Your business development process is vital in aiding the growth of your business. When done effectively, it helps your business to grow, expand and ensure you reach dizzying new heights.
David Ogilvy (CBE, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather) once said, “In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.”
You need to allow some time to build your business development strategy. Your business development process requires grit, determination and focus to establish your product or service apart from your competitors & will directly impact your revenue streams.
There are 5 ways to improve your process. These are:
- Research your market
- Concentrate on your clients/customers wants
- Keep your clients/customers happy
- Keep your clients/customers warm
- Transform
Research your market
If you fail to understand where you are sat in the marketplace, you will not know how to pitch yourself to your target market or decide on the direction you wish to take.
You can use telemarketing to conduct market research into your industry, your location & the market segment you are in.
Partnership working could benefit your business development process and if you research which companies you are able to work with this may help you grow and increase your revenue channels without having to go it alone.
Never stop researching, and never assume that you know it all, subscribe to as many industry blogs, forums, databases that your time will allow and set aside time to read them to stay up to date.
Concentrate on your clients/customers wants
Listening to your clients/customers will help you improve your product or service, learning as much as you can about what their preferences and prerequisites are will help you mould your offering. This process will also help you develop your most successful pitch which ultimately will result in a better return on investment.
Keep your clients/customers happy
Keeping clients/customers happy can take time and energy but just one unhappy individual can be very damaging to you and your business.
For an effective business development strategy, a satisfied client/customer should be classed as a priority. Mistakes can happen, and issues can arise but how you deal with them will affect their opinion of you so it is best to deal with them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Keep your clients/customers warm
Studies have shown that a retained client/customer spends, on average, 67% more than new therefore it is important to make sure your business development team nurture existing relationships.
You should phone and check in with clients/customers occasionally but is also important to develop the relationship beyond a sales call. Just listening and finding out their pain points could open new avenues for your future relationship.
Google alerts is a great way of tracking what is happening in your client/customers world and if you share useful content with them, they will further value your relationship with them.
We would also recommend connecting with your clients/customers on LinkedIn, as well as following on other social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook & Instagram, for example.
Transform
Transformation and reinvention is the key to staying ahead of your competition. Do not become complacent – failure to respond to market pressure could mean your clients/customers will go elsewhere to your competitors. If you offer your clients something different and added value they will continue to do business with you.
Can you add something else to your services that make you stand out from the crowd? Can you integrate services?
Continue to transform and improve your business development process to benefit your clients/customers and consequently your sales pipeline.
