BusinessHABSkills for Business Development Executive: Business development is essential for every business whether it be Kellogg’s or Ken’s Fruit shop.
But where do you start if you want lead generation for your small business?
Below are Skills for Business Development Executive.
These are tips for every business owner to implement.
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Skills for Business Development Executive
1. Know more about business development
Business development is a process that involves identifying, planning and implementing strategies for company growth. Business development practices focus on increasing sales and innovating the ways a company finds and retains customers. Although it is usually focused on sales, business development can involve any department of a company in the goal of gaining customers and boosting sales. Development strategies can vary from human resource initiatives to new product offerings.
2.Get the important of business development
Companies that focus on business development are more likely to see business growth through sales, lead generation and employee satisfaction. Development strategies can prevent a business from becoming stagnant and losing market share. Businesses that pursue growth also create an internal culture of innovation that can encourage employees to retain their positions instead of seeking work elsewhere.
Skills for Business Development Executive
3. Define growth targets annually and review them monthly.
If you don’t know what your goal is, it’s very hard to hit it. So make sure you set new business goals that are clear and achievable but stretching. Then work on your strategy to deliver against those objectives.
4. Look at each of your market segments.
Are they likely to grow or contract? Is there some new government initiative or regulation that impacts positively or negatively on your service provision? Are some sectors harder to penetrate than others with the resources and market position you currently have? Customer Research is key.
5. Understand why customers buy from you.
If you clearly understand that, you will be closer to understanding how to pitch your business to new customers both when face to face and online.
6. Work out where your customers go for information.
That may be online or offline. Then make a plan to be visible where they hang out.
Skills for Business Development Executive
7. Know the cost of marketing to reach your target market.
If you don’t know how much the various routes to market cost, how will you know how to evaluate the viability of each option against your budget and objectives?
8. What can you do yourself and what needs specialist skills?
There’s an opportunity cost to DIY especially if you don’t have the time, resources, skills, or knowledge. So, decide what can be done in-house and what essential tasks need outsourcing.
9. Make a plan.
Even small businesses need to understand and plot out the main tasks they need to undertake to generate new business.
Skills for Business Development Executive
10. Work out the ROI for each method of marketing, product area and each market sector.
For example, if your value of the sale is low for a particular product or service in a particular sector, you may need to use email marketing or even advertising to reach a large audience quickly at a low cost per contact. If the value of the sale is high, the personal touch (e.g. exhibitions, telemarketing) is almost definitely needed and the cost of sale will rise but that’s set against a strong ROI that may justify the spend.
11. Get expert advice where necessary.
No business manager knows everything so take advantage of any support you can get. That could be by reading and implementing actions from blogs like these or using a sales and marketing expert for your strategy or implementation of government support such as GrowthAccelerator.
12. Become known as an expert and a go-to person in your field.
This relates to information around your area of expertise. There are over 100 articles, tips, podcasts and blogs on this site. We get large traffic numbers from people wanting knowledge. This in turn pushes up Google rankings and from that, we gain new business inquiries.
13. Participate in conversations around your specialist area.
There are lots of these on LinkedIn Twitter and in forums. Be visible and become known as someone that contributes. Manage your time wisely and select discussions that showcase your skills to people that might want or recommend your services.
14. Work on your website.
Many sites were designed several years ago. Technology and tastes have changed and the advent of social media has changed the way we consume information online. Is your website now fit for purpose or does it look like a tired brochure-based site that simply provides basic info on your services?
Skills for Business Development Executive
15. Get on the social media train before it’s too late.
Social media is a fundamental change to how we communicate both socially and in business. Younger managers have arrived in the workplace and they expect to engage on different platforms not just by email and on your website. You need to play in this arena or you will disappear from both search and potential supplier shortlists.
16. Be a consultant not a salesman.
No buyer likes to be sold to. Old fashioned selling techniques have long gone. Nowadays, especially at a higher value of the sale, you must be prepared to give good advice even if it means no sale at that time. Goodwill and recommendation have more long-term value than short-term sales gain when that sale may not be the right solution for the client.
17. Do something related to new business every day.
Make sure that your colleagues also focus on the new business effort. It can be as simple as a call to a prospect or writing a blog or sending an email. But make it a discipline that new business is a daily task.
Skills for Business Development Executive
18. Think content not advertising.
Content is what attracts customers to your website, keeps them engaged in your newsletters and it’s what encourages them to follow you, share your information, recommend you, and favorite stuff that you produce. So, concentrate less on broadcast sales ‘push’ messages and more on engaging knowledge transfer.
19. Share that knowledge.
Content is great but you can’t rely on people simply finding your website. Buyers increasingly consult their networks and find relevant content through social media. That means you need to share your information through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social platforms. Google + and YouTube are particularly important in a b2b context since both are increasingly found in search results.
20. Build your network.
That means both offline and online. People cannot buy your services or recommend you if you aren’t there. That means scheduling time for attending networking events and also for participating in relevant conversations on forums online using LinkedIn and so on. Social influence is increasingly important so start to build your network.
