Business development is a strategic engine that drives organizational growth. It combines careful planning with effective tactics to boost sales and expand market reach.
In this article, you’ll learn about business development, its roles and how to drive growth with a comprehensive business development plan.
What is business development?
Business development (or biz dev) is creating long-term value by pursuing growth opportunities through new markets and relationships. It encompasses sales, marketing, project management, product management and partnerships.
How business development representatives drive biz dev
Business development representatives (BDRs) ensure an organization can grow sustainably and maintain a competitive edge. They pursue opportunities that:
Strengthen existing customer relationships and acquire new business
Expand into new markets or industries
Innovate and improve product offerings
Create alliances or partnerships that enhance competitiveness
With such wide-ranging goals, a BDR’s day-to-day work includes research, prospecting, partnership management and sales data analysis.
Business development vs sales
While business development seems like sales management, the business development manager’s job scope and focus are broader.
Consider a software company wanting to expand its market reach. The business development team might identify healthcare as a promising industry and take these steps:
Conduct market research to understand industry needs and compliance requirements
Develop a strategic partnership with a healthcare consulting firm to streamline market entry
Collaborate with product development and tailor software to healthcare standards
Negotiate collaboration terms with industry influencers
Once these elements are in place, the sales team sells the software to hospitals and clinics. Salespeople close deals and meet sales targets, while business development managers set the stage for new revenue streams.
Business development roles
There are six overarching business development roles:
1. Market research and analysis
Business development teams research market trends, competitors and customer preferences to identify opportunities and guide strategic decisions.
Example: A tech firm’s BDR studies emerging trends in the education sector to align software with market demands.
2. Strategic planning
Business development executives formulate strategies to expand into new markets or enhance existing operations. They create strategic roadmaps to guide the company’s business development and growth trajectory.
Example: A BDR develops a strategy to enter the European market by finding ways to make products compliant with local regulations and preferences.
3. Lead generation and qualification
Biz dev representatives are vital in identifying and attracting potential customers to drive sales growth. They generate qualified leads that the sales team can convert into customers.
Example: A BDR engages with a potential customer at a trade show. Afterward, the BDR maintains regular contact, assessing the prospect’s readiness to buy before passing the qualified lead to the sales team for closing.
4. Relationship building
Business development professionals focus on establishing and nurturing relationships with partners, vendors and stakeholders. The goal is to build collaborative business opportunities and encourage resource sharing.
Example: A business development rep forges a partnership with a local firm to build brand credibility. The relationship opens doors to new networks and resources.
5. Deal structuring
BDRs negotiate terms for business deals, joint ventures or partnerships in deal structuring. This process creates mutually beneficial long-term collaborations.
Example: A BDR negotiates a revenue-sharing model with a partner company for products they develop together.
6. Project management
BDRs oversee business development initiatives using project management techniques. They coordinate resources, timelines and stakeholders to ensure projects are on time and within budget.
Example: A BDR managing the rollout of a new product line creates a detailed project plan and launch schedule. They coordinate with product development, sales and marketing to ensure each team member fulfills their roles.
How to create a successful business development plan
A business development plan is a strategic document that outlines goals for growth, partnerships and market opportunities while providing a roadmap for achieving those objectives.
An effective business plan includes a thorough analysis of the market, achievable goals and a step-by-step approach for building partnerships. It lists specific actions, timelines and metrics to measure progress.
Here’s how to create a new business development plan.
1. Set clear objectives
Precise goal-setting lays the foundation for business development activities. It organizes and aligns efforts with tangible business goals. It also helps you prioritize activities and measure success accurately.
Use SMART criteria to set clear objectives. Make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Rather than saying “boost sales”, aim to increase sales by 10% over the next year.
Collaborate with other departments, including sales, marketing and product development, to set realistic and comprehensive goals.
Here are two examples of helpful business development goals:
Establish strategic partnerships. Develop partnerships with three complementary companies within the next six months to expand market reach, enhance product offerings and access new customer segments
Expand market presence. Enter two new geographic markets by the end of the year, tailoring product offerings to meet local demands while setting up initial sales and support operations
2. Conduct market research
Once you’ve defined the scope and objectives of your business development plan, it’s time to gather data. Look for anything that will support your plan or provide valuable insights. For instance:
Customer demographics, needs, preferences and pain points
Current solutions and customer satisfaction levels
Market size and growth potential
Industry trends and dynamics
Top competitors with their strengths and weaknesses
Potential market entry barriers and compliance requirements
Partnership and collaboration opportunities
Conduct market research through industry reports, competitors and customer feedback related to your goals, target markets or products. Tools like Google Trends and social media analytics can assess market dynamics, while customer surveys gauge preferences and pain points. Compile and organize everything you find so it’s easy to analyze in later stages.
