--- layout: default_v3 language: default permalink: business-development.html i18n_link: 2644 updated: 2023-01-02 #--- article key-values ---# collection: default_topiccluster t_keyword: Business Development tags: business development, business development vs sales, sales and business development, managing sales, managing business development type: pillar page_id: 2644 hreflang_id: 2644 child_id: [2660,2681,2676,2696,2694,2692,2689,2686,2684] date_published: 2021-02-12 date_modified: 2023-01-02 #--- javascript schema ---# javascript_schema: - script: jquery_3_2_0_min - script: bootstrap_min - script: article_infinite_scroll - script: article_mix_infinitescroll - script: article_mix - script: article_mix_faq - script: article_mix_toc #--- section schema ---# section_schema: - section: nav-main_menu - section: article_body_v2 - section: footer - section: footer-sticky_cta_bar - section: schedule_demo_cta #--- page key-values ---# meta_tags: t_meta_title: Breaking Down Business Development t_meta_description: Business development is a crucial component of business success and profitability. t_meta_abstract: Business development is a crucial component of business success and profitability. i_meta_image: article_body: json-ld_article: v_date_published: 2021-02-12 v_date_modified: 2023-01-02 author: p_author_id: 111 t_author: Mary Kate Morrow p_author_url: mary-kate-morrow.html i_author: 111.jpeg t_author_description: Current Marketing Content Coordinator who has also been an Editor, Writer, Legal, and Social Media professional. Proudly holds two Bachelor's degrees in English Language and Literature as well as Gender Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. p_author_facebook: //www.facebook.com/HubWorksApp p_author_twitter: https://twitter.com/HubworksApp p_author_linkedin: p_author_instagram: feature_snippet: p_type: text t_title: t_description: content: heading: t_title: Breaking Down Business Development t_description: Business development is a crucial component of business success and profitability. image: i_image: breaking-down-business-development-1609211022-2025.png t_image_description: Business development v_image_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/office-startup-business-home-office-594132/ v_image_license: Creative Commons Zero v_video: paragraphs: - t_headline: What is Business Development? t_text: Business development professionals commonly hold different definitions of business development that are often influenced by their specific role and experiences. One widely agreed upon definition of business development is the process of utilizing relationships, markets, and customers for long term organizational value formation.

Breaking down the definition of business development and analyzing the factors contained within it is a great way to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the entire business development process. By doing this, professionals can also secure better comprehension regarding the role that business development plays in ensuring both business success and profitability.

The long term value produced from a business development strategy is compromised of virtually anything that is beneficial to a company. For example, while financial profit may be an obvious long term value category, brand reputation is also a long term value that necessitates consideration.

Understanding the differences between markets, relationships, and customers can help professionals to succeed in their respective business development plans and strategies. Customers include anyone that purchases a product or service from a company and a business's customer base is essential for both profitability and success.

A business's specific market can be defined in many ways, depending on factors ranging from geographic location to consumer buying power. Identifying and expanding business ventures into new markets and therefore to new customers is one way that companies use business development to succeed.

Relationships span from the associations a business has with its customer base to its own employees. Regardless of relationship type, trust and respect are absolutely essential for successful business development.

Business development strategy types range from cold calling to content marketing and are widely dependent on industry type and specific objectives. Likewise, a business's development team and development plan will vary based on its particular needs and wants.

