The Lucky Thirteen of Business Development

“The words 'business development' conjure up a lot of smoke and mirrors.  Ask several people what exactly these words mean, and you'll get several answers.  Actually, there is a very concrete definition AND a proven methodology for getting your business into the best possible shape and keeping it there.”  

1. Are you planning to fail or failing to plan?  

Time passes.  Although trite, the saying is very true and worth a moment's thought.  Time which has passed cannot be reclaimed.  Therefore, efficient time management is an important component of business success.  Unfortunately, many salespeople and other business persons waste their time.  For example, they give equal attention to all their accounts.  Also, they believe that each task is as important or urgent as all the others.  Failing to consider the return on one's time means that the time will not always be well spent.     

TOP TIP – make a plan the work and work the plan.

2. Are you consciously using all your skills or running on autopilot?

Did you ever notice that sometimes the things you say “ring a bell” with your customers or prospects, and sometimes they fall on deaf ears?  How is it that the same ideas, questions, and sales pitch can be both very effective and totally miss the mark?  The reason is that learning involves four stages of competence: unconsciously incompetent, consciously incompetent, consciously competent, and unconsciously competent.  This means that your customer understands and reacts to the same sales patter differently depending on the stage of competence he or she has reached at the moment.    

TOP TIP – modify your sales talk to be in sync with the level of competence you have detected in your customer. 

3. Are you confusing activity with results? 

It has been said that "in the absence of clearly defined goals we resort to activity".  In many markets, and especially in a business development role, it is often clear that you can't get the order “on this visit”.  So, salespeople keep in touch via visits and telephone calls. The question is, “Does each one of these activities have a solid objective?”  It is easy to let this aspect slip, with the result that neither the seller nor the prospect get real value from the interaction. 

TOP TIP – set a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Based) objective for every customer prospect engagement.

5. Are you giving your prospects a good reason to meet you?

You've done the groundwork and gotten your 30 seconds with your prospect.  The clock is ticking.  Besides being neat and tidy, having a smile on your face, and addressing your potential customer eye-to-eye with a polite greeting, what else can you do to make it worth your prospect's while to meet with you for longer?  The simple answer is to take control of the meeting by making it very clear to your prospect what he or she has to gain from speaking with you.  

TOP TIP – use an Initial Benefit Statement (IBS) / value statement to help you steer the meeting in the direction of a close.

6. Are you qualifying your opportunities objectively or are you kidding yourself? 

You can only really forecast a sale when you have a qualified prospect.  A qualified prospect means you and your customer match on a series of important issues.  One of these is that your customer has a specific need which you can address and your customer has the desire (and the budget) to act on their need by purchasing your solution.  Another is that you can meet your prospect's timescales for delivery/implementation.  Yet a third is that the person/people you are dealing with have the appropriate level of authority to make the decision and place the order.

TOP TIP – create a customer profile to check if a prospect is qualified or not.

7. Are you offering a solution that is a nicety or a necessity? 

When we have money, we can buy what we want.  When money is short, people pare down to the necessities.  Companies function in the same manner.  This is especially the case with down turns or in tight markets.  No matter what the market conditions, effective sales people don't just create the demand, they “create the need”. 

TOP TIP – identify the business driver or burning platform so that your product or service is always a necessity.

8. Are you talking to all the right people – decision influencers and decision makers? 

Although many sales people have been trained to pitch to a “C Suite" company representative (CEO, CFO, CTO, CIO, etc.), this may not be the most successful route.  In high value complex sales, many of these top level decision makers are so busy that they delegate information-gathering to those they trust.  Their advisors, who deal with the day to buying processes, then become the decision influencers.  

TOP TIP – for best results, deal with the decision influencers, the people whose advice the decision makers will take when they give their final approval to buy.

9. Are you mapping the political landscape? 

In business, “politics” means “how things get done”.  In other words, the distribution of influence.  People with influence can get things done by persuading and asking even when they don't necessarily have the authority to demand or tell.  When we map the political landscape, we get a picture of who has only influence, who has only authority, who has both, and who has neither.  Another way to say this is “mapping the Power Base?". 

TOP TIP –  anyone that can significnatly influence your deal should be considered to be in the Power Base?.

10. Are you winning support from the right people? 

When most sales people are "relationship selling", they tend to overestimate the true breadth and depth of their relationship with their customers and prospects.  Often, sales people think that their “company Champions” are supporting them more than they actually are.  It is a great surprise, therefore, when their Champion calls to report that the order has gone to their competitors.  While these are calls which we've all gotten, their frequency can be reduced.

TOP TIP –  figure out if the Champion is really your ally before deciding to invest time cultivating him or her.

11. Are you differentiating your offer only on price?

Why is your product or service different? For years, Volvo's Unique Selling Proposition (USP), their differentiator, was safety and durability.  Indeed, when you mention Volvo cars, it is what most people immediately think of.  This is great because many car shoppers are looking for these two USPs.  However, USPs are meaningless if they don't deliver value to the customer, and price is all too often just not “it”.

TOP TIP –  choose a USP which really shows what makes your product or service worthwhile to buy.

12. Are you submitting a proposal or is it really a quote? 

This question is not just a matter or semantics or “wordplay”.  There is an important difference between a proposal which gives the customer solid reasons for doing business with you and a quote which gives the price.  Nowadays, there is some flexibility to the format and content of proposals.  So, it's fairly easy to create a document which gives your customer real information about why he or she cannot afford to pass up your solution, product, or service.  In short, why accepting your proposal is a good investment in their business future.   

TOP TIP – help your customer say “Yes” with a quality proposal presented in a pleasing manner.

13. Are you really asking for the order? 

It sounds paradoxical but far too often, salespeople do not close the sale because they are afraid to ask for the order!  The salesperson with a poor or short prospect list finds himself in a sub-conscious dilemma because asking for the order is actually a no win situation. If the salesperson is unsuccessful, he loses a prospect.  Should the salesperson be successful, after the initial “win” of the order, he still loses a prospect.  Thus, “poor closers” usually lack prospects not skills.  

TOP TIP – keep your prospect pipeline full so that the loss of a customer by winning an order is a win-win situation.