Business Development Plan

Your strategic plan is an excellent place to start your organising your business development effort. As the first of the three plans it sets the direction and purpose for all your business development activity. Consequently it informs the whole of the aim phase of the triple A framework. Ideally it should stem from the overarching strategy for the entire business. The plan highlights the overall direction of the business and priorities to be pursued.

If you are sitting within a large multinational company, generally the strategy will be guided by the global leadership. In contrast, working for a small business will see the strategy written by the owners. If no strategy is in place, talk to the owner about developing one.

Below I discuss the six core components that every business developer needs to have in their strategic plan.

Step 1: Purpose

This is perhaps the most important step of the six. What is the company there to do, and why is it doing what it does? Really this acts as a compass guiding future direction and activity in line with the company purpose. Having a succinct and powerful purpose is extremely useful for the business developer. Integrating it into client conversations and marketing, lets customers engage with the larger intent behind your organisation.

For example, working for a company that provides environmental monitoring equipment, I defined the purpose as:

“supporting environmental monitoring excellence, enabling positive action in protecting our natural environment.”

Bringing this up in conversation really resonated with existing and prospective customers mirroring shared values, allowing trust to form.

If you are having trouble articulating or defining the purpose of your organization, I suggest reading Start With Why by Simon Sinek. This inspirational book provides the tools to really dig deep into the purpose of your company.

Step 2:: Vision

In addition to purpose you need to understand the long-term vision of the company? What will it look like in five to ten years’ time. Importantly, how will this shape the future customer base? Clarity of vision aligns the business development activity with the long-term goals of the company.

For example, an engineering consultancy articulates their long-term objective as obtaining a large mining project portfolio to diversify their transport infrastructure project base. Accordingly this enables their business development team to focus some of their energy on longer-term customer and strategic project opportunities in the mining sector.

Step 3: Mission

The mission is really the nuts and bolts of what the company does and how it does it. For example, a technical company might have a mission to provide the highest quality flow data for their customers. Achieved through technical superiority, instrumentation design, and manufacture. Defining this mission aligns the company’s sales and marketing messages, showing that you walk the talk in what you do.

Step 4: Financial Goals

Revenue and profitability is what keeps an organization healthy. The strategic plan must define the immediate and long-term financial goals of the company. How does your business development effort support these? This information supports prioritizing customers and making decisions around opportunity pursuit.

It must make clear the acceptable pricing strategy. Of course this will differ between various geographies and industries. These financial goals must align with the wider company purpose and vision.

Step 5: Growth Areas

Every business developer must know where are the intermediate and long-term growth areas are expected to be. This information makes sure that your effort aligns with the growth expectation of the company. How is growth going to be achieved? Consider the Ansoff Matrix here. New products, services, or customers?

For example, company BuildingPro is looking to grow in the residential housing market. Their BD team would need to align with the internal engineering specialists and start exploring residential housing opportunities. This doesn’t mean that other opportunities wont be explored. However, priority must be placed, and time allocated to, pursuing the prioritized areas of growth.

Step 6: Key Customers

Who do the leadership team consider to be the key customers of the company? Remember this is a strategic take on the customers within the context of the 3-5 year goals. This information is gold, as key customers are usually the highest yielding customers with the strongest existing connection. Robust relationships and trust in your offering are assets that already exist here. Leveraging this will really help fill your sales funnel.

To give you an idea of how this might look, consider this example. The new business developer at BuildingPro understands that the local company Open Homes is considered a key customer. Discovering an existing relationship with the main account manager for Open Homes provides the business developer introductions to some of the main decision makers in Open Homes. This in turn assists the business developer to build relationships of their own. A great start!

Highlighting strategic prospective customers here is vital, tying in with the previously identified growth areas and the priority pursuits.

Presenting the Strategic Plan

Once the main components of the strategic plan are identified, write them down for future reference. I always keep a copy of the strategic plan on the wall above my desk for reference. This lets me do a quick check-in, keeping business development activities on point in the context of the company direction and purpose.

If you are not sure of the best way to present this information, a quick google search will yield plenty of results. An example of a simple plan, which I have used on numerous occasions, is presented below. This should be able to fit on one page.

However, I recognize that every business is different, so feel free change the information as your needs dictate. For maximum impact, keep the plan simple and short and ideally to one page. Above all, a quick scan with the eyes is enough to gain an understanding of the central intent.

Strategic Plan Action

Do you have a Strategic Plan in place? If so, do you understand it? If not, I suggest you start pulling one together using the framework above.

What do you consider to be the core components of a strategic plan from the business development perspective? Let me know in the comments below or reach out via LinkedIn.

If you would like to kick start your business development download our business development checklist below. Detailing a clear business development path, this checklist helps grow your revenue. Download now and get it working for you.

My new book: Business Development Begins Here has just gone on Pre-Order on Amazon. Visit the link to reserve your copy.

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 13-week 1on1 personalized coaching program. To learn more click the button below.