Business development is one of the most important aspects of work in modern business that is receiving increasing attention from entrepreneurs (BizDev). Business development is an activity aimed at the growth and advancement of a business. Specifically, it involves creating and expanding relationships with other enterprises, strengthening mutually beneficial relationships, stimulating business growth, and increasing revenue. The primary focus of business development is the continuous search for growth opportunities for the company in three dimensions (clients, markets, and relationships). Business development encompasses marketing, project management, sales, networking, and other areas. It can be carried out by internal employees (and sometimes even an entire department) of a company and external specialists. Business developers are often compared to marketers and sales managers. However, business development specialist deals with more overarching matters, immersing themselves in various business processes of the company and tackling a broader range of strategic tasks.
Business development combines sales and marketing, and a business developer simultaneously functions as an analyst, project manager, salesperson, partner relationship manager, and team leader (responsible for team creation and development). Such a specialist is qualitatively changing business processes and promoting the company. Their task is to unlock the company's growth potential and create its long-term market value. Business development helps reduce costs and identify markets, directions, potential buyers, and sales channels worth focusing on to increase profits. As a result, companies utilizing BizDev become more economically resilient. Business development can focus on the growth of the current business, the development of new directions for the company, or international expansion.
Business development helps reduce risks by addressing two common management problems that hinder company growth. These are the lack of resources for informed decision-making regarding potential growth opportunities at the senior management level and the absence of a connection between preparing growth opportunities and their actual implementation.
Over the past five years, the salaries of business development managers have increased by 8%. The projected job growth for business development managers in the United States is expected to be 8% from 2018 to 2028.
Business Development Manager Jobs Over Time
Let's consider some key aspects of business development in the B2B sector and important features that a business developer, who has started working with a new company, should pay attention to.
1. Set goals and choose directions for your work. Pay attention to aspects that are important for the company in the long term, not just at the present moment. Identify growth points and development opportunities. Business developers often need help with setting conflicting and mutually exclusive goals. For instance, the sales department plans to increase sales in the next six months, and requests increased marketing expenses to achieve this goal, while the finance department promises shareholders cost reduction. To avoid such issues, a business developer should hold a sufficiently high position within the company and have carte blanche from the company's leadership. This way, they can participate in budget discussions and strategy development and influence the functioning of all key company divisions. Ideally, they would become a vice president.
2. Define your target audience. These are the customers that your business proposition is aimed at. You should understand the client's needs, the business processes in their company, and the decision-makers. It's important for a business developer to differentiate between client roles. For instance, a business developer will work with employees with different tasks within the same company. They are all part of the target audience, but the approach to each of them will vary. The finance specialist will be interested in discounts, the engineer - in equipment capabilities, the service manager - in an extensive free warranty, and the IT director - in the opportunity to develop a crucial case for the company and assist the business.
3. Market Research. Conducting thorough market research to understand industry trends and competition specifics is important. This information will help you effectively position your product or service. You can rely on surveys, interviews, focus groups, data from industry reports, research, or government statistics. I studied an interesting case of an American boutique hotel that aimed to improve its service level. Instead of turning to marketing companies or ordering expensive research, they conducted it themselves among their target audience. The company sent an online questionnaire to its future guests, asking questions about the services they wanted upon arrival, services they wished to decline, preferred housekeeping times, towel colors, and more. They spent only $100 on this survey, gained a tremendous boost in sales, and increased customer loyalty.
Based on my experience, I can advise business developers to explore various unconventional sources of information. This approach can help a specialist discover data inaccessible to competitors and utilize it in their work. For example, I recommend carefully studying the annual reports of public companies. Often, businesses share their operational plans in such documents. From one such report, I learned that a company was planning to build a new pipeline, which meant my firm could offer its services and provide the required equipment. It's also worthwhile to attend specialized exhibitions where companies reveal their plans. For instance, automobile manufacturers discuss new projects. A business developer should know where to find and pursue the latest information.
