Entering a role where you must quickly improve your business development needs a particular approach. If the time you would usually spend assessing your market and planning your approach isn’t available don’t despair. You can still quickly improve your business development and implement a long term system at the same time. First, try negotiating some time with the leadership to allow for a proper assessment of the situation. If this is not possible, here are a few suggested actions to help you hit the ground running.
Improve your business development
Undertaking the following five activities as a priority, while working through the triple A framework in parallel let’s you make ground fast. Implementing an adaptive feedback loop is crucial here. Information gleaned from customer discussions must be fed back into the assessing and planning loop. Future actions can then be adapted accordingly.
Think of it as a repeatable cycle. Talk to customers-learn-feedback-adjust. Repeat.
1. Develop the profile of your ideal customer
Before you do anything create a profile for your ideal customer. What are the attributes that are most important to you. Asking a series of questions like the following will help create your profile:
- Which industry does the company operate within?
- What size staff and annual turnover do they have?
- What work do they focus on?
- Are there specific products or services they need to be successful?
- What sort of people work there?
- Where are they located?
- How much will they spend on your product or service?
- Who are the decision makers around implementing your products or services?
- Who controls their budgets?
Generating this profile gives you a good indication of which customers to pursue first. Taking the opportunity to adjust this following customer and stakeholder discussions is a good way to keep the profile on point.
If you are not sure where to start: “Mine the Gold you Have” and begin by profiling your current number one customer.
2. Create a Customer Matrix
Following the creation of your ideal customer profile sketch out a rough customer matrix. Include your top current customers and a handful of priority targets, all with a burning need for your company offering. Rate each customer against the attributes of the ideal customer profile to generate a matrix. Viewing the matrix gives clear priorities for contact and pursuit.
For more information on the creation of a customer matrix visit my post on the subject here.
3. Implement a preliminary tactical action plan
Now you have a clear understanding of your initial priorities it’s time to convert to immediate action. Identify key personnel within each priority customer, and feed them into a simple tactical action plan. Assigning each entry a due date, action and contact person to start with.
Then start making contact, email, phone, meet up. Get out into the market.
4. Meet existing customers to ask for feedback on past performance
Using the actions from your preliminary tactical action plan is a great way to quickly improve your business development. However, your number one priority is to meet your top existing customers. Email them straight away asking if you can meet and get some feedback. Getting honest feedback on why they buy from you, what works, and what doesn’t should be an immediate priority. Of course, make sure to loop this information back into the assess phase of the triple A framework and to the relevant internal stakeholders within your business.
5. Implement the systematic sales path
Start as you mean to continue and align your activity to the “Systematic Sales Path”. Discipline around this now will make things much easier as you become busier. It allows each lead and opportunity to have the best chance of success and prevents any being missed. In addition be disciplined in keeping the tactical action plan updated and live.
Constantly Adapt to Win
Finally accept the fact that you are going to have to continually adapt and refine your tactical action plan, at least in the beginning. As you work through the triple A framework (in parallel with your immediate actions), keep your findings and output from both the framework and your meetings feeding into your assessment, planning and future action.
While the above actions let you hit the ground running, make sure to spend time on the assessing your company and sales ecosystem and aiming your future effort in line with the triple A framework stages to keep up with long-term direction and focus. Combining the short term immediate actions with the longer term work will really set you up for future success.
If you do find yourself dropped into a position where immediate business development success is crucial consider using the above to really start making impact.
Business Development Success
Are looking to begin your Business Development journey but are not quite sure where to start? Download my guide to scaling your revenues in 10 days. This gives you 10 days of achievable action to set you on the right path.
For a definition of business development you can check out my take in this post here.
For a simple yet comprehensive framework to base your business development activity around I recommend checking out my new book Business Development Begins Here. It is available to order on Amazon. Visit the link to reserve your copy now.
N
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 space on my 1on1 personalized coaching and advisory program. To learn more click the button below.