Cooperation between marketing, sales development, and sales is essential for any business to reach success. Without high-level stakeholder representation, it can be difficult to align these three core functions, leading to unfocused sales and sales development, resulting in low-quality leads and unpredictable sales conversion. In our popular series on the traits and attributes of high-performing people in the commercial world, today we focus on the business development manager, who has become a fundamental role for many companies in recent years. To have a consistent sales portfolio that generates profits, it is essential to have a great business development team made up of successful business development managers.
Business development is about the long-term development of business relationships, rather than just making the next transactional sale. The person in this role is likely to be a great seller, as the terms are often interchangeable. However, great business development people understand sales and account management at a whole new level. They are always looking for ways to improve their skills, capabilities, and knowledge.
If you have two business development people with the same skills and experience, the one with the “yes I can” attitude will always win. Our minds are so powerful, and having a positive attitude is key to success. That's why successful business development managers read positive quotes, listen to optimistic podcasts, and work on their attitude. Hopefully, this article has given you plenty of ideas on what to explore when hiring your next business development star. A great business development person will take the time to understand the customer's individual needs and then adapt their offer to their circumstances.
This helps them develop exceptionally good negotiation and persuasion skills. This often surprises people, and yet these systems work and are critical to a successful sales and business development process. In short, the members of your business development team are vital to the growth of your organization. Strong relationships with customers, partners, and other industry stakeholders are key to successful business development. It is important to take the time to build and foster these relationships, and always be willing to help others whenever you can.
This could include offering valuable advice or resources or simply being a reliable partner or provider. Successful business development is often based on your ability to generate high-quality leads. Investing in lead generation software can help you do this effectively. An open mind, a willingness to honest and realistic self-evaluation, and the ability to accept failures are some of the skills necessary for successful business development. Business development is a process that helps your company establish and maintain relationships with potential customers, get to know the people of your buyers, increase brand awareness, and seek new opportunities to promote growth. Actions such as creating an effective website, investing in paid advertising, taking advantage of social profiles, participating in joint marketing partnerships with industry colleagues, and maintaining an active blog can go a long way towards supporting successful business development. Developing a marketing plan that includes a combination of traditional and digital tactics is essential for successful business development.
Allocating a budget for marketing initiatives is also important. Having a vision and building a good team are some of the factors that help predict success in business development. Business Development Representatives (BDRs) work to find new business opportunities through networking, competitor research, and conversations with current and potential customers. There may be similar business development objectives such as developing a new line of business or product; developing new sales channels; forming new partnerships in new or existing markets; or even merger and acquisition decisions (M&A). Although business development resides in the sales department, it involves looking for opportunities to help your company grow; identify new potential customers; and convert more leads into customers.