3. Identify target opportunities
Begin analyzing your data to pinpoint areas for expansion, innovation and collaboration. Here’s how to spot those opportunities:
Analyze market gaps. Look for unmet needs or underserved segments. Consider areas where existing solutions fall short and how your business can fill those gaps.
Explore market trends. Monitor industry developments and new technologies. These trends signal shifts in customer behavior that you can exploit.
Assess new markets. Expand your reach into new markets by checking economic conditions, cultural fit and the competitive landscape.
Spot opportunities for expansion. Review your current product offerings to see if there’s room to improve or innovate.
Identify strategic partnerships. Examine potential collaborations with businesses that can enhance your offerings, extend your reach or provide unique market entry points.
Evaluate sales channels. Identify new or underutilized sales channels that could help you reach more customers.
Prioritize opportunities based on your objectives, potential return on investment (ROI) and feasibility. We’ll revisit these opportunities soon and develop strategies to capitalize on them.
4. Analyze your competition
Start your competitor analysis by listing primary competitors or companies with similar offerings that target the same segments. Collect data from various sources, including websites, marketing materials, reviews and financial reports.
Analyze branding, messaging and unique selling propositions (USPs) to determine how they position themselves in the market. Then, try to understand who they are and how they meet customer needs.
Next, compare their offerings with yours. Look at quality, pricing, features and customer service. What makes their products appealing? What might they lack? Compare key performance indicators (KPIs) like market share, customer growth and financial performance.
Finally, conduct a SWOT analysis that identifies strengths to leverage and threats to avoid:
SWOT Analysis | Action Items |
Strengths | Identify what your competitors do well. Find areas where you can enhance your strengths to compete more effectively. |
Weaknesses | Pinpoint gaps or shortcomings in your competitors’ offerings. Capitalize on those weaknesses by positioning your products as superior alternatives. |
Opportunities | Discover market opportunities your competitors might not be leveraging. Innovate and expand into these areas to get an advantage. |
Threats | Recognize any challenges that could impact your market position. Develop strategies to mitigate these threats and protect your market share. |
5. Develop strategies to leverage insights
Use your market research and competitor analysis to craft strategies that help your business reach its goals. Here are some targeted actions to help you address specific areas:
Capitalize on market gaps. If your assessment identifies unmet customer needs, propose solutions or offerings to address these gaps.
Enhance your presence in existing markets. If your market presence could be more prominent, tailor marketing strategies to segments with higher potential. Use customer engagement initiatives to boost brand loyalty.
Improve your products. If customers express dissatisfaction with specific features, start a redesign to enhance user-friendliness. Compare features with competitors to ensure competitive advantage and add innovative enhancements.
Diversify your offerings. If you rely on one product line, develop new products to complement current offerings. Test the acceptance of new products in target markets before a full-scale product launch.
Use new marketing and sales channels. If existing channels aren’t reaching your target audience, use new channels. For example, if you cater to a younger demographic, you might benefit from a strong presence on TikTok.
Reevaluate your pricing strategy. If customers aren’t happy with your pricing, analyze your value proposition and set prices accordingly. Adjust prices to remain competitive through temporary discounts, promotional deals or loyalty pricing.
Streamline operations to improve efficiency. If you find inefficiencies, identify the problem and apply leaner practices. For example, if order processing times are bottlenecks, upgrade outdated systems to automate routine tasks.
Boost customer service. If customer service is weak, provide additional training to your support staff. You could also introduce chatbots for 24/7 service or hire and train new staff to support live chat.
Later, we’ll explain specific business development tactics BDRs use to generate leads and drive sales.
