The R.O.I. Group
Return On Imagination.
Business Development Successful Business Growth Starts with a Plan. Business development is a combination of strategic analysis, marketing and sales. It starts with a reasonable budget and a plan which spells out the strategy, tactics and expectations before undertaking any activities. By doing so, you’ll eliminate most miscues and false-starts. Business development includes identifying ways to improve your company’s revenue – new product or service offerings, new market segments, new partnerships, new ways of reaching existing markets, and co-branded offerings – then going out and selling. Most small- to medium-sized companies don’t establish a plan for business development, instead they rely on their existing contacts. Because they know people in high places, they assume this will solve any business development problems and somehow new revenue will roll-in. Such thinking can be flawed, especially if they can’t exploit those relationships, which very often remain personal or weak. Such a situation may result in no new revenue opportunities in the pipeline at all. Plan Considerations Understanding how your company is perceived in the marketplace and how it compares to competitors in terms of product and service offerings, pricing, marketing strategies and so on, are key components of The Plan. Remember your target market isn’t the whole market. It’s made up of the best customers, the most easily retained customers and the most readily converted customers. Sources of New Business Picking the low-hanging fruit is considered one of the most efficient and effective business development practices. This includes organic growth (current customers) and referrals. Organic growth, (new business from current business), is usually the first order of business because it’s easier and more cost-effective than acquiring a new account. Plus, you’re already familiar with many of the players and where the land mines are buried. Referrals are another great source of new business because you gain a measure of “reflected trust” when you’re referred by a trusted source and prospects are more receptive to your message. Cold Calling is Dead. Warm Calling is Better. Who in this day and age gives business based on a cold call? You don’t know the person. You don’t know their company. You don’t know the company’s products. You don’t know what the company stands for. You don’t know the company’s customers. You don’t know the company’s record. And, you don’t know the company’s reputation. Now, why should you buy from them? Besides being annoying, cold calling is no longer effective. So why do it? A targeted email which avoids the spam box has a higher chance of getting a response than a cold call. With a cold call, the default allergic reaction is ''no.'' But with a brief and sincere email it could be, ''hmmm, this might be interesting...'' However, most times, cold emails don’t work either. Warm Calling is Better To have a chance at making a sale, you need a warm introduction. These come in two varieties: 1) Networking and, 2) Prospects who have expressed interest in being contacted. Networking use to be a Rolodex-based approach. No longer. Today, there’re several digital business networks that can help in business development, including LinkedIn, Spoke, Xing and others. These websites offer a more robust way of maintaining connections and have become an indispensable tool for introductions. An introduction via LinkedIn, for example, is much warmer than a cold call or cold email, because it comes with a bit of trust. Say you’re interested in talking to Acme Co. about your new product. You log into LinkedIn and search for people who work for Acme. Then you see how you might be connected to them. An ideal connection is just one degree away, in other words, you know someone who knows the person you’re looking to connect with directly. Then you ask for an introduction. You’re no longer just a stranger trying to sell something. Instead, you come with a recommendation, however light, from a person that the receiver is connected to. Even if you can't find a path to connect to someone, sending a direct message via LinkedIn is better than sending a cold email. The reason is that LinkedIn implies a business context, so the person you're trying to reach is not going to be as surprised or angry about the unsolicited ping. What About Blogs? Another way of connecting with someone is via their blog – people who blog generally want to have a conversation. If you engage with someone around their blog and participate in a conversation on a topic they’re interested in, you’ll naturally connect with them – particularly if your business engagement is relevant to the topic they’re discussing. However, if you try to push the conversation off topic, the person will perceive you as disingenuous and there will be no business. In the end, business development is hard work requiring constant attention and nurturing; there is no silver bullet. Business Development Services The R.O.I. Group provides the following business development services: • Business development plans • CRM programs • Goal setting • Lead generation • Presentation development • Prospect lists • Prospect profiling • RFP/proposal writing • Strategy and tactics • Target market research To discuss your business development needs, contact Bill Barrick. Thank you. P: 714.504.5214 |
