprise.
What stands out is what’s sitting underneath that response.

Most people aren’t short on time.

They’re carrying an assumption about what business development requires.

They picture long blocks of focus. A carefully worded message. The right moment. Something that feels thoughtful and polished enough to send.
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So they wait.

​And when they do finally sit down to reach out, the pressure shows up immediately.

This becomes clear when I talk with clients about simple check-ins.

I’ll suggest a short note. Something to set up a coffee or reconnect. In theory, it should take three to five minutes.

In practice, that’s rarely what happens.

The person opens a blank email and starts thinking about tone, wording, and whether it sounds too casual or too formal.

They reread it, rewrite it, step away, and come back to it later.

Twenty minutes go by. Sometimes more.

The email isn’t complicated. What slows people down is the pressure they put on themselves to get it exactly right.

In many cases, the email still doesn’t get sent.

That’s how progress stalls. People aren’t avoiding the work. They’re trying to avoid discomfort.

Business development doesn’t reward polish. It rewards progress.

I’ve watched far more opportunities die from silence than from imperfect outreach. An email that never gets sent does far more damage than one that isn’t perfectly worded.

Here’s the part that matters most. Confidence doesn’t show up before action. It shows up because of action. You don’t think your way into momentum. You move your way into it.
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This is something I see repeatedly in my coaching and explore in greater depth in my upcoming book, The Business Development Shift.