Business Development
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      3. Business Development

      Using Firefish for Business Development

      Win more business with streamlined recruitment tools designed for growth.

      Contents

       

      Getting Started with Business Development

      Firefish is packed with features to help you identify, track and win new business. Whether you're prospecting new clients, nurturing leads or sending spec CVs, the system gives you all the tools to manage your pipeline effectively -with automation built in.

       

      Optimising Contact Records

      Populate Contact records with detailed information including job title, location, and communication preferences. This builds strong foundations for personalised outreach.

      Use Primary and Secondary Statuses and Tags to label contacts based on hiring activity or engagement stage.

      📌 Tip: Superusers can customise status lists in Settings > Dropdowns.

       

      Under the Hiring Preferences tab, you can assign disciplines, specialisations and locations -enabling you to match relevant candidates and unlock smart targeting opportunities.

       

      Searching for Business Development Opportunities

      Use the Advanced Contact Search to find prospects that align with your BD strategy.

      Example: Search for hiring managers in Edinburgh looking for marketing talent with a Hot status. Combine preferences, tags and statuses to build powerful saved lists.

      Once your list is ready, you can bulk:

      • Send Spec CVs
      • Trigger an outreach email or SMS
      • Log a business development call

       

      Tracking Business Development Activities

      Every BD interaction can be logged directly within Firefish:

      • Email
      • Call (with VoIP integration)
      • SMS
      • Meetings
      • Notes

      All actions are tracked against the Contact, keeping your pipeline fully transparent. Add a Follow-Up Date to set reminders and stay on top of outreach.

      Your Contact Activity Dashboard Widget will keep you aligned with next steps and overdue tasks.

       

      Managing and Converting Leads

      Use the Leads functionality to record outbound activity, track engagement, and prioritise opportunities by stage.

      Firefish gives you:

      • Clear lead types and stages
      • A full history of activity on each lead
      • Pipeline visibility on your dashboard

      Learn more about lead tracking: 🔗Business Development & Leads Guide

       

      Email Engagement Insights

      Track outbound email performance with Email Tracking built right into Firefish.

      You’ll be able to see:

      • Who opened your email
      • Who clicked a link
      • Which leads are most engaged

      Use this insight to prioritise warm leads and focus your follow-ups on the contacts most likely to convert.

      👉 Read the Email Tracking Guide

       

      Sending Spec CVs

      Speculative CVs are a key strategy for outbound BD.

      From the Potential Matches tab or a saved Contact search:

      • Select the candidates
      • Choose your contact(s)
      • Fire off multiple anonymised, branded CVs in one go

      It’s fast, targeted, and gives you great visibility of candidate-to-client match quality.

      📘 Send CVs on Spec – Step-by-Step Guide

       

      Reporting on BD Performance

      Track the success of your business development motion with Lead Reporting.

      Reports allow you to view:

      • Total leads created
      • Conversion by stage
      • Engagement history
      • ROI from Spec CV sends and email campaigns

      Reports can be accessed via the Analytics dashboard, giving you data to optimise your BD approach.

      🔗Read more about reports dashboard here

      Final Thought

      Firefish brings together all your business development tools into one connected system:

      • Prioritise leads 🔥
      • Automate CV outreach 🤖
      • Track email engagement 📩
      • Report on what’s working 📊

      Everything you need to win more business - all in one place.