Introduction to Business Development

What’s business development?

Creation of long-term value for an organization from customers, markets, and
relationships by pursuing strategic opportunities for a particular business or organization.
For example, by cultivating partnerships or other commercial relationships, or identifying
new markets for its products or services.

Business Development Core

It’s all about developing the company’s performance and increasing its growth rate,
through three main activities:
• Market Analysis

• Recognizing Opportunities

• Planning for the development process

The difference between Sales, and Business development

Sales: Operations and activities involved in promoting and selling goods or services + The
art of persuasion, then sales main goals are increase customer base and revenue. So,
business developers support the sales team to achieve those goals using business
development activities such as: sales development and partnerships.

Sales development: The Process that focus on prospecting, moving, and qualifying leads
through the sales pipeline and then delivers those leads to individuals who are
responsible for closing sales.
Understand the Business life cycle and where Sales, marketing, and business
development appear
The business life cycle: is the progression of a business in phases over time and is most
commonly divided into five stages: Introduction, Growth, maturity and decline.

According to the figure:

1- Marketing role arise at the introduction stage.

2- Business development role arises at the growth stage.
3- Sales role arise at maturity.
4- Finance role arises at Decline.

Why do we need a business developer?

Business developers are responsible for making the maximum growth at the shortest
possible time.

What are types of Sales!?

1- B2B, is shorthand for business to business: The products and services of the business
are marketed to other businesses.

2- B2C, or business to consumer: Is the type of commerce transaction in which

businesses sell products or services directly to consumers (nestle - Netflix).

3- C2C, Consumer to consumer: Is the type of business which is aim to buying and selling
second hand goods to each.

4- C2B, Consumer to business: The products and services of consumers marketed to

other businesses. Example: Influencers.
Business development activities:
1. Market analysis
2. Strategic Business Decisions
3. Strategic Initiatives
4. Strategic Partnerships

Market analysis

Industry overview: Industries vary in terms of their overall attractiveness. The most
attractive industries have the following characteristics:
• Yong rather than old.
• Early rather than late in their life cycle.
• Are fragmented rather than concentrated.
• Are growing rather than shrinking.
• Are selling products or services that customers “must have” rather than “want to
have”.
• Are not crowded.
• Have high rather than low operating margins.
• Are not highly dependent on the historically low price of a key raw material, like
gasoline.
For example: Coca cola acquired Costa because Coca cola found that some of their drinks
began to decline and on the other hand the coffee market is growing stably by 6% each
year.

SWOT analysis
A) Strengths
B) Weaknesses
C) Opportunities
D) Threats

Target market: Who are your actual customers? You’ll detail how many of them are
there, what their needs are, and describe their demographics.
• Market size: Your market size is how many potential customers there are for your
product or service.
• Demographics: Describe your customer’s typical age, gender, education, income, and
more.
• Location: Describe your customer’s specific location or region here.
• Psychographics: Describe your customer’s likes and dislikes.
• Behaviors: Explain how your customers shop and purchase products like yours.
• Trends: Customer behavior is always changing.

Market trends
PESTEL Analysis: That tool describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used
for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction
for operations.

• Political factors
• Economic factors
• Social factors
• Technological factors
• Legal factors
• Environmental factors

Competition
Your market analysis isn’t complete without thinking about your competition. Beyond
knowing what other businesses, you are competing with; a good competitive analysis will
point out competitors' weaknesses that you can take advantage of. With this knowledge,
you can differentiate yourself by offering products and services that fill gaps that
competitors have not addressed.
• Direct competition: Companies offering very similar products and services. Your
potential customers are probably currently buying from these companies.
• Indirect competitors: Think of indirect competition as alternative solutions to the
problem you are solving.
• How you’re different: You don’t want to be the same as the competition. Make sure to
discuss how your company, product, or service is different than what the competition is
offering. For a common business type, such as hair salons, your differentiation might be
location, hours, types of services, ambiance, or price.
Strategic Business Decisions:
1. Positioning Development
2. Product Development
3. Market Development
4. Channels Development

Developing the positioning strategy through understanding customer needs

STP: Segmentation, Targeting and positioning

Segmentation
Dividing the whole market into segments by consumer characteristics and dividing the
whole market into segments by consumer characteristics and then targeting different
products to each segment.

Targeting
• Once the marketer has identified the segments, it must be decided how many and
which customer groups/segments to target. The company may choose one or a
combination of the following marketing strategies.
• Mass marketing strategy (undifferentiated marketing).
• Single segment strategy (differentiated marketing).
• Multi-segment strategy
• Concentrated marketing (niche marketing)

Positioning
• Is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in
the mind of the target market … Competitive advantages
• A successful positioning occurs when the target customers find that the product or
brand satisfies their expectations and desires.
 Product/Market Development through Ansoff Matrix
The Ansoff Matrix, also called the Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a tool used by firms
to analyze and plan their strategies for growth. The matrix shows four strategies that can
be used to help a firm grow and also analyzes the risk associated with each strategy.