4. Value Proposition. Consider your unique value and how best to highlight it for the client. Analyze whether you possess competitive advantages such as a unique product or service, access to exclusive data or technologies, patented processes or methods, or strong relationships with key partners or suppliers. Then emphasize how your product or service addresses specific pain points for the client and provides advantages that set you apart from competitors. For such a presentation, a business developer should be deeply immersed in the company's product and understand the risks of similar products from other market players. The golden rule is never to lie when talking about your product. Otherwise, you can quickly, and sometimes permanently, lose a client. In my experience, there was a case where I told the client that our equipment had identical properties to a competitor, similar in price, quality, and features. However, our Chinese equipment was more likely to be available to him for many years, something I wouldn't assert about Western equipment. I was right - as it turned out, I had pinpointed the core value of our product and presented it correctly to the client. When sanctions were imposed, my contact called and ordered equipment from us.
5. Networking and Building Relationships. A good business development manager is distinguished by their communication skills and a tendency towards empathy - without these, networking is impossible. They must develop trust-based relationships with partners and contractors, create a comfortable corporate environment, and establish a strong business reputation. Also, allocate time and attention to participating in industry events, conferences, exhibitions, professional associations, and online communities to stay connected with the market, learn about major trends, keep a finger on the pulse, and stay informed about what concerns the business. And therefore, your clients.
A business development manager should be able to attract investors and find an approach to them. From my experience, LinkedIn is well-suited for this task. For one of my projects, I connect with fund owners and investors through it. I send them personal messages, ask for business advice, arrange video calls, and naturally introduce our company after some time. When I need to find out what's happening in a company I want to work with, I can find its managers on the same social network and arrange a workshop for my team.
6. Strategic Partnership. Exploring opportunities for forming strategic alliances with market peers and companies operating in related industries is important for more effective business development. These partnership relationships can help you expand your reach, enter new markets, and provide additional value to your clients. Collaborations work well for this purpose - joint projects involving two or more companies. Such cooperation implies a win-win format for all parties and enhances brand recognition. A well-known example is Nike, whose business was boosted by collaborating with then-NBA newcomer Michael Jordan. Together, they released the Nike Air Jordan sneakers, which became highly popular.
Sponsorship also effectively addresses business objectives. For instance, "Kaspersky Lab" as a sponsor of the Ferrari Formula 1 team, gained an opportunity for development in the Italian market. Because if Ferrari trusts "Kaspersky Lab," other Italians will trust it too. Often, small companies collaborate with major brands, offering their products for testing partly for reputation-building. The big player then promotes the joint work, mentioning it in conversations with partners. This way, the small player can reach new significant partners with a recommendation in their favor. Another common approach is a small company partnering with a subcontractor of a large company, aiming for the subcontractor to recommend them to their partner. "We've checked them out, they're a good company, keep them in mind," is the kind of feedback businesses typically hope for from joint projects.
7. Lead Generation. Developing effective strategies for identifying potential clients. To qualify potential clients, assessing their need for your product or service is necessary. For B2C companies, targeted marketing campaigns, content marketing, and digital channels work well for attracting potential clients. B2B collaboration, on the other hand, follows a different approach - the company often already knows its potential clients because B2B clients are usually less numerous than in classic B2C. For example, manufacturers of commercial vehicles are aware of all the logistics companies in the market, and suppliers of equipment for the oil and gas industry are well-informed about oil and gas extraction companies operating in the country. The more consolidated the industry is, and the less businesses require lead generation.
