What is Business Development?

By Thomas Ross, Founding Partner SSHQ

Business Development has changed!

Business Development has changed!

​How has Business Development changed and what is it? 
I know, I know, this seems like a very obvious and simple question, but is it? 
Certainly for those who have been in business for the last 15 years, this resonates quickly and simply as a process by which new opportunities for revenue are developed 
The goal of Business Development is to create new sales leads and revenue opportunities
This to be differentiated from closing or finalizing new business which is generally attributed more directly to “Sales”
“Sales”, tends to represent the actual transaction itself while “Business Development” is seen as the process leading to the opportunity in the first place. 
For those going back longer than that “Business Development”, has less meaning unless it’s understood more directly as “Sales Development” and for some even, “Marketing”
This represents a time when the organizational chart for most companies had marketing, sales and customer service reporting through different channels in the company
This for many led to what we call a "Siloed" environment where departments that should have worked closely together, often did not
You may even have seen many humorous video's and meme's showing just how far apart many sales and marketing people were and still are!
This is because the hierarchy or organizational chart for most organizations today really has not changed in decades
Up until recently, you could still get away with this as business was still growing and why make major changes when you’re successful!?

Enter Covid-19 and everything changes

New Virtual World of 2020

Digital Transformation

With the recent changes due to Covid-19, everything has changed

1. Budgets - in many cases have been slashed or removed altogether
2. Sales teams - working from home or furloughed
3. Marketing teams - working from home or furloughed
4. Customer service - working from home or furloughed
5. Business Development - working from home or furloughed
6. Executive teams - working from office & home, often blended

What has changed with many customers? They have gone through exactly same changes as you!
So how does this change what we need as an organization going forward?
For many organizations, they are now seeing better results with lower costs as much of the waste build up over last 10 years is exposed
"Necessity is the mother of invention", this has led to companies making the most of less...
The biggest change is with, “Communication”, In the very recent past we were still communicating through traditional ways,  with most relying on email
What’s interesting is that now we are all using Teams, Slack, Zoom, etc, and actually learning how efficient online communication can be! 
Would this have happened without being forced...yes, but over a much longer period of time

Real-Time Communication 2020

Customer Experience

What’s even more interesting is that we can apply this same process with our customers and include social media as part of our communication mix
This creates AMAZING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE! 
I know, I know, your already putting corporate content on social media. This is not communication, this is advertising
Communication is not advertising, BUT social media offers us the opportunity to talk to our customers and their teams in real-time with far better results
This is no different than what we gained by using Slack, Teams, or Zoom for our own internal teams so why would we not do the same for your customers!!?
​
So what does this mean for our corporate structure? 
It means our existing organizational charts no longer match up with today’s marketing, sales, or customer service roles
In fact, many of the old positions can be redefined and or eliminated
This will cut costs significantly while increasing results dramatically
Some roles disappear while others evolve in order to maximize direct real-time communication with existing and new customers alike
We’ve always said that everyone was in “Sales”, well now it may be that everyone is in “Customer Service” 
The more we help and educate the less we need to sell! 
The trick is to drive "Inbound" by "Pulling" rather than pushing customers! 
This also means that the days of corporate advertising are coming to an end, but this is a topic for another day!
So here’s a quick high-level view of the comparison between old outdated org charts and a new one for today’s digital world

Old versus New Organizational Chart

New Organizational Chart 2020

Re-Org 2022

Is this a dramatic and transformational change, ABSOLUTELY!
Is this what all organizations should do?
Not necessarily...this is an example of what can work for many but certainly not all! 
“Business Development”, now happens almost entirely virtually
This does not mean we don’t meet with customers and key stakeholders as we are more able to do so
But what it does mean is that even this can be greatly reduced
Every organization is different and works with customers in their own unique way so this needs to be put in place with that in mind 
In the end you will not only reduce your costs while greatly streamlining your organization, you will also greatly improve your revenues and growth!
To have your organizational chart and workflows reviewed for today's best results / Digital Transformation, just ask me! 

Thomas Ross, Pro-Certified Digital Expert

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