Business Development Strategies is a combination of numerous individual tasks which has a goal of implementing and developing growth opportunities either within the organization or between two or more organisations. It is related to all round development of a particular business which makes it enriching and fruitful. It is a mixture of commerce, business and organisational behavior theories. Business development deals with the establishment of long term value factor for an organization from the point of view of markets, customers and their interrelationships.

In recent times, there is a new job profile of Business Development Executive whose function has evolved as the business world has transformed into the global economy. This job profile represents a pivotal role in increasing the amount of business for a particular company.

Business Development is defined as “processes and activities which is concerned with analytical preparation for probable growth opportunities, which does not entitle decisions regarding strategy for implementation of growth opportunities, but supports the strategy for implementation of growth opportunities.”

The basis of Business Development is about creating long term value or long term positive image of an organization in the minds of customers, stakeholders, markets and so on. The process of business development is all about identifying these interconnected networks, which will create new opportunities for growth.

Ten business development strategies

The business development strategies are everywhere and lots and lots of ideas are there which can be exploited on a commercial basis. These fresh ideas can be harvested, launched and thereby marketed properly. Anyone can get awesome ideas at any point in time. Ideas can be large, small, big. Ideas are usually driven by a passion for one’s area of interest.

A new idea may be borne from an existing situation or from the innovative mind of a thinker. The business owner can also observe two different disciplines and blend them smoothly, which gives birth to a new field of business innovation.

1. Recruit right personnel at the right time: A person can be having a great degree of knowledge as well as strong network who is eager to close deals with clients. But it can be harmful to a company’s wellbeing. Sometimes marketing team emphasises only on lowest prices. They forget to pay attention to engineering and quality aspects. This casts an ill effect on the company’s reputation. The effect will depend on the company’s life cycle. There are three life stages in a company’s life and not every employee is suited for every stage. The three life stages are- 1. Scouting 2. Testing 3. Scaling

2. Look for the opportunity: The contacts with whom you are dealing must be cross checked as well. Dealing with the right person is very important. This practice leads to unwanted wastage of time. It is very important to identify potential clients with whom you can do business. Scanning of the market for fruitful associations is vital before starting dealing with prospects. If this step is omitted, you will find that you are already drained out, yet no positive associations have been made. Focus on those clients who actually matter to your business rather than digging your head in unwanted ones.

3. Stop talking too much: When you are speaking for more than 50 percent of the time, you are actually talking 10 times excess. Your job is not to blurt out everything, but understand and probe the client’s perspective, his problems, issues, type of work done, time is taken etc. Be an active listener if you really want to develop your business. You will always be a favourite vendor in a competitive economy if you hone your listening skills.

4. Focus on your client’s requirement: Don’t present what you are offering. Present what the client needs. Do not talk about your offerings instead listen carefully to the client’s requirements, preferences. If you listen carefully to your clients, you can modify your own pitch to match the client requirements which in turn increase client satisfaction rates.

5. Be important: It is a well-known idea that important people love to deal with other important people. Be active within your business associations. To be part of those organisations that fulfil your business needs and where you can interact with prospective clients. You can offer volunteer services to industry experts to gain visibility as well as to capture high value targets.

6. Main motto- client satisfaction: There is nothing in the world which is worse than a furious client. Not only it spoils the relationship of yours with the client, but it is also harmful to your company’s reputation. Forget about everything else and fix your client’s problems first. If you take quick action once your client complaints about an issue, you will make an enthralling impression on your client.

7. Provide excellent service: After you successfully influenced your clients and got business from them, it is time to make them happy with your amazing services. Stick to the deadlines fixed with your clients. Be a perfect guide throughout the whole process. If you succeed in making your clients satisfied, they will be offering you repeat business as well as new business opportunities. Who knows, you may be rewarded with something exceptionally good.

8. Qualitative and quantitative approach: Many businesses focus purely on qualitative business value proposition and gives less importance to the other factors. But this is not a wise idea. This plan has a high probability of failure and is quite difficult to achieve. There is also a minimal probability of the market to pay higher for a premium service. The market is not ready to spend extra bucks even if they get improved user experiences and better services. As a result, the quantitative aspect of the business increases the chances of success. Creating competitive lowest prices will surely attract more clients. This, in turn, will maximise your revenue generation.

9. Stop saying “I don’t have time”: Time management is a crucial skill which every business owner needs to know. It is all about prioritising work. Important work needs to be done first and less important jobs can be done later. You can also have a great business idea in the silliest of time. Managing your time wisely is one of the most crucial tasks, especially when you are a business startup. Balancing time between operational activities and business development activities is an art which you need to master. This can be done only when you spent less time on useless stuff and allocate more time to vital tasks.

10. Innovation at its best: Innovation is the best way to be at the top of the competition. When you offer your clients something unique then there is a high probability that your client will do business with you. Everyone prefers products or service that are new to the market. So why don’t you go out of the box and have some awesome ideas? Offer your clients something which no one is offering. Innovation may involve new methods, ideas, workflows, process flows which will be beneficial for companies.