How To Maximise Your Business Development Team (BD)
How To Maximise Your Business Development Team (BD)
Your Business Is Either Growing Or Dying
Sales are the lifeblood of any company, and it is salient to ensure your business development team is perpetually generating a robust and realistic pipeline. Whether you utilise an internal or external BD team, it is crucial that you hold each team member accountable.
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When it comes to business development, action can be in the guise of cold calling, email outreach, LinkedIn connection requests, or attending networking events. Obviously, it goes without saying that your business team should adhere to the sales strategy and be flexible to pivot or persevere when necessary
In larger organisations it makes sense to the divide the BD role into the following functions: account manager, pre-sales, technical sales consultant, business development executive, business development manager, sales manager, and sales director. If your company can segment its team, it will ensure that your prospective clients are managed by experts at every stage of the sales journey.
Conversely, if you have a smaller team, it is imperative that you choose all-rounders who are familiar with the 360% sales cycle. For smaller teams, it is also essential to ensure that the marketing and sales teams are aligned moving forward.
Is It Worth Hiring An External BD Agency?
This is a question that crosses the mind of most CEO’s, founders, or partners at some stage of their careers. The answer depends on several factors, such as whether you currently have an existing internal BD team or prefer to outsource the BD functionality.
While there is no right or wrong answer, it is imperative that, as the business owner or founder you create a culture of accountability. It also depends on what sectors you participate in and the current limitations of your existing BD team.
The optimum approach would entail having an internal BD team but utilise an external lead generation company. In this way, you have the best of both worlds.
What Sales Methodologies Should Your Team Utilise?
Again, this ultimately relates to your industry and the experience of your existing sales team, coupled with the length of your current sales cycle. The majority of sales teams utilise a combination of SPIN Selling, Challenger Sales, Snap Selling to various degrees.
Ultimately, your sales team results will adopt the 80/20 principle, as your top sales professionals will achieve 80% of your total sales revenue.