Having a business development leader integrated into your C-suite or leadership team is crucial. Every business exists because customers are willing to pay for their products or services. Therefore every business should be customer centric, as I discussed in a recent post. Surely it follows that having someone who is regularly communicating with the customer base at the leadership table is a no brainer. A professional business developer is the perfect individual to keep the rest of the leadership team in touch with your customers perspective.
You often hear of leaders sitting in their ivory towers, removed from both their staff and customers. If left unchecked this leads to poor decision making. Today I’m going to discuss three reasons why you should have a business development leader at the leadership table who is connected to both the market and your customers .
Business Development Leaders are a Direct Source of Customer & Market Information
Every business development leader and their teams are out in the market every day listening to existing and prospective customers alike. They are constantly soliciting feedback. Determining the needs of the market is a daily exercise. No one else is this well placed amongst the customers.
Changes in customer behaviour, market trends and feedback needs to reach the ears of the company decision makers. How much easier would life be if one of those decision makers was the business development leader herself.
Business Development Leaders Communicate to the Market
Feeding information from the market into the company is integral to the business developer role. Of course the reverse is true too. Managing information flowing out of the company usually falls to the business development team through their daily customer interactions. Unlike marketing who tend to send the message out there with very little in the way of meaningful feedback.
Having a business development leader at the top of the company means that any messaging, pivoting, new product or other changes is communicated with significantly less risk. They understand how to talk to the customer and deliver the messaging in a way that is relevant to them. Additionally they can seek real time feedback on how that messaging is being received and adjust accordingly.
Business Development Leaders are the Face of Your Company
While the business developers are not usually the figure head of most companies they are often its face for many customers. Who do customers call with enquiries, issues or advice? More often than not it’s the business developer. They aren’t calling Corporation X to sort out their problems. Rather they call Jen for her advice with their inline pipeline monitoring. It becomes much more specific and personal.
Doesn’t it follow that having a leader who understands these relationships is a real advantage. Why not have a face who can also make decisions, put customers at ease and talk their language. Isn’t that preferable to a leader who has lost touch with the customer base?
Action
As you can tell I strongly believe in the power of having business development leaders in companies. There are so many benefits, but it ultimately gives customers a voice at your decision making table. By having a business development leader at the top table your leadership team have a direct conduit to the customer base and market making decisions more relevant and more likely to succeed.
My question for you is; does your organisation have business development represented at the leadership table? If not, why not? Is there anything you can do to make sure that top level strategic decisions keep the customer in view.
Whether you agree with me or not please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
Your feedback is always appreciated.
If you are looking to get your business development processes squared away, download my free BD checklist below. This will give you the actions needed to create a system around your work winning, giving you repeatable action and results.
I’ve also written Business Development Begins Here a comprehensive manual that guides you through the process from assessment through to action. Order from Amazon by clicking the pic below.
If you want a more proactive and personal approach to your business development I am available to help. Through face to face video calls I’ll set you on the right path and keep you accountable to future activity. I currently have a space on my 1on1 personalized coaching program. To learn more click the button below.