Overall, the activities and strategies of business development aim to grow business ventures and produce long term value. p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: video: v_video: ywMM2lceNyA v_video_language: default t_name: What Is Business Development t_description: Learn exactly what business development is, how it works, and if you should be interested in it.Sign up for our free sales training on how to sell anything to anyone here- //patrickdang.com/sales-legacy-go-training SUBSCRIBE to Patrick Dang NOW- //www.youtube.com/channel/UCLOzkJ9W9fntCGyYfUwMPew?sub_confirmation=1Suggested Playlist - Most Popular Sales Strategies-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydMkvobMLgo&list=PLYZWx0YhMskM2iwlb9fin4-WubManEbel&index=2&t=1sPlaylist To Level Up Your Sales - Sales Tips to Close More Deals-//www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYZWx0YhMskNqFNY3BqAljaQychv5MGqERecommended Playlist - Sales Prospecting & Lead Generation-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=554iUA81fu4&list=PLYZWx0YhMskM2iwlb9fin4-WubManEbel--There's a lot of confusion about what exactly business development is.Especially because business development can mean so many different things depending on what company you're at or what industry you're in.So what exactly is it? How does it work? And should this be something you should be interested in?Let's go ahead and dive in!The definition of business development we'll be using is the process of developing growth opportunities and relationships with other organizations.The critical components of business development are 1) growth relationships and 2) long term value.--About Patrick DangPatrick Dang is an international sales trainer who started his career at Oracle in Silicon Valley and quickly became on the top performers in North America in just one year.After gaining experience in both the enterprise and startup world, Patrick began sharing his knowledge of modern sales students around the globe.Since then, Patrick has trained over 50,000 students across 150 countries on topics on how to start a career in sales, business development, lead generation using cold email and LinkedIn, cold calling, and sales skills.Ultimately, Patrick's vision is to inspire others to make a living from their passions and provide the knowledge and tools to make it a reality. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Patrick's YouTube Channel//www.youtube.com/channel/UCLOzkJ9W9fntCGyYfUwMPew?sub_confirmation=1#patrickdang #businessdevelopment #businessdevelopmentrepCONNECT WITH PATRICK DANGYouTube- //www.youtube.com/c/patrickdangofficialWebsite- //patrickdang.com/Instagram- //www.instagram.com/patrickdangofficial/Facebook Sales Community- //www.facebook.com/groups/patrickdangFacebook Page- //www.facebook.com/PatrickDangOfficialLinkedIn- //www.linkedin.com/in/patrickdangofficial/ v_url: //youtu.be/ywMM2lceNyA i_thumbnail: //i.ytimg.com/vi/ywMM2lceNyA/default.jpg i_thumbnail_1x1: //i.ytimg.com/vi/ywMM2lceNyA/default.jpg i_thumbnail_4x3: //i.ytimg.com/vi/ywMM2lceNyA/mqdefault.jpg i_thumbnail_16x9: //i.ytimg.com/vi/ywMM2lceNyA/sddefault.jpg v_upload_date: 5-1-2020 v_length_minutes: 8 v_length_seconds: 17 v_view_count: 20095 callout_text: - t_title: Note- t_text: Business development is crucial for both a company's success and financial profitability. - t_headline: The Importance of Business Development t_text: Business development is the foundation for both long term business growth and profitability. Business development is also crucial for a variety of other functions ranging from sales management to brand reputation.

Prominent reasons that business development is important include an enhanced ability for corporations to- p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 1. Cultivate Relationships t_text: Any successful business development process is dependent on carefully formulated and maintained relationships. Unsurprisingly, communication skills are necessary for a good business development plan.

Relationships included in business development can range from new customer acquisition to hiring top talent sales team representatives. While developing new relationships is important, companies must make sure to also appropriately sustain their existing relationships. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_title: Remember- t_text: A company should not neglect its current customer base while pursuing potential clients or new customers nor should they pursue new markets or new opportunities at the expense of long term business relationships. - t_headline: 2. Boost Brand Reputation t_text: A primary role business developers undertake is to create and strengthen a company's brand. Brand development and maintenance are heavily dependent on a proficient understanding of the company's customer base in addition to all products or services offered.

There are many methods that business development professionals use during brand development initiatives. One commonly used brand optimization technique occurs when a business developer works with the content marketing team in order to generate a marketing strategy for a new customer base. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: 2-boost-brand-reputation-1609211663-4752.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/business-branding-blank-paper-792113/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/business-branding-blank-paper-792113/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_headline: 3. Discover Growth Opportunities t_text: Identifying and expanding into new markets and new opportunities is a top priority of business developers. Business growth can be accomplished in a variety of different ways, from the release of a new product to lead generation strategy updates.

Due to the constant need to evolve and adapt to the ever changing market, business development has virtually endless potential to increase business success and profitability. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: Stages of Business Development t_text: Understanding the different stages of business development is essential for optimal business growth and profitability. Although each enterprise is different in its needs and objectives, business development stages are generally similar.

