The biggest reason your pipeline is drying up?

For most businesses, the core issue is simple: no one is solely responsible for business development.

A few people might be doing a little bit here and there, following up a lead when they can, posting on LinkedIn when there’s time, but no one owns it.

Or you might be a sole trader trying to do it all yourself. Between delivery, admin, and client work, BD becomes the thing that gets pushed to “next week.”

The result? Your pipeline dries up, opportunities slip through the cracks, and you end up constantly chasing work instead of staying ahead of it.

Business development only works when someone is actively and consistently driving it, following up, nurturing, and keeping the momentum alive. Without that focus, everything else becomes reactive.

After working with organisations of all sizes, I’ve noticed the same patterns again and again. Here are some of the other reasons your pipeline is non-existent.

1. Treating business development like a campaign, not a process

In B2B you don’t win by one clever sales pitch and then disappear. As I wrote in our blog “ How to Create More Opportunities for Your Business ”, business development is a process – clear strategy + consistent action + relentless follow-up. If you’re skipping any of those steps (strategy, consistency, follow up) you’ll get leakage in your pipeline.

2. Strategy and goals not clearly defined or aligned

Without a clear plan your business development becomes reactive. It becomes “let’s try some LinkedIn messages, cold emails, networking events”, but nothing coherent. In B2B you need a strategy that links marketing, sales and business development, defines your ideal client, your value, your approach.

3. Weak or inconsistent follow-up

I see this often: you have a promising meeting, someone says “we’ll be in touch”, and then nothing happens. No CRM update, no thank you, no next-steps. In “How to Create More Opportunities for Your Business” I emphasised the need to “lock it in … stay in touch … be clear and ask”. In B2B, deals move slowly. If you don’t show up at every stage you risk being forgotten.

4. Digital presence doesn’t reinforce the live interaction

You might meet someone face-to-face (or via Zoom), but then your LinkedIn posts, your website and your emails don’t reinforce the message or show what you do. That weakens your proposition. Again from the blog: “Between meetings, your digital presence keeps doing the work. … Consistency builds trust. Visibility drives decisions.” If your digital presence is inconsistent or missing, you end up undermining your live meetings.

6. Poor messaging or unclear value proposition

Too many companies in B2B talk about features, or “we do everything” rather than a clear differentiated value. If your audience doesn’t see “what’s in it for me”, you will struggle. Consistency isn’t just visuals, it’s about being clear about why someone should choose you.

So, what actually works?

✅ Define your strategy: who you’re targeting, why you’re right for them, and how you’ll reach them.

✅ Be consistent: across every channel, every message, every interaction.

✅ Build a process: outreach, follow-up, nurture, repeat.

✅ Own it: someone has to be responsible for driving BD every single week. Whether it's a few hours, a day etc. the amount of time depends on your size and revenue targets.

✅ Track and refine: set measurable goals and adjust based on what’s working.

If your business development feels like it’s sputtering rather than accelerating, these are usually the missing pieces.

Whether you’re a growing firm without a dedicated BD function or a sole operator trying to keep all the plates spinning, consistent, focused business development isn’t optional, it’s how you stay afloat.

And if you need help building that consistency and process, that’s exactly what SmartVisory does.