A collection of stuff I find interesting, things I have to say and probably some corny jokes. I also work at ConceptShare, and will talk about that from time to time.
3 Lessons From My First 3 Months in Business Development
Business Development (BD as it’s often called) is an often misunderstood and elusive department in any company. Different people interpret it different ways. Some consider it sales. Some think it’s a combination of sales and marketing. Some think it’s schmoozing and travel and fancy dinners.
Until recently, I was under some false impressions about the role of Business Development, some not unlike what I outlined above. When Nish Patel (ConceptShare’s CEO) asked me to move into a bus dev (as we call it) role at ConceptShare, I jumped at the chance, although not quite knowing what I was getting myself into.
Excited and intrigued, I quickly realized I had no idea what bus dev REALLY was. I turned to Google for the answers. These sources helped a lot. The first result with some insight was “Business Development is a Clever Name for Dirty Work”. At first, I thought I’d been duped (Nish is known around the office for his legendary pranks).
But I continued searching, and found an article by Seth Godin called Understanding Business Development. I began to better understand the role a little better that, as Seth says, “is a mysterious title for a little discussed function or department in most larger companies”. The mystery was making sense.
What I learned was that over the course of the next few months, I’d be spending time working with our growing list of technology partners (like OpenText, ADAM Software and Widen Enterprises) as well as actively searching for new partners, and developing formal programs around our business development activities. This made a little more sense. It’s still a little abstract. In a nutshell, Business Development is selling your company, your product, and your roadmap to prospective partners with a goal of both parties benefiting from working together. It’s an awesome place to be.
I’ve learned a lot about business development since moving into this role. Here are the top 3 things you should know about business development:
1. Business Development is Not Sales (In the Classic Sense)
The most important thing you can take from this article is business development is NOT direct sales. BD does not work in a one to one relationship; it’s a one to many. Each BD deal you make can (and will) provide opportunities for many sales in the future. But it’s not sales. After a BD deal is made, no money changes hands. It’s just the beginning. (I think this is why some people think BD = marketing, because it kind of is).
2. Patience is a Virtue
Did you know that companies (large and small) don’t decide to partner with technology vendors on a whim? BD deals can (and do) take years. I struggled with this one a lot in the first couple of months. I thought I was doing something wrong because I hadn’t closed a bunch of deals. Then I learned it can take years to finalize deals with prospective partners, and didn’t feel so bad. The real lesson here is that good things take time, and so will your BD deals.
3. Business Development is a Balancing Act
Not every company is going to want to do a deal with you right away. Does that mean you should just stop talking to them? If you do, you’re not a very good business development person. One of the biggest challenges in BD is relationship management. It’s important to know when to check in, when to step back, and when to push. Being personable helps, because this type of thing comes more naturally. Remember, if you don’t keep in touch people forget about you. If you push too hard, people want to forget about you. These deals aren’t set it and forget it. Your BD person should be someone that can manage relationships effortlessly and enjoy doing so.
BONUS TIP: Get a LinkedIn Premium Account.
I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn. It’s easy to see why their stock is one of the only social IPOs to do well (sorry, Facebook). Between the targeted searches, access to information about the exact person at the exact company you want to speak with, InMails, and a surprisingly high response rate, a LinkedIn Premium account should be in every BD person’s toolbox.
Have some tips to share about your experiences in the Business Development world? Leave them in the comments.
And, if you’re interested in talking to me about how you or your company can work with ConceptShare, don’t hesitate to reach out: matthew [dot] kelly [at] conceptshare [dot] com.
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