Top Qualities to look for when hiring a Business Developer

They are excellent communicators

As the business world is becoming increasingly service oriented; it would be nice if all the company employees were good communicators but for business developers it’s a must.

They are caring and possess a high level of empathy

Great Business Developers always demonstrate interest in other people around, they are excellent in starting conversations and really interested in learning about from other people they engage, the recognize the contributions of other people around them and do not care to take credit for the jobs done.
Their ability to influence others comes from their high level of empathy; their ability to put themselves in other people shoes and see things from the other person perspective, this ability attracts people around them because they are always able to connect with other people around them on an emotional level.

They are highly proactive and love taking initiative

Regardless of the company size, a good business developer will not wait to be told what needs to be done and will always look to do what it takes to get things done.
When a certain project is at risk, they will know without being told because they always think ahead to be ready to jump into and save without being asked.
Hiring a reactive person to do business development can be a vital mistake, a reactive employee will rarely take initiative, they prefer to stay in their comfort zone, they need to be micromanaged and told what needs to be done and how to do it, and they need to be closely monitored at all times.
On the other hand, a proactive person is the total opposite of that, they do not like to be micromanaged, they like to be told what needs to be done and they will go their own way to get it done, they do not like to be closely monitored and will often rebel if faced with a manager tries to micromanage and monitor them every step of the way.
Proactive business development employees are highly talented employees very often and are in high demand, retaining them at your company and keeping them away from recruiters eyes is hard so they need to be provided with a good compensation package that includes a good salary and commission system to keep them motivated, remember that once they receive an invitation for an interview they will most likely get a job offer so you should make sure you keep them happy at work by keeping them secured financially and as long as they get results, let them have their own way.

They drive change

Remarkable Business Developers are often different, they prefer to be unusual, some may view them as quirky and odd in a good way, they believe that you should not waste your time trying to fit in when you can always stand out.

Knowing when to back off

Although different and unusual can be fun, when things get heated, a good business developer will know when to dial it down and be part of the group.

They are humble and passionate about what they love

Great Business Developers do not like to be complimented, and only offer genuine sincere compliments so they do not come across as fake, they find that having a strong ego distasteful, yet they are passionate about doing what they love and always look to develop themselves further to become better in what they do.

They speak up when others won’t

Some employees do not prefer to speak up in meetings, others hesitate to speak up in private, they lack the leadership skills to put themselves in the front and say what they really think.
Remarkable Business Developers have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of those around them, they will often step up and raise important issues when others won’t.

They are not afraid to make mistakes and always willing to admit shortcomings

Great Business Developers are not arrogant know it all type of people, they understand their strengths and shortcomings, they are comfortable and not threatened about delegating others to fill up areas where they lack knowledge or the skills, they do not worry about making mistakes or failing a certain job, they understand that with every job there are risks and progress depends on taking an extra step forward, they know they will not be right the whole time and they will admit when they make a mistake.

They are creative and innovative

A good business developer follows a process, a great business developer improves the existing process, if a process does not exist they will take the initiative to create it, not because they are expected to, but because they can’t help it.

Motivated by continuous learning and committed to continuous development

They love to be given opportunities to work on something new, constantly pushing their learning curve, they are hungry for knowledge and absorb new knowledge like a sponge.

Great problem solvers

They always try to be one step ahead of everyone else and anticipate potential problems, rather than worrying about the problem itself they focus on finding solutions, they can come up with unusual solutions because they always think outside the box.

They think positively and are highly constructive

During the interview, you should always look to identify if the candidate looks for the full or empty half of the glass, candidates who think in a positive manner are more likely to succeed at work than negative employees, the last thing you want is a negative business developer among your team, with time, his negativity will spread to others around like a disease and can lead to demotivating the team members.
development team must comprise of people who possess these qualities or together they complete them.

Six ways to develop your business online presence

Website

Your company website must be centered on your users, researchers have found that 61% users will leave if they have a bad web experience therefore your website must be designed in a strategic manner with a clear call for action, Avoid the use of flash in your website and choose HTML5 for coding.

Social Networking

You need to determine the best social networks for your business, this highly depends on your target audience, networks like LinkedIn are good for B2B business, networks like Facebook and Twitter are better for B2C business, other platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are good too for B2C as well as E commerce, all your platforms must be designed in one integrated communication theme that also reflects on your offline activities, you want people to perceive you in a certain image and you do not want to risk being perceived as inconsistent. Be careful, once you go on social networks you are obligated to continue to produce content that adds value to your audience, if you stop generating content you may be perceived as weak or worse; a slacker, so sometimes not being in at all on social networks is much better than starting and stopping.

