Business development is often seen as being synonymous with increased sales, however in my opinion this is doing it a disservice. True enough, business development is, at its core, about the sale of products or services, but this should be coupled with the long-term goal of developing and growing the business. Business development is more than just closing the deal. It requires strategic thinking and decision making behind: who to approach, how to approach, and the identification of new opportunities that align with the long-term success of the company.
In my opinion, the real difference is that sales can be considered short-term transaction based, while Business development is focused more on the long-term strategic outcomes of the business.
The core components of any business development role should be:
- Sales and Pursuit. An aggressive pursuit of sales opportunities that align with the company’s vision and intent.
- Customer Relationships. The development of robust, trust-based relationships with customers, allowing for honest two-way communication.
- Commercial Integrity. A strong commercial acumen with the ability to sell offerings at a profit margin that aligns with the company goals.
- Productive Paranoia. An avid following of quoting (leading indicator) and revenue (lagging indicator) numbers.
- Market Intelligence. A deep understanding of the market, the key players, and consequences of any changes therein.
- Offering Intelligence. A deep understanding of the problem that your company offering solves.
- Adaptive Feedback Loop. A conduit for information between the market and the company, to ensure that customer and market feedback is heard and acted upon.
- Customer Service. A polite and professional approach in all dealings. You are the face of your organisation.
This is my view of the definition, what do you think? Get in touch or leave a comment, I’m keen to hear your thoughts.