Business development requires a multi-disciplinary approach and there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategy. Managing a business development team member is similar to a sales team member in many respects. Hiring a business development person is different than finding a sales person for your team. Overall, boutique consulting firms focus on a limited scope of industries, and resolve business issues quicker than large management consulting firms that require more time for a specific project.
In many cases this role is a liaison between sales, marketing, procurement, and management. It might be hard to decide if and when to use various business development services. For example, life science and other firms with R&D cycles require more time in an incubation program service companies.
An effective business development approach is to encompass several major steps in the evaluating process including: your identification of the opportunity; what are your committed resources; the actual development of your business proposal; market evaluation; competition; and your time restraints.
Fast growth can cripple a small business if there isn’t enough cash flow to fulfill on the sales. Marketing involves all activities such as planning and strategy, marketing research, pricing, advertising, branding, communication, customer service and other important functions, that finally make selling possible.
Business Analyst
So many professional service firms we meet bemoan the track record of most of their folk in developing new work and new clients in attractive niches. Business development involves all tasks and processes concerning both the analytical preparation, monitoring and support of growth opportunities. You will be left with a balance – i.e. “20{8810006a5594dd854d135cf851cc6fa2a1c4b10b045aa3f4728e7fef270785ae} of my business next year will come from new opportunities” – therefore you can then begin to allocate your selling time accordingly.
Lastly, the value of business development services is discussed from the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A company spends varying amounts of time in an incubation program depending the type of business and the entrepreneur’s level of business expertise.
Ironically, it’s the most expensive option, with ‘front of the line’ service and unlimited consulting with partners in the firm that sells the most. Moreover, the job of a business developer is highly cross functional, as it requires collaboration with various internal and partner-company teams such as sales, engineering, and marketing to ensure that a deal is consummated.
Marketing Jobs
Starting a new business is far more than simply hanging a sign out and waiting for customers to pour through the door and I’m sure anyone willing to invest in a new venture is well aware of this fact. There are resilient businesses that do survive this phase and go on to succeed on a new lease of life. The case for increased focus on the integration of digital marketing with core business development planning must be highlighted. Market research is an important part of business planning.
Many separate workgroups or business units support the BD process, from corporate management to the operations staff to production personnel and administrative staff inside the company, to third party Subject Matter Experts (SME) or professional proposal preparation personnel like those provided by third party consulting firms.
While a consultants hourly rate may be higher than you’re comfortable with a deal can be put together much faster by a professional than someone trying for the first time to structure a business partnership. If you’re the typical small business starting, growing or even just surviving in a tough economic market with little or no credit, you also need business development strategies that don’t eat up your cash flow.
Market Research
Every business has its life cycle that it undergoes during the course of its entire existence. One important aspect of the BD process is that it is most effective as a closed-loop system, in which the Operations Phase information feeds into the Positioning Phase for an ever-changing system that quickly reacts to changing conditions in the marketplace.
In essence, a second stage accelerator bears a strong resemblance to traditional management consulting firms, but adjusted to fulfill the needs of SME’s. A consultant brings fresh perspective, yes, but they also bring to you a proven track record of helping businesses like yours.
How To Create An Effective Business Development Strategy
What is business development? A successful business development process is being able to get a clear and concise evaluation of the inherent strengths and weaknesses, goals and issues that face the development of your new venture. A common problem facing many firms, regardless of where they are in the company lifecycle, is that they get stuck in the trenches of daily operations, at the cost of conducting business development activities.
During this phase, the business require infusion of additional capital to buy capital equipment to increase production (for manufacturing businesses), to establish additional service network (for service providers) or procure more goods for trade (for trading businesses).
This is an extract from my FREE eBook – “How to Construct an Effective Business Development Strategy” which is available for download – please see details below.