Business development requires the fostering and cultivation of relationships with buyers, supplies, and competitors. It is the combination of these relationships that makes business development so important, and there are a lot of ways professionals can make mistakes.
There are many mistakes that can be made in business development, the following being just 5 that are done somewhat behind the scenes. There are other mistakes, like those made in sales and marketing, that are done in the open and usually with clients. These 5 focus on what the company does internally:
- Missing out on opportunities to position the company as an authority through educational marketing, PR, and the improvement of company pedigree.
- Thinking that marketing is enough.
- Ignoring the importance of an effective USP (Unique Selling Position).
- Creating short term goals without thinking long term, and planning poorly.
- Poor time management.
- Missed Opportunities. Marketing is half of the equation of business development. (Sales and customer management being the second half.) This means that you must work hard to market yourself, utilize the free resources that PR provides, and position yourself as an expert by giving away information and being a resource for customers. Being an information resource instead of simply a source or a product or service will make customers feel more at ease when choosing your company as their provider. Help them make informed decisions.Educational marketing and positioning yourself as an expert is a crucial part to successful business development. Use these opportunities to share your expertise and to instill trust in you and your brand. Moreover, don’t ignore PR and the benefits it can have for your company.
- Marketing is Only Part of the Equation, Albeit an Important One. While simply being “out there” and findable by the general public is no longer enough, you have to help people find you. Though different from advertising, which is essentially an interruption of a buyer’s already in progress activity, marketing done in business development should entail some PR initiatives. Beyond that, however, is taking care of the customer.Business development requires that marketing, sales, and customer management takes place simultaneously, working together. While the things mentioned in #1 are important, remember that marketing is only one component of the overall business development effort; customer service and sales is the other piece of the puzzle, and not following up with prospects is one of the biggest mistakes done in this respect.
- Your Unique Selling Position. The USP (unique selling position) is a critical piece of the business development puzzle. For companies that use old or “one size fits all” positions, and for companies that don’t have one at all, success is a far fetched notion.The unique selling position is what differentiates you from your competition. When you market or advertise your services or products, you are essentially making a proposition to buyers. If you are saying the same thing the competition is saying, how will you be heard? You must offer the customers a proposition that the competition cannot or does not offer. IT must be unique, either in the sense that the brand is unique or that the claim you are making to your customers is not offered elsewhere.
- Goals & Planning. Planning is critical to future and present success. You should be planning for the present, the next week, month, and year. This can be applied to many aspects of business, including sales, marketing, capital raising, and PR. Short term goals are just as important as long term goals. The key to planning, however, is to have all the information you need to plan properly.Clients, buyers, customers, whomever your target audience/market is, all want to work with someone who is prepared.
- Time Management. Avoid the thinking that promotes procrastination. Thinking, “I’ll do it when I have time…” helps to set yourself up for failure. In following with the last mistake, plan and assign time to get things done. Having such a mindset helps to promote it even more, and thus we are entered into a vicious, endless cycle. Plan for things (again, planning is an important aspect of all business activities), and make time for your priorities. Don’t know what your priorities are? Take some time to define them so you can mold you days around your highest priorities.
Just remember that your outputs equal your inputs, so take the time to create an effect business development team and plan, and be sure to execute.
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