Business Development As A Part of Your Career Plan
I received the question bellow last week from one of my Linkedin connection, so I thought it would be helpful to share it more widely.
"Hi, my employer suggested for me a position in Business Development. I am seriously considering to take this route of career. What would you advice or suggest to someone considering this career?"
Well, first of all, we should have a very clear understanding about the duties of Business development.
Once we provided with all the information about the duties from the company we are about to start working for, we should look at some key tactics for success, as we will need a lot of negotiating power.
I would suggest to start with a 4 following aspects:
1. Importance of getting to know your company; product or service
2. Importance of getting to know the client’s side
3. Understand where is your power
4. What are your negotiation tools you can you use
"A common startup question is” what’s the difference between business development and sales?”
In my experience the 3rd and 4rd aspects make the difference.
Where in sales, the person is persuasive. They try to persuade somebody to do what they want them to do; that is to buy whatever they are selling.
Business developer would first ask questions, harvest information’s, use those to analyse the positioning in the market and the needs of clients.
A business developer must be a good listener and needs to know when should and shouldn't Negotiate.
As I mentioned in one of my articles Do not be another fish in the sea. Each client has their own needs - those which are not met, are business development opportunities for an expert.
"I do not want to set myself on difficult career path"
I am in Business for 9 years and I must say it is the best career path I could choose. However, it is important to have a good and inspiring mentor on your career path. You can expect to gain many valuble skills which you can put to use in both everyday life or even if you decide to take a completely different career path in the future.
Here are few skills you will gain:
- understanding of companies structures
- strong communication skills
- analytical thinking
- interpreting and use data
- understanding of economic fluctuation and other external changes which can affect business
Business development is convincing companies to partner up with your company and I wish all the best to you all.
Autor článku: Anna Šefčíková
Career development will occur without any intervention, but getting assistance can help get you through the process more smoothly and with greater success. Do not hesitate to contact us for an advice.
Sincerely, PDC team