What does it mean to be a Business Developer?

 

What does it mean to be a Business Developer?

When people ask me what I do for a living during networking events, I would always say I am a “Business Developer”, and I can always notice the different confused expressions on their faces and the usual “Oh yes!” nods, trying not be embarrassed that they don’t know what it means, only those whom are courageous enough to ask what exactly it means to work as a business developer?! 

You can ask a lot of people within the business development field what it means to be a business developer and you will always hear different answers, some will say it is sales, others will say it’s about developing new channels of revenue to companies, some will elaborate on how it’s about building partnerships with clients by creating win-win situations, however up to this date there is not one exact definition of what business development means that can actually describe the amount of work that is being done or the variety of the tasks it involves.

The closest definition that can be given to Business Development was offered by Scott Pollack, a blogger who contributed his articles to Forbes Magazine in 2012, Pollack sought to define the different variations of business development in one comprehensive framework, and finally his definition was:

“Business development is the creation of long-term value for an organization from customers, markets, and relationships”. (Pollack, 2012)

In a lot of ways his definition does describe business development in a simple way; a Business developers would always seek to build long term relationships, partnerships that has great value on all parties involved, by creating a win-win situations, when Pollack says value here he does not only mean money, of course money is what the ultimate goal is for any company and any business developer, however, a business developer’s main concern is that this value is consistent, and has a  long- term sustainable benefit on the business.

Yes; sales is part of a business developer’s job, however, one difference between a normal salesman and business developer is that business developer’s do not care about creating hit and run transactions, or win-lose situations, a good business developer would always keep the best interest of all parties involved by constantly creating win-win situations in order to sustain long-term gains.

A business developer views the business deal transaction as an Exchange rather than a sale, by identifying the customer different needs and offering solutions that satisfy this need, any good business developer is a natural problem solver, any great business developer on the other hand is able to persuade the customer that this is the right solution and that it justifies why the customer would pay this amount of money to get in exchange.

In order to excel in being a business developer you need to have a high caliber of people skills and confidence as you will need to develop different presentations for different stakeholders and audiences, customize these presentation according to the target audience and perform these presentations in order to prove your showcase, a great business developer is also a great trainer who adds value to his customer by educating and raising awareness about  the different solutions offered, another method which will allow him to build strong relationships with large audiences through seminars, lectures and training.

All efforts put by a successful business developer relies on a strong network of “relationships”.  A long term process which requires building, managing and leveraging a strong relationship based on trust, respect and mutual understanding that enables value to all the different parties involved.

Unlike what is being thought, Business development does not only focus on physical interactions, it also involves developing new channels to reach new markets and new customers, so a good business develop must also be an excellent Communicator.

The reason behind choosing the word “Communicator” rather than “Marketer” here is that the term is broader, a Communicator can identify and develop the right communication tools needed to reach his target audience, whether it was through On-line Digital platforms or traditional marketing activities, business developers must be able to develop the right message and image in order to be perceived positively by his audience, a good business developer keeps up to date with new technologies and tools he can use to make his job easier, such as the use of email tracking tools which can help reach customers in the right time, it allows to “intercept” rather than “interrupt” a customer during the painful follow up process , a common mistake normal salesmen use is that they constantly follow up with the customer until it reaches the point of “hustling”, business developers will never make such a common mistake, they are way too smart than doing that.

Find out how Business Developers can use the 4E's of Marketing in setting up a Marketing Strategy.

A good business developer must also be organized and good in business planning and strategic management, achieving long-term goals would require careful planning in order to not lose sight or deviate from your original objectives, these plans also serves as a monitoring and evaluation tool in order to assess the success of the used tactics, it also offers the opportunity to reflect on what works and what not, what was achieved so far and how to improve more in the future.

So, is business development actually sales?  Marketing?  Training? Planning and strategies? Or is it all about communication? To be honest it is all of the above but it can be also be said what business development is definitely not? It is not interrupting nor “hustling”, it is not about short term gains, or hit & run sales, it is a fascinating concept that deserves more research, learning and clarification in order to master your career and be successful.

Do you like this article, check this article out about the Qualities all business developers should have 'Top Qualities you should look for when hiring a Business Developer'

References:

Pollard, S. (2012) 'What, Exactly, Is Business Development?' Forbes Website [Online] available at: <http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottpollack/2012/03/21/what-exactly-is-business-development/2/> Accessed on 3rd dec. 2014