YouTube

The most preferred search engine for many people, you should consider developing a few short 1-2 minute videos about your business, products, operations, projects and expertise that will further enhance your position within viewer’s mind, these videos are useful as they can be embedded on your website, they can be used in future training seminars, exhibitions or conferences as they convey a stronger message than any written word.

Blogging

Hiring bloggers to write articles and reviews about your products, services or solutions is one way to increase your brand presence and awareness over the web, blogs are a good way to generate content and channel traffic to your website, these articles can be shared with other business and news websites which will increase your reach further and allow word of mouth to spread among readers and their network.

Search Engine Optimization SEO

Optimizing search engines to your advantage is a continuous process, it has now become well known to many that the majority of people will not check the second or third page on google, therefore you need to ensure that whenever someone within your target audience uses google, Bing, Yahoo or whatever search engine of preference searches for keywords that relates to your business, you are always there on the top of the search results page.

Frequently asked Questions FAQ’s

More and more online users are no longer using Keywords when searching for a certain topic, life is too short and they require a quick answer, so they ask the question directly to the search engine, (e.g. what is the best car to drive in the Middle East? Which is better for hot climates a Mercedes or a Toyota? Etc.). This is where you should be to intercept, with a continuously updated FAQ’s page on your blog integrated with your website, you can be there whenever someone is asking the question related to your products or service to answer it, this would drive more traffic to your website and portray you as an expert reference to your followers and readers.

7 Skills excellent Business Development Managers must have

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

A good business developer must have strong communication skills. They are required in order to communicate, present, assert and speak to all the different stakeholders involved. He must also be able to cold call prospects with confidence in order to gain new clients.

Collaboration Skills

Business Development is not a one man show. It involves collaboration with multiple parties from inside and outside the company. Any good business developer should be able to build relationships, influence, manage conflicts and navigate through office politics in order to get things done.

Negotiation & Persuasion skills

This includes being tactful and diplomatic at all times. Achieving your set goals require that you are able to learn when to compromise and when to take a stand. In order to persuade your prospects to do what needs to be done, you will need to win their hearts, minds, and trust.

Project Management Skills

Good Business developers are in some way also project managers. They have to be able to set goals, plan and manage projects, manage the risks involved, calculate budgets, cost, time and teams working on ongoing projects.

Research & Strategy

A Business Developer will need to have strong research and strategic analysis skills. These are necessary in order to benchmark the competition and keep the company ahead of it.

Computer Skills

Any decent employee needs to have at least basic computer skills. Nevertheless, a Business Development Manager must have high competency working with Microsoft Office. Even CRM software is a must for this job as well.

Business Intelligence

Knowing all about your business services and products is essential for any Business Developer. However knowing everything about your competition as well will provide you with the leverage you need to surpass them. Any respectful business developer will conduct the necessary market analysis needed to identify the company´s current position. He will conduct an analysis of what competitive advantage the company has over the similar businesses in the sector. Business developers must be able to collect the data they need in order to prepare an accurate analysis.

3 Effective Business Development Strategies: Getting Started!

1. Market Research

Performing market research is highly important in order to understand your company’s current position and determine where it is headed. There are 3 steps I recommend for successful market research activities:
Perform research about the industry you are in, the geographical area you cover and the market segment you are targeting. There are many useful ready-made reports you can find online to get information about market trends and value. You can then calculate your market share out of the total market value.
Do research for contracts, bids, and opportunities of cooperation with other companies. Your company can increase its revenue channels by seizing this opportunity.
Subscribe to industry-related databases, forums, and blogs. These can be of great value to you, especially if you are in the construction or building industry. They provide detailed information regarding all projects within your area from concept to execution. This can save you plenty of time when collecting information and vastly reduce your market intelligence efforts. Use them wisely to gain leverage over your competition.

1.2 Competitive analysis

Once you learn everything you can about the products/ services your company offers, you proceed with competition research. You have to learn about your competition in order to understand where you stand. This will also help you determine your desired market positioning. You need to follow these steps in order to assess the competition:
Determine your company´s top competitors (4-6 competitors).
Set up a criteria or mechanism of comparison; choose different variables to use in order to compare, such as strengths/ weaknesses, price, product quality, exposure, brand reputation, etc.
Try to find out what projects your competitors are targeting within your market segment; assess if you can develop an offering that can take clients away from them.
Since you are a new business, competitors do not know you yet. Use this to your advantage: visit your competitors´ showrooms (if they have any) anonymously, like any regular customer and collect valuable input to use in your research.