The four strategies of the Ansoff Matrix are:

Market Penetration: This focuses on increasing sales of existing products to an existing
market.
Product Development: Focuses on introducing new products to an existing market.
Market Development: This strategy focuses on entering a new market using existing
products.
Diversification: Focuses on entering a new market with the introduction of new products.

Business development plan

Business development is the process required to achieve growth through the acquisition
of profitable net new customers and expansion of existing customers.
Your business development plan needs to include:

1. Opportunities for Growth: due to studying our target market, competitors, and your
previous progress. From there, identify opportunities for growth – whether it’s in
creating new products, adding more services, breaking into new markets, a combination
of these, or other opportunities.
2. Development Projects: How to use those opportunities to develop the company
performance?
3. Goals: Broken down into milestones (intermediate goals. Setting your short-term
(quarterly) and longer-term (yearly) financial goals.
4. Targets: Specific numbers that individuals are aiming to reach.
5. Measures: How you count progress towards a target?
6. Tactics and Strategic Initiatives: Major groups of activities that contribute to the above
points. Figure out what sales and marketing efforts will effectively promote growth and
how these efforts will change as you get bigger and better. Make sure your sales and
marketing plan is sturdy enough to support your growing business.
7. Budget: Determine how you’ll fund your business growth.
 The power of partnerships

There is no better approach to solving challenges than the famous saying "two heads are
better than one." Whether creating internal partnerships between colleagues or
departments, to larger partnerships between businesses, harnessing the strengths and
abilities of others from different corners of your ecosystem is one of the most strategic
ways for businesses to scale their innovation and solve complex challenges.

The benefits of partnerships:

• Acquire New Customers
• Increase Revenue
• Expand Geographic Reach
• Extend Product Lines
• Access New Technologies
• Add Sharing Resources

Elements of Strategic Partnership:

• Goals
• Sharing Assets and Resources
• Designation of Responsibilities
• Legal Structure

Types of deals and partnerships:

• Merging and acquisition: Used to describe the consolidation of companies or assets
through various types of financial transactions, including mergers, acquisitions,
consolidations, tender offers, purchase of assets and management acquisitions.
• New Product development: is the process of bringing a new product to the
marketplace. You need to engage in this process due to changes in consumer
preferences, increasing competition and advances in technology or to capitalize on a new
opportunity.
Opening new channels: Distribution is a key element of your marketing strategy - it's
how you access your market. It's common to use multiple channels of distribution: direct
via the web, sales team or retail location, or indirect through wholesalers, distributors,
value-added resellers or consultants.
• Strategic alliances: A strategic alliance is an arrangement between two companies to
undertake a mutually beneficial project while each retains its independence.
• Joint Venture partnership
• Equity partnership
• Franchising partnership
• Outsourcing partnership
 • Co-branding partnership
• Product based partnership
• Sponsorship

Business development process

1- Prospecting: List your potential customer/partner using excel sheet or any other CRM
tool.
2- Pre-approaching/planning the sale: Gathering all information about the prospects,
their needs and their overall situation and on the basis of this information, business
developers plan their presentation selecting the most appropriate objective for each call.
3- The approach: Making an appointment to see the partner/customer to present his
product/service.
4- Need assessment: Stage in which the sales person must discover the partner’s needs
and the best way to that is by asking questions.
5- Presentation: The discussion of those products/ideas advantages features and benefits
that the partner/customer indicated are important.
6- Meet objections: They should be welcomed because they indicate that the prospect
has some interest in the prospection. Listen to the partner/customer and learn as much
as you can.
7- Gaining commitment: at some point after business developer has convinced the
partner, he must ask the partner to commit to some action that moves the sales forward.

There are 3 strategies for doing this:

- Summary close: Providing summary for benefits that the buyer.
- The assumptive strategy: Many business developers rely on assumptive close they
Marley assume prospects are going to buy and begin taking orders by asking such
questions as Now, what size do you want? When can we deliver this today or tomorrow!?
- Special offer close: if you closed the deal today you will get 30% off.

Dealing with clients

When we deal with clients, we have three channels; calls, emails and meetings.

Phone etiquette
Phone etiquette is the way you use manners to represent yourself and your business to
customers via telephone communication. This includes the way you greet a customer,
your body language, tone of voice, word choice, listening skills and how you close a call.
Practicing proper telephone etiquette is the key in improving and maintaining a high level
of sales and customer service.