Overall, there exist some disagreements between business development professionals regarding the distinct stages of business development. However, the general structure of business development is compromised of the following stages- p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 1. Business Start Up t_text: The start up stage of business development is often full of both anxiety and anticipation. During this stage, business opportunities and ideas begin to take a physical form.

Business management professionals engage in a wide range of activities during the start up phase. For example, business management professionals may spend the morning scanning a submitted cover letter while onboarding employees for their new business and the night hours cold calling in order to build a new customer base. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: 1-business-start-up-1609211663-2592.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/startup-start-up-notebooks-creative-593296/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/startup-start-up-notebooks-creative-593296/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_headline: 2. Business Growth t_text: During this stage, companies generally begin to see the fruition of their business development initiatives. Business factors such as customer demand and cash flow should ideally be markedly increased in comparison with the initial start up stage.

While the growth stage brings new opportunities for companies, it also carries the potential for new problems. For example, an increase in customer demand may necessitate a business taking out larger loans to make sure they have sufficient inventory available, but of course, is accompanied by the risk of those new products not actually selling. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 3. Business Maturity t_text: The third stage of business development, business maturity is accomplished when an enterprise has settled into its position within the industry. At this point, a successful business has usually developed its customer base and brand.

During the business maturity stage, some executives choose to shift the primary responsibilities of business management to other owners. Transferring ownership allows these professionals to move on to new business ventures and new markets instead of staying stagnant at an already successful business they previously established. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 4. Business Decline t_text: There are virtually endless reasons that business decline occurs, ranging from a customer base maintenance failure to poor business management capabilities. In many instances, a combination of many factors results in the unfortunate consequence of business decline, failure, and eventual closure.

A significant warning sign that a business is declining is decreased profitability. Decreased profitability may be indicated by cash flow problems and significant debts owed by the corporation. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: 4-business-decline-1609211663-7236.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/keyboard-pen-plan-success-failure-621832/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/keyboard-pen-plan-success-failure-621832/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_headline: Benefits of Successful Business Development t_text: Once development professionals have secured an understanding of the unique stages of business development they are better equipped to monitor their own. A good business development plan produces many benefits for an enterprise including- p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 1. Customer Relationships t_text: Every business depends on its customer base for both its short term and long term success. In fact, the majority of sales that a company makes is not from their new customers but from their preexisting customers.

Business development professionals are recognized for their efforts in identifying and acquiring new customers but they also can learn a lot about their existing customers during these processes.

For example, while a development team is investigating new markets they could discover sales pipeline improvements that can be integrated into the sales process for a preexisting market. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: 1-customer-relationships-1609211663-8113.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/students-startup-start-up-notebooks-593323/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/students-startup-start-up-notebooks-593323/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_headline: 2. Self Discovery t_text: Business growth encourages novel ways of thinking and operating. Whenever a company enters a new market or creates a new product there is a new opportunity to develop its business strategy and values.

Part business management and part innovation, the self discovery produced by business growth help to make sure a business stays relevant and profitable. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 3. Experimental Space t_text: Similar to increased self discovery potential, business development invites innovations to everything from project management to content marketing processes. The experimental space provided automatically during business development can massively shift existing processes, for better or for worse.

The way that employees work together and the overall company culture can also change during business development. A successful business will likely see improvements to its company culture and the capacity for teams to work together effectively. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: 3-experimental-space-1609211663-3943.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/business-work-space-desk-coffee-1209705/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/business-work-space-desk-coffee-1209705/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_title: Bonus- t_text: Business development can facilitate company culture and work environment improvements organically. - t_headline: Business Development vs Sales t_text: A common misconception is that sales and business development are terms that can be used interchangeably. In actuality, the sales process is a combination of the business development team and sales team working together.

Clarifying the similarities and differences between sales and business development is immensely helpful for everyone in the enterprise. Firstly, it is imperative that sales development is defined outside of the general definition of business development. Sales development is a specific category of business development and a unique sales role.