1.3 Current Client Relations

Conduct warm calls with your existing clients, in order to assess the company´s current situation and what you doing right/ wrong. Assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats (SWOT Analysis) and ensure your clients are not being tempted by other competitors.
Build a close relationship with your clients, through the use of emails, phone calls, face to face meetings and technical product presentations in order to assess your client requirements and needs. Do not forget to provide them with the latest copy of your marketing material.
Follow up, Follow up, Follow up, do not push hard, but also do not give up easily, 80% of B2B sales are conducted after the 5th encounter.

1.4 Reach out to new clients

Identify your main target audience sectors, and then categorize the main companies you want to approach within these sectors.
Conduct cold calls with the desired company and arrange meetings in order to identify their current supplier or service provider; find out why they are currently working with that supplier/ service provider and if they were happy with their current provider; then tailor your sales pitch based on the given feedback to win the business.
Email your marketing materials to existing clients & potential clients within your target audience in order to raise awareness about the latest products you added or new services you provide.
Follow up, Follow up, and Follow up! Don’t push too hard but also do not give up. There are several email tracking tools that you can use, these can be useful as you will find out instantly when a certain person has checked your email. Therefore you are always in the know if something comes up and when you should give your client a call.

1.5 Networking Events

As a BDM, spending your whole day inside the office will not be the best use of your time. You need to dedicate your time as well to meet people related to your market. Attending networking events can be of great value to you. Not only you get to meet new people, you will learn new things about your market as well. Attend industry-related networking events, exhibitions, seminars, conferences, and trade shows to be in contact with new, potential clients. Having a booth in the exhibition/fair is an advantage. However, make sure it presents a good image and reflects the company brand identity. Otherwise, it may reflect as unprofessional or cheap.
Attend as many industry related events as you can. Make sure you follow up with a thank you email to everyone you meet the following day.

2. Enhancing the Public image

This strategy addresses the company’s image and how it is perceived by its different stakeholders. The company is a brand, and like any brand, you cannot control the way clients perceive it. However, you can always try to influence your audience perception. This can be achieved through the following:

2.1 Website

You can work with the marketing division or marketing specialists on enhancing the company website, making it more user-friendly, with a clear call-for-action message in order to convert views into actions. A poorly designed website can drive people away from your business and can make you lose customers before they get the chance to know your product/service.
Make sure your website is ‘responsive’. Responsive means that your website is able to adapt to multiple browsers and can fit multiple screen sizes, depending on the device used to view it (PC, Tablet, Laptop, Mobile, etc).
Proofread your website content and make sure there are no punctuation or grammar mistakes; also your font must be clear enough to read without problems. These small mistakes can go unnoticed most of the time; however for clients with an eye for detail, your company will be perceived as unprofessional or of low quality.
Use only high-quality images on your website; low-quality images may reflect a bad image or poor quality. Consider hiring a professional photographer to take some shots of staff in the office or engineers working on the site. These photos can be used on the website and for other marketing purposes, so don’t forget to archive these photos and label them for easy use in future.
Consider adding the organizational chart of your company to the website, at least for upper management. This could ease the life of the website viewers as it would be clear who does what inside the organization, and whom they need to contact.

2.2 Branding

There should be only one integrated communication theme that governs all the aspects of your brand. Whether online or offline your brand must reflect consistency.
Creating and implementing the suggestions below in compliance with your brand guidelines will ensure your company image is unified, cohesive and professional. Addressing your customers in English is also important. You also need to consider your target audience, therefore adding the native language of your target audience is as important.
Your marketing material should include:
Company Profile
Generic Company Brochure
Product Catalogues
Branded Folder
Branded CD’s
Customer testimonials
Press Releases
A unified presentation template, also making sure all employees use it.
Short 1-3 minutes promotional videos that promote the company and its products to be used on multiple platforms (YouTube, Exhibitions, Reception area, etc.).
A unified company signature for emails, making sure all employees use it.

