Introducing the Business Development Playbook
If you’re one of our clients (or you’re on the inside and attend our team meetings!), you know that we frequently tell people they need to prioritize business development. Put simply, business development generates business. It creates cash flow. I wouldn’t call it the backbone of business; I would call it more like a vital organ – one that makes sure that the business continues living and thriving.
Perhaps this is easy for me to say, for at one point in my career I was a business development manager. And as a former BDM, it amazes me that people don’t see this work as a function in its own right. Instead, I see owners too often throw money at inefficient marketing campaigns; or sit back, both fearing and hoping that the next project or client is coming.
I’m certainly not trying to be critical, if you’re slumping back in your chair, thinking, “oh.. that’s me.” Instead, I raise the point to offer: there’s hope! When it comes to generating cash flow, we can be in charge of our own destiny! There’s a tangible way to move from hope to action to results.
Over the past three years I have learned, though, that the discipline of business development isn’t widely understood. It’s often confused with marketing, and these two are not the same thing. There’s a simple, non-MBA-jargonesque way to distinguish the two. (Preface: I’m going to get in trouble with marketing people, but these explanations match well for the types of clients that we serve).
The goal of business development is to directly generate new clients. It’s targeted, personal, and relationship-based. And because it’s relationship-based, I personally think it’s fun, creative, and fulfilling. It can be so intimate!
On the other hand, marketing paints broader strokes. It instills brand familiarity and recognition through repetition and scale. Of course, the aim here too is to generate revenue. Yet the tail to do so is much longer; conversion rates are lower; and the ROI (for a business with scarce resources) is way lower than for business development.
Back when I was a BDM working for Annmarie, she’d use this analogy:
Business development is kung fu street fighting. It’s hand to hand combat. It’s high-touch, personal, and you know exactly who you’re targeting.
And to the contrary, marketing is about scale and mass, whereas business development is targeted and 1-1.
And although I am a disciple of the business development approach, I have a confession to make: our business hasn’t done a great job prioritizing it in 2020.
Of course, there’s been covid. During that time we made conscious efforts to focus internally, supporting our clients (alongside not wanting to be tone deaf). But even with that in mind, a growing business of our size should spend 20-50% of their resources there; and we simply haven’t. Five years ago, I promised to be honest about my own business with you, so… here we are!
Right now, it’s the beginning of August. Maybe you’re experiencing the dog days of summer, and getting out of the heat and getting the kids back to school is the priority. That’s okay! Maybe you’re scared and perhaps even paralyzed, wondering where that next project or client is going to come from. That’s okay too. Or maybe you’re on the other side of the spectrum. You’re ready for action – because enough’s enough, and gosh darn it, it’s time to take some control back in 2020.
Over the next few weeks, follow along here. We’ll take you step by step through our business development process. Then, watch us come back to hit our 2020 goals (no pressure with that public accountability, haha). And you’ll also meet our new team member (gah, we’re so excited!) whose strategy superpower is business development.
If you want to learn more about building a customized business development playbook for your business, get in touch, here. We’ll be delighted to schedule a consult. Otherwise, we’re happy to share and answer any questions you have about our process on this platform. Please leave questions and comments below!
