Business development is one of the most critical focus areas for any ambitious business.
If you want your business to grow, that means having a razor-sharp focus on new opportunities and strategies. That could mean exploring new markets or nurturing new partnerships. It might mean diversifying to create new revenue streams or developing new ideas to boost your profitability. But, ultimately, good business development comes down to having good ideas that broaden your reach, sales, revenues and external relationships.
As the founder or CEO, it’s important to put business development at the top of your to-do list.
Business opportunities don’t just appear out of thin air (sadly). To create a business partnership or attract a big new client, you’ll have to do some serious work. So, it’s a good idea to set aside time for business development (BD) in your diary.
By blocking out time to devote to BD, you can step away from the everyday operational tasks and get into a more creative and objective mindset. Where do you want the business to be in six months? What do you need to do to achieve this goal? Are there relationships you could build to bring this plan to life? Asking these questions and getting a more concrete idea of the answers will form the basis for your BD plan—and that’s the route map you can then follow.
Once you have some positive BD ideas to work with, it’s important to organize your goals and strategy into a plan. As with any growth initiative, your BD activity needs to be well planned so you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.
Give each new strategic idea a clear timeline and assign jobs, activities, and roles to the relevant team members. Cost out each project and assign a budget so you can be sure that you’re getting the best return on your investment (both financially and from a time perspective).
Most importantly, though, track your progress against your BD goals. Agree on a target, set a date and measure your progress and performance against that timeline.
Relationships lie at the heart of your BD activity. You might be getting to know the executive team at a possible new partner’s company. Or you may be reaching out to a new customer audience with a brand-new product. Understanding what makes these people tick is so important to warm them up as potential partners, customers or suppliers.
Trust is the real key here. People are more likely to engage with your business when they trust you as people and as a brand. So, spending time nurturing relationships and networking with other businesspeople and targets is time well spent.
With your goals, targets, and timelines locked in, you’re ready to start implementing this BD plan. But to know if you’re making headway, it’s a good idea to track your performance.
If you’re using project management software or a client relationship management (CRM) app, it’s easy to add notes, record progress, and tick off the key actions in the project. You can also use the financial reporting tools in your accounting software to track cash flow for the project and increases in revenue, monitor your sales and marketing expenses, etc.
No business stands still. Your aims and goals as the owner will change. Your market will evolve and new competitors will appear. Economic conditions and business opportunities will change. To keep your business at the cutting edge, keeping your BD focus alive and well is vital.
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If you want to expand your business development activity, contact us. We’ll help you highlight the opportunities and develop the best plan for your BD activities.