A lot of folks are running wild these days, trying to get sales, trying to get stability, trying to get a job even. One of the most amazing things is, since everyone is a "seller", there aren't that many buyers! What better time in history to go for something 'different'. Go for a partnership instead.Business Development (Biz Dev) is one of those rare skills that I tried very hard to develop at my last company. It's undoubtedly a hard thing to do, to measure, and to manage. However, the rewards of good business development can be partnerships leading to NEW revenue opportunities for you both!
Seth Godin writes a Blog that everyone interested in building a business should read. A recent post on Business Development has many 'thoughtful' tips on doing business development. Thoughtful tips are good, but in my opinion tactical realistic guides are better. So, without further ado, here is how I go about "doing business development".
1.) Learn the business. Don't try to be the 'master' strategist, just try to learn what the goals and challenges are for the company you are doing Biz Dev for.
2.) Find the targets. Biz Dev should be a 'hunter' activity, not a 'passive, they will come to us' activity. If someone wants to be your partner, then they don't need YOUR skills (maybe just to help negotiate)... your skills should be outbound. Exception: if one of your targets LANDS in your lap by luck, great, close it, put the feather in your cap and move on!
3.) Reach the targets. Great Biz Dev folks have 500+ LinkedIn connections (i'm working on it... so add me already: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hbombers ) Anyways, getting to the target starting the conversation is vital, if you can't get connected you'll never get started. Surprisingly, YOU PROBABLY CAN IF YOU TRY!!!
4.) Don't sell. You are not selling. You are 'exploring' if working together will be beneficial!
5.) Close. If it IS beneficial, write it up... (I like "joint project proposal" form), and lets sign it. Putting this piece of paper in front of a partner, quickly reveals true 'issues', and is a roadmap for getting to close.
6.) Communicate. After the close, weekly or monthly status reports are vital. Ideally these would be phone or f2f accompanied by a report. You initiated the contact, so you do the report and push for awareness. As soon as they 'forget' about you, the project starts to die.
Now get cracking, and close some deals already! The atmosphere for 'joint' money-making ventures couldn't be more 'now'.
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