Molly Fletcher shares her insights into business development and how she became the world’s top-performing female sports agent. Learn why every business development conversation starts with curiosity, why over-delivering in a relationship makes asking for referrals easy, and how to create a sustainable system that keeps you motivated and energized to build new relationships every day.

Mo asks Molly Fletcher: What is your best advice for busy professionals to grow their book of business, their relationships, and their career?

You have to behave in a way that sends a message to the people you want to work with and for, that the relationship matters so much to you that you behave like they are your client already.
In all business development relationship conversations, people are asking the same basic questions. “Do I like you?”, “Can you help me?”, and “Can I trust you?”. When you act like you have the business before you already do and behave as you care about them, they can answer those questions with a yes.
Every business development conversation starts with curiosity. When you’re curious you can discover the gaps in their world and find a way to add value to them. People like us when we help them and make their world better.
What can you do to show up in your client’s and prospect’s world and help them feel like they matter to you? Especially one week or one month after you have that initial conversation.
You have to believe in the process and put systems and triggers in place to create that and turn follow-up into a routine.
The big moment is not the pitch, it’s after they leave and you have the opportunity to behave in a way that shows them that they matter to you. It’s not about making money right now, it’s the fact that if you lean in and add value and make their lives better, they can’t help but trust you and appreciate that.
Once you have the process in place you have to be disciplined about it. Build your process around follow-up into your calendar and don’t leave it in your inbox.
You have to schedule the things in your life that matter most. Block that time and protect it. If you want to stay top of mind with your prospects you have to stay connected, stay curious, and stay in their world.

Mo asks Molly Fletcher: How can busy professionals create and close the meaty business that we all want?

Be relational, not transactional. When we stay relational we can do powerful things. A client relationship is like a marriage, you have to show up every day and continue to add value to their world or they will go somewhere else.
Consistently over-deliver and add tremendous value to your client’s and prospect’s lives. If you pour into the people that matter to you, it creates a platform where if you ask for a referral or a favour, they are happy to do it for you.
Throwing in little extras around the services you provide have a disproportionate impact on your relationship.
Getting into someone’s head and heart is how you stand out. Most people are thinking that way or doing the things that connect that way, and if you do it consistently over time and from an authentic place, your prospect can’t help but like and trust you.
Oftentimes, the things that don’t cost money can have the most value of all.
Don’t aim to close the deal. Instead, build a vibrant ecosystem of relationships. When you do that you naturally generate opportunities for your pipeline over time.
You need enough in your pipeline to avoid desperation. Prospecting is like dating, you need to develop a relationship with the person before you propose to get married.

Mo asks Molly Fletcher: How do we deepen our relationships, but also meet the right new people and handle the first couple of weeks?

One of the easiest ways to meet new people is to over deliver to your current clients so that they want to help you and are happy to make introductions.
Know the difference between referrals and introductions. Asking for a high level of specificity in the ask is crucial to getting new relationships into play. When you over deliver in a relationship, they know that it would be a clear win for the other person and they’ll feel safe vouching for you.
When we are building new relationships, any way we can create opportunities that benefit both parties can be powerful foundations for growth.
No matter how you go about meeting new people, the common thread is always leading with value. Molly speaks on stage 80 to 100 days out of the year, and before every engagement she does a pre-call to get into the head and the heart of the audience. Before she even steps on stage, Molly has over delivered on the front end, well before she asked for something in return.
The people that win business listen first and have the courage to go off script. This is how you can become an authentic chameleon, take what you heard, and deliver what matters most to the other person.

Mo asks Molly Fletcher: What is your best advice for busy professionals to stay consistent, focusing on the things that will help your future self stay happy, and hack their own habits to win?

How is your no button? You need to manage your energy as much as your time. You have to be remarkably intentional about what matters most because if you don’t protect your time and your calendar, the world will decide where you put your energy.
40% of the reason why people don’t achieve their quarterly goals or weekly targets is a lack of visibility and intentionality. It’s a lack of alignment with the things that matter most and the behaviours that create the results that you want.
If you protect your time and commit to business development, block off the following time period to reward yourself with something that gives you energy. If you don’t schedule it, you’ll fall back into the inbox and miss the positive feedback that keeps you wanting to do it.
The most sustainable way to stay motivated for business development is to remember your why. Keep your purpose front and center.
Look at your life through the lens of energy and build in times in your life to recover and re-energize. Step outside, take a walk, do an act of kindness, meditate, or say a prayer. Reward yourself and remind yourself why you do it.
Identify the things in your life that are the most important and then put those onto your calendar first. Everything else should be added around those things.
Molly has her purpose statement (To inspire, lead, and connect with courage and optimism) all over her house and office as a way to remind her what’s important. It’s how Molly realigns with what she is chasing after a tough day. If you don’t know what you’re chasing, that’s what you need to figure out first.
Your purpose statement is what gives you the clarity to say no to the things that don’t align with what matters most.

Mo shares his insights from the habits of Molly Fletcher.

Consistently over delivering is key to building high value relationships. Many professionals have to renew their work and that means convincing people that you are worth continuing to work with.
We tend to over value the fact that a gift was made versus the actual value of the gift itself. Multiple smaller touches and value adds will have a greater impact on a relationship than a single larger gesture.
Little extras, known as positive reinforcers, give the feeling of deep appreciation for working with you and is a powerful concept to developing your relationships.
Is there some kind of way that you can summarize your results in a way that they could share with their boss? Is there a way to get things done a little earlier or with a little extra thrown in? Can you invest in their team or add a little extra relational value? Are there things you can do that can build their business that is outside of the scope of what you were hired for like referring a new client?
Small extra value-adds prevent you from being commoditized and gives you a goodwill buffer when things don’t go your way.
Make referral requests very specific once you have over delivered in your existing relationship. You only do it with the people who it makes sense to ask, be clear about exactly what you want, and then assure them that you will deeply invest in the new relationship as well. Ask for referrals when it’s a win for everybody involved.
It’s crucial to have a reward mechanism associated directly with business development activities. Many business development activities have no immediate payoff, and this can lead to feeling less motivated to put in the work, despite business development being one of the most important things you can do for the long-term success of your business.
You have to build your own reward mechanism that rewards your effort and creates a positive feedback loop. Batch your business development tasks and then schedule a rewarding activity right afterwards. It’s during that following reward that you should reflect on the fact that you did a hard thing that your future self will appreciate.

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Molly Fletcher on Being Relentlessly Curious and Over-Delivering In Your Relationships