I would like to become a Business Development Executive or a manager of Business Development or even VP, Business Development, these impressive job titles are often heard while working in a business organization. But do you what actually business development is all about? Sales, strategic initiatives, business partnerships, market development, business expansion, and marketing- everything is a part of Business development but are often mixed up and mistakenly taken as the sole function.

The following post emphasizes on the nitty-gritty of business development, what it actually encompasses of, and how to become a right fit. So are you ready to learn the basics right?

What does the term business development mean? If I put it in simple words, BD is all about the ideas, initiatives, and activities aimed towards making businesses better. This incorporates increasing revenues, growth in terms of business expansion, increasing profitability by building strategic partnerships, and making strategic business decisions.

In order to be successful at business development, one needs to keep in mind that this role is a mix of sales, marketing, negotiations, networking, project management and contact review. In fact, do you which is the best part of working as a BD, it is that you’re not only provided the opportunity to work with various business units throughout the company but even allowed to influence the growth and direction of your business. (This can be easily done on the basis of current business and market trends). 

How to become a right fit for Business development?

A business developer can be the owner himself or a designated employee. Anyone who is capable enough to make or suggest a strategic business change for a value-add to the business can contribute towards business development. Businesses often encourage employees to come up with innovative ideas, which can help in improving the potential of the overall business. Now since this field involves high-level decision making, the business developer should know about the following:

• The current state of the business in terms of the SWOT analysis– Strength, Weaknesses, opportunities, threats
• Overall industry and growth projections
• Competitor developments
• Primary sources of sales/revenues of current business and dependencies
• Customer profiles
• New and unexplored market opportunities
• The long-term view, especially with regards to the initiatives being proposed (this even includes possible options of cost- savings)

Fundamentals of creating an outstanding business development team

• Personal Communication Isn’t Dead– Although nowadays, it seems a little crazy to just pick up the phone and dial someone’s number because it is so easy to text, email, or direct message via our never-ending social media accounts. Well don’t get me wrong but when you call that person and talk directly, you are able to build a relationship that impersonal contact methods cannot provide.

BD’s must know that first call is never meant to be a sales call, it has to be something that builds a relationship. Afterall, People buy from people that they trust.

• Take adequate follow-ups– Very obvious step, isn’t it! Making a connection and following up afterward can create several wonders for you. Besides, you would be surprised at how many leads become forgotten after making an initial connection. Sales follow-ups are an absolute MUST if your goal is to convert leads into customers.

So what can be done is make the follow-up personalized and be sure to recap their main pain point or points that they shared with you. This proves that you actually listened to what they had to say. Also, be sure to include the date and time of when you will talk next. And now it’s time to wait! Don’t stress. Big decisions take time.

• Prospecting hard- Many times BD’s have a bit of a traditional streak in them. They still believe in the fact that prospecting does provide some value. But there is an art to it, though. In order to modernize, combining the traditional with the modern way, the business development team must be aware of the company’s buyer persona. Some in-depth research and tailoring a more personalized approach may work wonders for you.

In a nutshell

It’s not all about you. We get it, your business is AWESOME! You can do it all; in fact, you have pigs in the backyard behind the building that actually do fly!