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Why do some professional relationships continue and others quietly disappear?
Business development is one of the weirdest parts of being an accountant because nobody really teaches you how to do it. Being expected to do something you were never taught is becoming a theme, isn’t it?
At some point in your career, usually after you’ve become technically competent enough to stop freaking out every time a client emails a question, someone suddenly tells you to “focus more on relationships.”
So, now you’re going to conferences. You’re scheduling coffee chats. You’re introducing yourself to referral partners, attorneys, bankers, consultants, your hairdresser and her friends, fractional CFOs, and random people someone swears you “absolutely need to know.”
Most of those conversations feel… Fine.
You talk about what you do. They talk about what they do. You exchange stories about busy season, staffing problems, difficult clients and maybe complain about the IRS for a little while.
Then everyone says, “We should definitely stay in touch.”
And nobody does.
A lot of these conversations are pleasant without actually being productive. They feel socially successful while creating very little momentum underneath the surface.
Business Development Conversations Are Weird
Part of the problem is that business development conversations live in a weird middle ground. They’re not sales calls exactly, because nobody wants to feel pitched. But they’re also not casual conversations, because there is an underlying purpose, even if nobody says it out loud. You’re trying to figure out whether there’s alignment, overlap, trust, opportunity or some reason this relationship should continue beyond this interaction.
That requires a very specific kind of communication, and most professionals default to one of two extremes. Either they stay so surface-level that the conversation becomes forgettable, or they force the conversation into business too quickly and kill the natural connection before it has time to develop.
The strongest business development conversations sit somewhere in the middle. They feel relaxed, but there’s still direction underneath them. By the end of the conversation, both people have a clearer understanding of not just what the other person does, but how they think, who they work best with, what kinds of problems they solve and where there might actually be overlap.
What People Actually Remember
Most referrals happen because someone remembers a specific conversation where you explained something in a way that made your expertise feel tangible and relevant.
Successful business development conversations create trust, familiarity and enough clarity that when the right opportunity appears six months later, someone remembers you. They remember the way you framed a problem, the kinds of clients you work best with or the fact that talking to you felt useful instead of transactional.
What Navi Reveals About Your Networking Style
That kind of relationship-building is hard to measure on your own, which is part of why so many professionals struggle to improve at it intentionally. Most people leave these conversations with a vague feeling that they “went well,” but they don’t really know why or whether they created enough momentum for the relationship to continue.
This is where Navi becomes surprisingly useful. Even though business development conversations can feel very specific and situational, Navi is equipped to help you understand how you’re actually showing up in them. It can surface whether you stayed too surface-level, whether you talked too much about yourself, whether the conversation created enough clarity and engagement or whether there was any real direction by the end.
Because these conversations do have structure, even if they feel casual in the moment. The strongest ones create trust, establish relevance and leave both people with a reason to continue the relationship beyond a polite LinkedIn connection request.
Over time, that kind of feedback makes it easier to recognize the patterns that actually lead to stronger professional relationships, instead of just more conversations.
Find out more about XcelLabs' Navi by reading Jody Padar's previous post, "Master Client Conversations with AI as Your Copilot," or check out the demonstration online.
Jody Padar, CPA, also known as “The Radical CPA,” is the co-founder of XcelLabs, a training and technology platform that offers solutions to help accountants use AI to build fluency and strategic thinking. Visit XcelLabs for more information.
Backed by the PICPA, XcelLabs is helping CPAs leverage AI to expand advisory capabilities, strengthen firms, and keep the profession future-ready.
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Statements of fact and opinion are the author's responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the PICPA's officers or members. The information contained herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For actionable advice, you must engage or consult with a qualified professional.
