A correct strategy can simplify the complexity of business equations. Many business that do not have the internal man power and capabilities to identify, engage, and do the business deals necessary for growth can benefit from a consultant or consulting firm that has access to the business decision makers or the experience necessary to reach out to companies and develop the relationships required to put together a great business deal.
These firms tend to work with private sector companies but also with governmental institutions and nonprofits. Marketing is not ‘selling’, though sales is considered as a part of marketing. Yet, management consulting has long been a booming market with numerous players, both large and small, offering their advice to firms.
Identify – Before you can seriously plan for business development it is necessary to identify new business opportunities. With the help of the business development plan you can monitor the progress of all the current programs and evaluate the efficacy of your future endeavors.
It’s critical to recognize that a business development team member is going to need to spend time out of the office meeting with companies, going to business events and other functions that may be fruitful in finding and meeting the right business partners, however if you are paying for someone to be at an event then make sure the business cards that are collected get scanned and retained by the company.
What Are The Stages Of Business Development
The Business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them. From the birth of firms through incubators and seed accelerators, to boosting growth for small and medium firms by means of second stage business accelerators, to advising corporate giants through management consulting firms, business development constitute an important element any phase of the company life cycle.
One way or another, these institutions interact with companies on their growth journey and provide all kinds of resources to support them, including funding and physical work spaces (offices), professional support, advice and mentoring, tools and frameworks, strategy development and operations efficiency, and access to important networks in the business ecosystem.
A particular interest will be taken into how business development activities differ across company sizes and growth stages, from early-stage startups to fully-grown companies, and the various institutions that can support companies on their paths to growth.
Topics
Job titles continually evolve based on the changing needs of companies. The business accelerator’s emphasis is on accelerated and sustainable growth, and to eliminate organizational, operational, and strategic bottlenecks that prevent the client firm from growing. Lately, the internet and social media has created a huge number of marketing job opportunities.
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.
Consultants often will require an hourly rate or fixed salary as well as some kind of bonus structure for placing deals together which may be a single payout for each business deal that is signed or a revenue share that is paid out over a period of time based on the amount of business that is ultimately generated from the relationships.
The Taxonomy Of Business Development
Business development requires a multi-disciplinary approach and there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategy. With the development and constantly-expanding use of the Internet, many entrepreneurs are finding it easier to tap their potential market, and market their products and services to customers across the globe. There are both niche specialists targeting specific business needs and generalists taking a 360° view of the firm and its strategy and objectives.
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. Business Process Management (BPM) is an all-round management approach that aims at aligning all the business processes with its core vision and consumer demands.
Business Development Metrics
In the almost 30 years that I’ve worked as a CPA, I’ve had the opportunity to see businesses go on to achieve amazing results in the marketplace and for their community and for the owners. If the case exists where the top level business strategies have not been clearly defined and there are significant online marketing activities in terms of social media interaction, paid advertising and content creation and publication for search engine marketing purposes then the conclusion may be drawn that as a consequence there is no real foundation on which to base the digital marketing activities.
While a business development expert can always play the role as sales person the opposite is not always true. Examples of niches in which boutique consulting firms operate include human resources and staffing, IT, healthcare, business process outsourcing, and accounting.
With the help of the business development plan you can monitor the progress of all the current programs and evaluate the efficacy of your future endeavors.