2.3 Office

Ensuring your company offices reflect the company brand image includes:
Reception Area equipped with marketing materials and business cards displayed in an attractive manner, available as takeaways for visitors.
Company videos displayed on loop in the waiting area, giving visitors an opportunity to know more about your business while waiting.
Proper Signage displayed in the company common areas, clearly displaying the company name and logo.
Common areas and staff offices must be clean, tidy, uncluttered and inviting; bathrooms must remain clean at all times.
Make sure that snacks and hot beverages are available at all times for visitors, served in an attractive dishware.
Your conference room should always be ready to accommodate guests, training, seminars, and meetings; therefore it should be equipped with a screen or projector, a laser pointer, teleconferencing equipment and a white board.

3. Increasing market exposure

3.1 Optimize your online presence

Conduct an online reputation management research, this would ensure that all articles, posts, videos and comments out there present your brand in a positive manner.
Develop your company presence over different social media platform and ensure you choose your platforms according to your target audience (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
Develop content to post on your different social media platforms, such as press releases, success stories, case studies, promotional videos, ongoing training activities, testimonials, etc.

Increase your online exposure by applying search engine optimization techniques to enhance your online visibility.

10 Effective Strategies to help you with Lead Generation

Ask your past clients for testimonials and referrals

Have your previous clients write testimonials, this can help your business establish credibility and enhance your public image. you have to know that your clients may not know how to write a testimonial, therefore it’s worth your time if you guide them through it, a good testimonial template can be like the following:

-(open)

My name is ____(X), I am ___ (age), I live in ___ (location), I’m a ____ (profession)

I used to experience _____(problem/ I had _____ (pain)

I thought that ______(myth #1)

And I had to _______(myth # 2)

(Transition)

After working with {your company name)

I _______(quantifiable desired benefit)

and ______(secondary quantifiable desired benefit)

Now I feel _____(emotions related benefit)

I’m excited to ______(opportunities that are now opened up)

(Close with thanks)

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Ask you current clients for referrals.

This strategy also works for existing businesses, If your current clients are happy with the product/ service you are providing, call them and ask if they can refer you to their friends, this strategy could generate good leads for your business and you will take advantage of using social proofing, since his friend is using your product/ service then you will face less resistance

Turn your bills into buyers

Check out your bills, who are the people you currently pay money to? Check if you can exchange your service with theirs instead of paying them hard cash.

Networking

Networking is by far one of the best ways for lead generation, it allows you to build rapport and get warm leads, your goal during any networking event is to get as many good quality business cards as you can get.

You can keep good leads cards in your left pocket and business cards that are not relevant in your right pocket, make sure to fill the data from those business card into your database as soon as you get back to office, don’t let those cards pile up, otherwise they just become a stack of meaningless business cards.

Follow up with an email or a call within 3 days of event date, you have to make sure the lead still remembers you and build on that.

A good place to find out about new networking opportunities is meetup.com

google Adwords and Facebook Ads to drive your target audience to your website.

Public speaking

People love to do business with “experts” and public speakers are viewed as experts, find out about events and ask if you can schedule a chance to speak.

It’s important that your speech focuses on offering value to your audience, do not try to sell your product or promote your business, seize the opportunity to educate your audience about your subject matter.

Offer a free Report/ Free consultation

You can get more leads from your website if you offer your website visitors with value in exchange for contact information, provide people with something like:

E-book
Exclusive content
Reports
Infographic
Templates

7. The Facebook referral system

Each one of your friends knows at least 3 people who can benefit from your product/ service, if you have 250 FB friends and you asked each one of them to refer you to 3 of their friends, this has the potential to generate 750 leads, assume that your conversion rate was 1 % then you have the chance to make 7-8 new customers from this strategy.

A good message template for Facebook referral can be like:

Hi, (Name)

I am looking to build my business with referrals. A good referral for me is {target market}

I want to offer them a {free consultation/ Ebook/ audit report (add value})

If they say “Yes”— great. if they say “No” — No problem.

If you can message me back with 3 referrals today, I will enter your name in a contest where I am giving {25$ Amazon gift card/ Coupon}.

I really appreciate your help, it will make a big difference.

Recycle old Leads

Check your database, am sure you will find some old leads who asked you to contact them again in the future, it maybe worthy of your time to follow up with them every 90 days to see if they are ready to buy your product/ service.

Referral Partnership

Find complementary businesses, these are business that are selling your same target market however are not a competitor to you. you can create partnerships with these businesses where you promote his services to your network in exchange for referrals for your business.

Internet Marketing

Google, Facebook, Email Marketing and Video Marketing are great ways to convert traffic to your website and generating new leads, they are mostly free as well, except for the pay per click ads of course, you should utilize these tools to generate leads, It is not possible to cover the whole topic of Internet Marketing here, however I wrote down a few tips on how Internet marketing can help:

A. Google Business

97% of Internet users look online for local goods and services, therefore If you haven’t listed your business on Google business Directory, I suggest you start now.

