Overview
• Business Development – Broadly used term
• Traditional Business Development
• Business Development – The last five years
• Business Development – Recent Evolution
• Key Success Factors in the New Economy
• Role of the Business Development Executive
• Conclusion
1
Business Development - Broadly Used
Corporate Alliances
New Business Development
Sales
Account Management
Media Buying
Mergers and Acquisitions
2
Traditional Business Development
Environment
• Large, stable companies
• Long term planning and objectives
• Incremental change
• Well defined corporate roles and responsibilities
Business Development Teams
• Small group of senior deal makers (40+ yrs old)
• Focused on small number of strategic deals
(Corp Alliances, New Businesses, M&A)
• Long deal cycles (months or even years)
3
Business Development - Last Five Years
Environment
• Small, very dynamic companies
• Little to no strategic planning
• Discontinuous, constant change
• Poorly defined organizational structure and roles
Business Development Teams
• Larger groups of younger, early adopters
• Focused on many deals of various size and
type, generally tactical (tactical = strategic)
• Short deal cycles – modern day land grab
4
Business Development - Recent Evolution
Environment
• Industry becoming clearer - Battle lines drawn
• Consolidation and shakeout well underway
• Business discipline and planning back in style
• Dynamic change – handled more adroitly
• Business roles better defined
Business Development Teams
• Becoming smaller, more senior/experienced
• Greater strategic planning creating deal focus
• More business discipline and rigor in deals
5
Key Success Factors in the New Economy
The important charater traits have not changed
• Hard Work
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Innovation
• Communications
• Excellence
6
The Role of the Business
Development Executive
Manage Relationships
Anticipate Change
Seize Opportunities
7
Manage Relationships
External
• Networking to establish and maintain relationships
• Understand business issues and needs
• Learn corporate structures and decision makers
• Brainstorm ideas and concepts
Internal
• Thorough understandingof the business
• Be aware of internal politics and sensitivities
• Build bridges with key decision makers
• Educate company about market conditions
8
Anticipate Change
• Change is rarely a well kept secret
• Listen to those positioned to know
• Observe the the market and its trends closely
• Understand technology and its implications
• Critically evaluate current solutions
• Develop innovative solutions to problems
• Extrapolate market solutions
9
Seize Opportunities
• Timing is everything - be patient
• Know what you want and your walk away point
• Engage decision makers with strategic offers which
meet both companies goals
• Preserve core business principles and discipline
• Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’
• Communicate the deal throughout the organization
• Commit the necessary resources
10
Conclusion
• Last five years have been characterized by
business development-like behavior
• Marketplace is becoming better understood and
the role of BD is strategic and important
• Current market environment demands near
flawless business decisions including business
development
• Business Development requires clearly
communicated goals and objectives and
management driven business discipline
11