When we speak with a customer in the phone, we have to focus on the below:
1-Preparation: prepare yourself and don't answer in a crowded place.
2- Building rapport: Communicating compassion is so important when dealing with a
customer it makes them feel like you know their pain and can give them solutions. Be
smart at the end mention their name, the problem, and give them the solution.
3- Body language: Is important in the call as well, for example, when you smile and sit up
straight, your voice is likely lighter and easily translated by the client as cheerfulness.
Body language, facial expressions and gestures should remain professional while
speaking on the telephone.
4- Tone of voice: Use your tone effectively, and confidently. Be friendly however,
maintain professionalism and speak clearly. Speak loudly enough to be heard without
shouting or sounding aggressive. Change your intonation and try to sound always
positive.
5- Effective listening: Don't interrupt people, listen to them carefully, and take notes.
6- Approaching closing: Before saying goodbye to your customer, thank them again and
ask if you can assist them with anything else and summarize the things that have been
done. Try to let them hang up first to avoid any confusion.

Meeting Tips

we need the partner to commit to something, and what they should know to close the
deal along with how can they feel comfortable enough to commit.
• Start with a Clear and Realistic Objective: Know exactly what you want form this
meeting, prepare for it, tell them what you want to achieve and what is the result
• Identify the Critical Success Factors for Achieving the Objective: How the objective
would be achievable what the steps are.
• Use Smart Questions to Help Clients “Know and Feel”: Ask them things that would
make them feel they are important
• Close by asking for a commitment or a follow up.

Before Meeting:
• Prepare yourself (Do your homework)
• Design more than scenario
• Dress code (appropriately for the event)
• Arrive early
• Be ready to record all the important information
In Meeting:
• Building Rapport
• Introduce yourself and your company
• State the purpose
• Always Be Humble and honest

How to write a Professional E-mail?

1. Begin with a greeting

Always open your email with a greeting, such as “Dear Lillian”. If your relationship with
the reader is formal, use their family name (e.g., “Dear Mrs. Price”). If the relationship is
more casual, you can simply say, “Hi Kelly”. If you don’t know the name of the person
you are writing to, use: “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”.

2. Introduction
If you are replying to a client’s inquiry, you should begin with a line of thanks. For
example, if someone has a question about your company, you can say, “Thank you for
contacting ABC Company”. If someone has replied to one of your emails, be sure to say,
“Thank you for your prompt reply” or “Thanks for getting back to me”. Thanking the
reader puts him or her at ease, and you will appear polite.

3. State your purpose

Before you end your email, it’s polite to thank your reader one more time and add some
polite closing remarks. You might start with “Thank you for your patience and
cooperation” or “Thank you for your consideration” and then follow up with, “If you
have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know” and “I look forward to
hearing from you”.

4. End with a closing

The last step is to include an appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”,
“Sincerely”, and “Thank you” are all professional. Avoid closings such as “Best wishes” or
“Cheers” unless you are good friends with the reader. Finally, before you hit the send
button, review and spell check your email one more time to make sure it’s truly perfect!

Finally, before sending an email be Aware of:

• Grammar Rules
• Tone
• Punctuation
• Reading the Email
 Company Profile
“How to Write a Company Profile in 10 Simple Steps”

Whether you’re a small startup or a company powerhouse, you’ll need to create your
very own company profile.

1. Identify the Profile’s Purpose

Identify the sole purpose of the profile. Let’s say your profile is for your business website.
Make a list of topics you’d want to know as a reader and make sure the tone used when
writing matches your target audience.

2. Decide on a Style
Now that you’ve established what kind of tone you should set for your profile, it’s time to
identify how you will present this information.
You shouldn’t be afraid of being different and swaying away from the norm, as long as it
ties in your brand.

3. Tell a Story
When you’re trying to encourage people to pay attention to your business, you need to
create a captivating story. It’s no use simply listing dates and figures; you need to make
sure your reader is on board by transferring them through the same story.

4. Outline Your Mission Statement

You need to let your readers know what you offer and how you plan to grow as a
business, essentially letting them know why they should choose you above a competitor.
Disney’s mission statement encourages you to believe, that they will provide you with
the most creative entertainment experience in the world.

5. Keep a Clear Format Throughout

You need to ensure your format is clear and clean throughout, including the same font
and size for the body text and headers. Don’t overpower your profile with irrelevant
visuals and funky colors. Stick to those that are in line with the rest of your brand.

6. Write the Company History in Chronological Order

It’s essential not to get bogged down by too many details. Instead, you should list key
achievements to show how your company got to where it is today. If you’re a small
business, you can write information about the establishment and development of the
brand.
7. Include Testimonials
Any good testimonial can add value to your brand, simply by giving consumers feedback
from another customer.