21. Keep up to date.
The pace of change, especially online, is huge. Whilst you most certainly cannot chase every new thing that comes out, you need to ensure you keep up to speed with developments and ideally keep ahead of the competition. Maybe that means recording a Google Hangout or a simple video or even a podcast. These do not have to be inexpensive and are not hugely time-consuming. What they do however, is make you credible and visible and support SEO.
22. Find out who gets to your customers before you.
One might call these influencers in an online sense and they might develop into possible strategic alliances. The point is that these are the people to use for knowledge and to engage with in order to reach out to your customers. It’s about mutual interest and partnerships can be valuable for both sides.
23. Remember it’s a long game not a short dash.
As I mentioned before, new business development is a daily task and it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to focus on it. Not to the detriment of your day job, unless it is your day job of course, but it is about looking ahead and ensuring that you have a steady pipeline of leads coming through from different channels.
Skills for Business Development Executive
24. Develop a strategy
Before you begin developing your business, create a strategy with measurable goals and action steps. Identify the areas where you want to see business growth whether that means breaking into new markets, retaining customers or increasing your marketing efforts. Consider what processes you’ll need to put into place as you seek to follow your plan.
25. Use the right business development methods
Once you decide on a strategy, you’ll need to determine how you will implement those development goals. If your plan is based on increasing sales, consider if you will use email or digital marketing, cold calling or ads on social media to reach consumers. For internally-focused strategies, think about the ways staff members can give input and use their skills to further your business development approach.
26. Understand your sales audience
Get to know the metrics of your market including the demographics of your current and prospective customers. Identify a target audience and focus your sales strategy around consumers who fit those traits.
Determine how your key demographic uses your product or service. Find out where these customers look for information about what to buy and how they spend money. It may also help to analyze competing products or services to understand how they reach their target audience.
Skills for Business Development Executive
27. Use business development skills as a focus for professional development
Another way you can begin developing your business is by focusing on internal growth. Start by training team members in crucial business development skills like these:
- Curiosity: Effective business developers ask thoughtful questions and seek to discover the answers. They use a natural curiosity to pursue solutions to complex tasks or problems.
- Brand awareness: Business development relies on a strong understanding of a brand and how a company both creates and promotes that persona to the public.
- Pragmaticism: Business professionals who become leaders in developing new strategies for the brand need a sensible approach to goals. For a business development plan to work, professionals should set manageable expectations for results and be able to evaluate progress truthfully.
- Product knowledge: Business professionals need a deep knowledge of what they offer to consumers before they can make a clear plan for developing a business model.
- Interpersonal communication: Business development involves connecting with inside staff, vendors and customers. Networking with other professionals both internally and externally can help you accomplish your goals. This involves active listening, giving effective feedback and clearly communicating ideas.
- Organization: Business development leaders organize their thoughts, strategies and business practices to drive growth.
28. Try a new strategy
Don’t be afraid to use a new approach to develop your business. Learn from mistakes as you find the strategies that work best for your brand and industry. Innovation is a key proponent of business growth that sets market trends. Be critical and decisive in refining your process as you assess new ideas.
29. Always think ahead.
While agility is an important quality for a startup, you can’t fly by the seat of your pants when you’re running a business. Planning your next step – in anticipation of all possible scenarios – is the best way to stay grounded and secure as your business evolves.
Thinking ahead is broad advice, but it can be as simple as reviewing all ongoing contracts, like comparing rates with the best credit card processors and seeing if you can negotiate a better deal.
Skills for Business Development Executive
30. Focus on social media.
Another method to grow your business is to create profiles on all of the major social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). An active profile allows you to better market your business and interact with far more potential customers.
When your business has an account that you update regularly on the major platforms, consumers can find your business more easily and are more likely to share your business with their friends. You‘ll also create a more engaging experience for your audience, helping them feel more connected to your brand and cultivating trust.
31. Host local events.
While attending events is a great way to grow your network, hosting your own events within your community is even more beneficial – whether it‘s running a fundraiser, offering exclusive deals on a holiday, or sponsoring a local sports team. Creating a unique experience for your customers will foster more personal relationships with them.
If you host events in your area, you’ll increase brand awareness and show your community that you are invested in their wellbeing. When you are committed to them, they’ll feel more loyalty to your business.
Skills for Business Development Executive
32. Research your competitors.
While this might not elicit immediate growth, researching your competitors is one of the most important first steps in launching your business. Ask yourself who your competitors are, what they’re doing (that you’re not doing) that works for them, and how you can differentiate your business from theirs. The answers to these questions will help you form a more productive business strategy, defining the areas of your business that require more attention to flourish.
33. Create a first response initiative
Many companies do business with the first business to reach out. Business development plans should include how you will contact new leads and how you plan to follow up on contacts made through networking. As you prepare to respond, consider the timing of your response as the most important factor.
Conclusion
Skills for Business Development Executive: Targeted Development Solutions, We tailor solutions that cultivate leadership skills in specialized populations.
Our unique development experience for business includes expert coaching and career planning.
And helping organizations engage, develop, and retain their business leaders.
The above tips aren’t exhaustive. However, no organization can ignore their importance and, if you follow these Skills for Business Development Executive tips to get you more business.
You will be much closer to delivering against your sales objectives in the coming year.
BusinessHAB