6. Plan partnerships and alliances
Once you’ve gathered market information and identified partnership opportunities, plan how to pursue those partnerships. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Planning Partnerships | Action Items |
Step 1: Define partnership objectives | Outline what your organization wants to achieve through the partnership: market reach, enhancing offerings or brand credibility. |
Step 2: Conduct partner suitability analysis | Evaluate potential partners’ market reputation and operational capabilities. Prioritize those most likely to bring mutual benefits. |
Step 3: Develop a partnership proposal | Create a value proposition that outlines the benefits of a partnership for both parties. Include the scope, potential projects and value each party brings. |
Step 4: Outline terms and conditions | Define each partner’s expected contributions, roles and responsibilities. Consider resource-sharing and exit strategies. |
Step 5: Make initial contact | Reach out to decision-makers at the organization to discuss potential collaboration. Present the partnership proposal and address concerns from the prospect’s side. |
Step 6: Negotiate terms and agreements | Negotiate the terms of the partnership. Work toward a balanced deal that satisfies both parties. |
Step 7: Draft and sign a formal agreement | Collaborate with legal teams to draft a formal partnership agreement and get signatures. |
7. Establish a timeline and allocate resources
After you’ve developed a comprehensive plan, create a trackable timeline and allocate resources to accomplish your plan.
First, break the plan down into specific phases or milestones. For instance, completing a market entry strategy, forming partnership agreements or launching a product.
Assign a timeframe to each milestone. Factor in potential obstacles and be realistic to ensure your timelines are achievable. Address all dependencies, like completing regulatory compliance before launching a product.
Finally, identify your needs for each phase, including financial, human and technological resources. Create a detailed budget that assigns funds and human resources to each milestone.
Tip: Consider software that can help you execute your strategies. Project management software like Asana or Trello can help you assign tasks, track progress and adjust deadlines. Likewise, customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Pipedrive are invaluable for managing customer data and analyzing performance.
8. Choose measurable metrics and monitor implementation
Set measurable metrics and create a system for monitoring progress. Here are some important metrics to track:
Category | Trackable Metrics |
Sales and revenue metrics |
|
Lead generation metrics |
|
Partnership metrics |
|
Customer engagement metrics |
|
Marketing metrics |
|
Market share metrics |
|
Product metrics |
|
Choose metrics that will help you track success for each objective. For instance, if you want to enter a new market, you might track market share, revenue, customer acquisition rate and CPA. These metrics will give you a well-rounded overview of what’s working and what isn’t, helping you stay agile.
Here are some tips for monitoring progress:
Use monitoring tools. Employ dashboards and analytics tools (e.g., Pipedrive or Google Analytics) to track real-time metrics. These platforms give you a visual representation of performance, helping you interpret data.
Hold regular check-ins. Review metrics with stakeholders. Check-ins keep everyone updated so you can discuss progress and adapt quickly to changes.
Analyze patterns. Look for trends in your metrics and understand what they mean. For example, a declining conversion rate might signal a need to adjust sales tactics.
Adjust your strategies as needed. Refine your strategy based on insights from your metrics. Flexibility is a necessity, so experiment with different approaches and double down on strategies that work.
Document your results. Keep detailed records of what’s working, why metrics are improving or why you’re not reaching goals. Comprehensive records will help with future planning and continuous improvement.
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6 business development outreach tactics that drive sales
Business development tactics focus on generating quick results by engaging potential customers and expanding market reach. They complement your business development plan by boosting sales and brand awareness immediately.
Here are six proven BDR sales strategies:
1. Networking
Engage in industry events to build relationships with potential clients and partners. Networking expands your circle of influence and uncovers new opportunities through personal connections.
2. Referrals
Encourage satisfied customers to refer new clients through incentives. This tactic leverages existing customer relationships to tap into new markets and build credibility through word-of-mouth recommendations.
3. Sponsorships
Partner with events or organizations to boost brand visibility. Sponsorships associate the brand with valued causes or interests, enhancing reputation and attracting aligned audiences.
4. Advertising
Use channels like digital ads and social media (LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram) to reach broader audiences. Well-targeted campaigns increase brand awareness and drive inbound inquiries.
5. Outbound calls
Reach out to potential clients directly to inform them about offerings. Outbound cold calls personalize the sales approach while providing opportunities for immediate feedback and conversion.
6. Thought leadership
Share expert insights and content through blogs, webinars or speaking engagements. Thought leadership establishes your company as an authority, builds trust and attracts customers seeking expertise.
Final thoughts
Whether you’re new to biz dev or seeking to sharpen your business development skills, excelling in this field offers growth opportunities.
The more you engage with your industry, the better you position yourself for success and drive business growth through innovative business development strategies.
Streamline your lead management and sales processes further with Pipedrive’s powerful CRM system. Start a free trial today to explore its powerful features and data-driven insights.