8. Include Your Contact Information

Be sure to include your address, telephone number, email and fax (if necessary) at the
top of the document and you can add your hyperlinked contact information at the
bottom of the page.

9. Add a Call to Action

Be sure to end with a call to action. This could be something along the lines of: ‘To find
out more, visit our website” or “For further information, Contact XXXXXX’ .

10. Proofread It
Finally, it’s vital to proofread your corporate profile to ensure there aren’t any mistakes.
Sometimes, it’s easy to miss minor errors when you’ve been staring at the same piece of
text for hours on end, which is why you should get an extra pair of eyes to skim over the
text.

Proposal Writing

Proposal Definition A business proposal is a written document that offers a particular

product or service to a potential buyer or client.

• Solicited Proposals: When the customer asks for a proposal.

• Unsolicited Proposals: When you send them a proposal they haven't even asked for
because you think they should buy from you or take some action.

Proposal Elements
• About us (Our History)
• Vision and Mission
• Company Values
• Previous and Current Partners and Customers
• Our products and Services
• About the idea event, product, etc...
• Why should you buy our product?
• How you’ll be benefit?
• Supporting data
• Project Schedule/Time
• Fee schedule/Offers
• The company in Media
• Contact us
 Setting up customer follow up system

When you’re busy running a small business, it can be all-too-easy for things to fall
through the cracks — unpaid invoices, follow-up phone calls, and yes, even new leads. In
fact, lack of communication is a huge cause of lost business for many service businesses.

1. Decide on a CRM tracking system: No matter how small your business, it’s important
to have a customer relationship management (CRM) system in place. Yes, even if you’re a
solopreneur! We may be a little biased, but we highly recommend checking out Breeze
works.
2. Establish a good labeling system: A solid customer follow-up system relies heavily on
detailed tags. On Breeze works, this feature is called Tagging and is fully customizable.
Your tags may include things like:
- Fresh Lead
- Left Message
- Needs Callback
- Scheduled Appointment
- Awaiting Estimate
- Job in Progress
- To Be Invoiced
- Awaiting Payment
- 2 Week Follow-Up

3. Use your CRM system to keep detailed notes on each customer: If you’re hired by
customer referral to do an air duct cleaning at Jane Doe’s condo, you may wish to note
the name of the friend who referred you, door codes for Jane’s building, the name of her
dog, notes on her HVAC system for future reference, year of service (i.e., 2017 Air Duct
Cleaning), and job notes.
4. Handle scheduling and invoicing while you’re still at the job site: Handling small
administrative tasks on-site can help save you countless hours. Supply your team with
tablets so they’re able to generate invoices and estimates from the field and collect
payment on-site.

5. Use your database to re-engage customers: You should also utilize your CRM database
to proactively re-engage customers in the future. For example, 2-3 years from now, you
can surface jobs tagged “2017 Air Duct Cleaning” and send Jane Doe a reminder that it’s
time to get her air duct system cleaned again.

6. Schedule time in the morning and evening for customer follow-up: Reserve an AM
slot for things like responding to emails and sending over estimates, and set a PM slot for
returning phone calls.
 Business Development most needed skills

Business Development Managers are responsible for developing the business side of an
organization. That is needed in order to increase company revenue and maximize profits.

1. Communication & Interpersonal Skills: They are required in order to communicate,

present, assert and speak to all the different stakeholders involved. He must also be able
to cold call prospects with confidence in order to gain new clients.

2. Collaboration Skills: Any good business developer should be able to build

relationships, influence, manage conflicts and navigate through office politics in order to
get things done.

3. Negotiation & Persuasion skills: Achieving your set goals require that you are able to
learn when to compromise and when to take a stand.

4. Project Management Skills: They have to be able to set goals, plan and manage
projects, manage the risks involved, calculate budgets, cost, time and teams working on
ongoing projects.

5. Research & Strategy: These are necessary in order to benchmark the competition and
keep the company ahead of it.

6. Computer Skills: A Business Development Manager must have high competency

working with Microsoft Office. Even CRM software is a must for this job as well.

7. Business Intelligence: Any respectful business developer will conduct the necessary
market analysis needed to identify the company´s current position. He will conduct
analysis of what competitive advantage the company has over the similar businesses in
the sector.

In addition to all of the mentioned skills, exceptional Business Development Managers

are always hungry for knowledge. They like to stay up-to-date with the latest economic
issues in the industry. Moreover, knowledge in Sales Management, Marketing,
Strategic Management and Business Planning is a strength they can use to grow your
business.