8. Sales and Negotiations. A business developer must possess the skills of a sales representative - developing negotiation skills is essential to secure favorable terms for potential deals. The positive outcome of a business developer's activity results in a deal or even a series of deals. Success depends on the manager's ability to work "longitudinally." In addition to networking, effective negotiations require psychological skills. And also, the ability to approach different individuals. A business developer must convince specific people within a company who hold different positions and play different roles that their product brings value to them. It's important to understand the cultural aspects of the country where the business operates and be well-versed in them. In some countries, it's customary to get straight to business during negotiations, while in others, you casually discuss the weather, and children's achievements and then move on to work-related matters. The same applies to feedback deadlines. In Russia, you can agree on a specific timeframe and remind your partner about it, while in other countries, it's better to avoid pushing your counterpart - they'll respond when ready. The experience of Chinese negotiations is interesting - they never directly say no or yes. They also have a unique approach to meetings. When subordinates express their opinions one by one, the leader remains silent and listens. But when the leader starts speaking, everyone falls silent. In this case, the business developer's task is to understand who the decision-maker is and communicate with them.
9. Customer Retention and Sales Enhancement. Developing customer retention strategies, such as loyalty programs and personalized communications, are aimed at fostering long-term partnerships and expanding sales opportunities. An important rule is always to pay attention to dissatisfied customers. As practice shows, one satisfied customer will bring in only two new ones, while one dissatisfied customer can drive away ten. In my work, I arrange with clients that all questions from the client company's employees can be directed to me. Ideally, a business developer becomes a single point of contact for the client, handling various aspects - if there are payment issues, the client's financial team contacts the business developer; if engineers have equipment-related questions, they also dial the business developer's phone on the contractor's side. This method of communication is convenient for the client, as they don't have to call different numbers within the company to resolve their issues.
In an ideal scenario, a business developer establishes personal communications with the client beyond work-related communications. I offer my partners to call me even for personal matters - to recommend a restaurant or a hotel in a city during their travels, or to provide advice on a specialist. This approach enhances trust between individuals and allows room for mistakes. If a client trusts the business developer with many aspects, they'll be confident that if their company makes a mistake, they will do everything to rectify it with minimal losses.
10. Data-Driven Decision Making. Analytics is a key function embedded within a business developer's role. Utilize data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, market trends, and sales performance. Apply this information to refine strategies, optimize approaches, and make informed business decisions. It's important to identify opportunities using analytics and thoroughly assess them: define the market vertical, reach out to the right people, and identify their needs. A business developer should be able to discern patterns and trends across a wide range of information, from reports and datasets to articles and industry research, to achieve success in business development.
Business owners often need to consider the market situation and the company's capabilities to set realistic employee goals. For instance, a shareholder may want a 20% sales growth, while the department head knows they can only achieve up to 5%. In such cases, the task of the business developer is to bridge these two worlds because they are well-versed in analytics and market conditions. They need to explain the true state of affairs to the owner and work with the department head to devise steps to increase sales by at least 10%. The next step is to present a plan to the owner outlining the necessary investments to achieve 15% growth next year.
11. Continuous Improvements. Regularly review and analyze your business development efforts to identify areas for enhancement. Adapt and refine your strategies based on feedback and market dynamics to maintain competitiveness. Continuously optimize your operations. Proper resource allocation, seeking new sales opportunities, and enhancing business process efficiency are crucial for company growth. Work optimization is a pivotal stage in business development. A prime example of continuous improvements is Apple. The company consistently updates its products, devises solutions that streamline interaction with other Apple devices. For customers, this is a significant factor - a company that consistently evolves signifies ongoing development.
In conclusion, business development is a crucial aspect of growth and success for any company. Business development focuses on growth opportunities, making it important for large, medium, and even small businesses in any industry. It's a powerful tool for business growth, yet only some understand this. As a result, business development needs to be more recognized. Meanwhile, a business developer is an employee who helps a company expand. They serve as a valuable resource for companies aiming to maximize long-term profits.
A business developer must stay informed about new market trends and emerging business opportunities to assist the company in increasing sales, particularly in new markets or product/service directions. By addressing the key aspects of business development outlined in this article, businesses can establish long-term customer relationships, effectively negotiate deals, conduct thorough research, develop competitive market offerings, and cultivate valuable industry partnerships with the help of a business developer.
In the future, businesses should pay more attention to working with business developers, as they enable companies to discover new horizons, identify growth points, refine their value proposition, enhance reputation, and increase profitability.
