Transactional vs. Relationship Business Development | with Erica Lappo

Join Neil Barrow as he sits down with Erica Lappo, Director of Business Development at Barnes & Thornburg. In this episode, Erica breaks down the massive mindset shift required to move from high-volume, transactional selling (like payroll) to relationship-driven business development in professional services.They discuss why "asking for the signature" too early kills consulting deals, how to maintain a "high motor" without being pushy, and the specific strategies Erica used to land a $1M referral win. Erica also shares her playbook for transitioning into a "pure origination" role, building a 5-year business plan, and protecting her delivery team by firing bad clients.Outline:00:00 Intro: Erica Lappo’s background01:30 The Paychex grind: 75 calls/week04:11 Transactional mindset vs. relationship mindset06:45 Moving up-market to the C-Suite10:29 The shift: Collaboration over quotas14:48 Mistake: Asking for signatures too early19:37 Anatomy of a $1M referral win23:04 Protecting the team from bad clients26:00 Defining the "Pure Origination" role30:19 The 15-20 meetings/week routine33:12 Asking "Who should I know?"38:53 Creating niche networking groups from scratchAbout the Guest:Erica Lappo is the Director of Business Development at Barnes & Thornburg, leading origination efforts for the firm’s Dallas office. With a background spanning high-volume sales at Paychex to strategic consulting BD at Bridgepoint, she specializes in building deep referral networks with private equity firms, investment banks, and COIs.