Both sales development representatives and sales representatives work together during the sales process. Sales development representatives are generally responsible for lead generation and sales representatives are generally responsible for closing the deal.

Business development representatives are focused on identifying new opportunities for accomplishing long term value. Business development representatives accomplish this in many ways including through recognizing new markets and new customers.

An advantage for enterprises is that employees can be trained for specific roles and career paths from their initial onboarding. For example, during onboarding, there may be a focus on business development skills for sales development representatives and an alternative focus on communication skills for sales team representatives.

Ultimately, the role business development performs makes sales possible, while sales contribute to business development. Though the two concepts differ in their objectives and responsibilities, they are both crucial for the success of the sales process overall. p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: business-development-vs-sales-1609211664-7285.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/client-business-marketing-website-3691439/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/client-business-marketing-website-3691439/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_title: Remember- t_text: In order to accomplish business success sales development representatives and sales representatives need to work together efficiently. - t_headline: How to Improve Business Development t_text: Positive business development is invaluable for both company improvements and increased sales. Especially in an ever changing and competitive global market, business development allows a company to avoid the business decline stage for as long as possible.

Considering how crucial business development is for overall profitability and success, it is wise for enterprises to understand how to improve their own business development strategy and plans. Helpful tips for business development improvement include- p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: how-to-improve-business-development-1609211664-1177.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/student-typing-keyboard-text-849825/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/student-typing-keyboard-text-849825/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_headline: 1. Network Better t_text: There are so many more networking opportunities available than ever before for business development. Whereas cold calling may have previously been the primary way to get ahold of new customers now social media offers new avenues to connect.

A good business development plan should incorporate both social media and in person networking opportunities. Trade shows or industry conferences are great options for exploring new markets and new opportunities in person.

Another benefit of networking more efficiently is gaining a better understanding of competitors. Social media browsing can uncover valuable information on everything from a competitor's project management skills to their content marketing initiatives. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_headline: 2. Increase Interactions t_text: A common issue of cold calling for business development purposes is the lack of personalization. New customers want an increasingly individualized experience and expect more courting from businesses than ever before.

As a result, business development professionals are seeing the benefits of providing prospective clients with customized consultations and sales demos. Consultations can help both businesses and potential clients make sure that before proceeding further down the sales pipeline that they are a good match.

Both consultations and sales demos should focus on the needs and wants of potential clients instead of for the general market. Sales demos can be shared through a variety of communication channels, ranging from social media platforms to in person meetings. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: 2-increase-interactions-1609211664-8590.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/typing-computer-desk-hoe-office-849806/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/typing-computer-desk-hoe-office-849806/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: - t_headline: 3. Diversify Marketing t_text: A company's marketing strategy and business development process must work together for optimal business success. In fact, a business development team can locate new marketing strategy opportunities and vice versa.

A company's marketing strategy may contain many different components including a content marketing team. The content marketing team is responsible for securing the attention of new clients and potential clients through relevant articles, blogs, videos, or even social media posts. p_headline_type: h3 image: i_image: t_description: v_attribution: v_license: callout_text: - t_title: Remember- t_text: When the marketing team and business development team work well together both departments benefit. - t_headline: Key Takeaways t_text: p_headline_type: h2 image: i_image: key-takeaways-1609211664-9604.png t_description: //pixabay.com/photos/startup-business-people-students-849805/ v_attribution: //pixabay.com/photos/startup-business-people-students-849805/ v_license: Creative Commons Zero callout_text: event_body: json-ld_event: t_name: Employee Scheduling for Restaurant Managers t_description: Attendees will learn how create excellent schedules. The class teaches managers how to estimate the number of employees they need to staff their locations; how to accurately forecast their customer demand; how to quickly and accuaratly write and communicate schedules to employees; and how to evaluate the accuracy and optimization of their schedules to make adjustments. v_start_date: 2022-08-08 i_image: p_location_name: Altametrics Online Webinar Course p_address: webinar.hubworks.com?site=altametrics v_price: 10.00 t_offer_description: Priority Registration v_registration_url: webinar.hubworks.com?site=altametrics ---