Practical Guidelines for Establishing New BDC Departments: 4 Key Rules for a Strong Beginning

4 Key Rules for a Strong Beginning

The current business landscape presents an ideal opportunity to establish a Business Development Culture within your organization. Over the past decade, technology has equalized the competitive field and reshaped customer expectations. As a result, businesses now possess greater access to information, facilitating quick and informed decision-making. Compared to other enterprises, your business enjoys advantages such as agility, awareness, and a deep understanding of customer desires and requirements. This positions you to swiftly target new markets and adapt promptly to changing circumstances.

However, achieving success in cultivating a business development culture necessitates a holistic approach and a well-executed plan. To assist you in embarking on your own business development department and fostering such a culture within your organization, here are some practical guidelines to consider:

The presence of an adept leader is crucial

Having a capable leader in the role of business development manager is paramount for any team. They possess the skills necessary to guide the team towards success and possess the resilience to navigate setbacks. It is essential to find an individual who actively contributes to the team and adopts a proactive approach to managing achievements, not solely focusing on overcoming failures. Additionally, they should possess the capability to formulate strategies that cater to both short-term and long-term objectives and diligently work towards accomplishing them.

Understand your metrics

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of your department and overall business performance requires a solid starting point. To assess progress and identify areas for improvement, it is crucial to be well-versed in your benchmark numbers. These metrics serve as a reference to gauge the current performance of your department and the extent to which it needs to progress in order to attain your set objectives.

Moreover, the benchmarking process allows you to ascertain the necessary actions to achieve desired outcomes and facilitate growth. While benchmarking encompasses a wide range of factors across departments and business development endeavors, focusing on the most impactful aspect that generates immediate financial results for your business and establishing a strong foundation around it will enable your numbers to convey the narrative of your progress.

Selecting the right team members is essential

When assembling your staff, it is crucial to prioritize individuals with a positive attitude over solely focusing on their skill set. Opting for attitude-based hiring ensures that you bring on board the best possible team members who align with your company's values and comprehend what it means to be part of your organization.

If you exclusively hire based on skill, you run the risk of having employees who may lack contentment or a sense of fulfillment, eventually leading to attrition. This high turnover rate can result in increased expenses and time investment, outweighing the benefits of hiring individuals with skills but lacking a positive attitude.

To strike a balance, it is important to hire according to the demand for your amount inbound leads, existing leads and activity level in conjunction to all the moving parts for your lead generation and database mining. Avoid both overstaffing, which can burden your team, and understaffing, which can leave employees with insufficient workloads. Discovering the optimal staffing level eliminates turnover and ensures the overall satisfaction of everyone involved.

Emphasize on practice, drills, rehearsal, and training

Employee training serves as the cornerstone of your business, playing a pivotal role in shaping how your organization is perceived by the world. Continuous reinforcement is vital in this context, as increased training helps minimize errors and mistakes.

Ensure that all employees receive comprehensive training aligned with their job descriptions. For instance, if you have business development representatives, it is essential that they are proficient in handling customer calls, emails, and other communication channels. Clarify their responsibilities and expectations regarding job performance.

The primary objective of employee training is to establish smooth operations within your business development department, reducing any potential confusion.

Ongoing reinforcement entails continuous training and development sessions for each employee. This includes addressing areas of difficulty, introducing new procedures or changes within their respective departments, and providing updates specifically tailored to their roles, such as targets and results.