B. Get an Email Marketing system

The good side of having an Email marketing system is that you can automate the process, you do not need to send every email by yourself, you can set up automatic replies to your leads and let the system are care of the process, another benefit is that you can measure your success and failure rates then be able to revise your emails accordingly.

Some good Email Marketing platforms are:

GetResponse
Campaign Monitor
MailChimp
Are you using other Email Marketing platforms, share your experience in the comments section below.

C. Video Marketing

The main advantage of Video marketing is that its free, other benefits are it engages, educates your customers and drives traffic to your website.

D. Pay per Click Advertising

Great, low cost way to drive business to your websites or business page, you can use

9 Common Mistakes Business Developers Must Avoid

Mistake 1

Not keeping your clients updated
The client should never call you for the updates, but instead, you should always take the initiative to update them first. Keep your communications focused and relevant. This does not only apply to products and services your clients are already using. You need to also brief them about the ones newly launched. Research shows that being relevant and keeping your customer's up-to-date help drive 18 times more revenue in the long run. There are high chances that this way you will also keep abreast of your competition and raise your company to market leader status. For more ideas on how to stay afloat in the business game, have a look as well at my other post: 5 Ways to keep your business Competitive.

Mistake 2

Not demonstrating the same peer status
When you walk into a meeting, demonstrate confidence and leave aside your insecurities, even if you don´t have a lot of experience as a biz dev. What you need to let your counterpart know is that you are trustworthy and truly comfortable in your skin. If you are perceived as having lower authority or knowledge, it might generate a negative impact on the relationship you establish with your prospective client and obviously, this might influence their decision of doing business with you.

Mistake 3

Trying to over-accomplish and over-impress in the first meeting
Don´t rush to make a sale. If you try too hard, you might be viewed as a low-status player. On the contrary, try to make your actions seem more effortless, which actually will give the impression of being a high-status business player. That doesn´t mean you do not need to make an effort to accomplish your objectives, it just means that you demonstrate your value and status. Bringing value to the table means demonstrating that you know your worth and this, in turn, will make your clients put their trust in you.

Mistake 4

Not having an accurate follow-up system
There is no excuse for this, i.e. such as not having time. All your work could go to waste if you don’t have a well-established follow-up system in place. Statistics demonstrate that if you carefully nurture your potential clients, they are 47% more likely to purchase more from your company. It´s not only about setting up a follow-up meeting after you got to know your client, but also about keeping constant communication with them and their colleagues and making sure they can count on you when they need to.

Mistake 5

Using PPT in your first meeting
Instead of pulling out your fancy laptop and trying to impress the client with an elaborate presentation, it´s better to start to get to know the client. You don´t need to pitch immediately. Most likely the potential client already has an idea of your company’s offerings. You need to create conversation not present to the client. If on top of this, you mention to the client solutions you have offered to comparable firms in the field, your credibility is immediately enhanced.

Mistake 6

Not paying special attention to the emotional and political environment
You need to be aware of workplace politics and the interactions involving authority. Your interest is not only to deal with the company’s decision-maker but also, if possible, with other individuals within it. The other critical aspect is the company’s emotional culture. If you can gauge how your potential client feels about the work they are doing, you should use it to your advantage to establish an emotionally intelligent link with your client, show you understand their point of view.

Mistake 7

Being boring and unmemorable
How much competition does a company have? In most cases, a lot. So you need to stand out from the crowd and be engaging when dealing with customers. Listen and then ask focused high-quality questions. If you want to ensure further meetings, you need to transmit value from day one.

Mistake 8

Not focusing on current clients more than on acquiring new ones
There is a general rule that 80% of business comes from current customers, through recommendations and referrals. Your current clients already value your services and products and you already have a thorough understanding of their business. Business data shows that new clients cost up to five times more than existing ones. You should also consider clients in related industries who face similar challenges. Offer cross services, but always be tactful about it. You don´t want to hurt the customers´ perception of your brand and diminish lead conversions by overwhelming them.

Mistake 9

Confusing being busy with doing business.
This has to do with knowing how to allocate your biz dev time wisely. Probably the best rule to follow is that of not wasting time and resources on activities that do not connect you directly with clients. In other words, it´s not only about having a great product or service and a good story to sell it, it´s also about getting hands on experience while executing a well-structured business development strategy.