Business Development For Dummies

428 Pages·2015·7.18 MB·English

by  Anna Kennedy

Business Development
by Anna Kennedy
Business Development For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com
This edition first published 2015
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex.
Registered office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply
for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans-
mitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of
the publisher.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material
included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand.
If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you
may download this material at www.dummies.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit
www.wiley.com.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand
names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor men-
tioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED
THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRAN-
TIES WITH THE RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK
AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IT IS SOLD ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED
IN RENDERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL
BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. IF PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OR OTHER EXPERT ASSIS-
TANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL SHOULD BE SOUGHT.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department
within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at [phone]-3993, or fax [phone]. For technical
support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-118-96271-8 (paperback); ISBN 978-1-118-96269-5 (ebk);
ISBN 978-1-118-96270-1 (ebk)
Printed in Great Britain by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Getting Started with Business Development ......... 5
Chapter 1: Introducing Business Development for Services Firms .............................7
Chapter 2: Finding Damaging Gaps in Your Business Development .........................19
Chapter 3: Diving Inside Your Customer’s Head .........................................................33
Chapter 4: Using the Lifecycle to Your Advantage ......................................................51
Part II: Planning for Business Development ................. 71
Chapter 5: Getting Ready for Business Development .................................................73
Chapter 6: Building Your Business Development Plan ...............................................97
Chapter 7: Putting Your Plan into Action ...................................................................115
Part III: Making the Most of Marketing ..................... 135
Chapter 8: Appreciating the Benefits of Marketing for Your Business ...................137
Chapter 9: Driving Sales Success with Effective Marketing .....................................157
Chapter 10: Creating Your Marketing Plan .................................................................175
Chapter 11: Automating Marketing – More Leads with Less Effort .........................199
Chapter 12: Forming a Winning Team: Marketing and Sales Cohesion ..................221
Part IV: Seeing What Sales Can Do for You ................ 235
Chapter 13: Becoming the Leader of the (Sales) Pack ..............................................237
Chapter 14: Taking the Lead: Selling Under Control .................................................265
Chapter 15: Closing the Sale to Your Satisfaction .....................................................285
Part V: Managing Your Customers for Business
Success ................................................................... 297
Chapter 16: Generating Success from the Customer Relationship .........................299
Chapter 17: Joining Together to Maximize Business and Customer Value ............315
Chapter 18: Standing Tall To Get More Customers: Vertical Industries ................333
Part VI: Making Influential Friends: Partnerships....... 345
Chapter 19: Seeking Partners for Mutual Benefit.......................................................347
Chapter 20: Pursuing Your Plans for a Successful Partnership ...............................361
Part VII: The Part of Tens ......................................... 377
Chapter 21: Ten Regular Actions that Benefit Your Business ..................................379
Chapter 22: Ten Key Metrics to Watch .......................................................................383
Chapter 23: Ten Great Resources for Business Development .................................387
Index ...................................................................... 391
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................. 1
About This Book ..............................................................................................1
Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2
Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................3
Beyond the Book .............................................................................................4
Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................4
Part I: Getting Started with Business Development ......... 5
Chapter 1: Introducing Business Development for Services Firms . . . 7
Answering the Question: So What Is Business Development Anyway? ....7
Recognizing that business is a serious business ...............................8
Understanding how business development differs from selling .....9
Breaking business development into bite-sized chunks .................11
Placing the Customer Experience Center Stage ........................................12
Deconstructing the customer lifecycle .............................................13
Mapping business development to the customer lifecycle ............14
Making Business Development Manageable in a Small Business ............14
Dealing with overwhelm .....................................................................14
Anticipating growth and its impact on your business ....................15
Taking stock of where you are ...........................................................16
Chapter 2: Finding Damaging Gaps in Your Business Development . . .19
Spotting Patchy Business Development .....................................................20
Recognizing the tell-tale signs of weak business development .....20
Looking for the obvious and the not-so-obvious problems ...........21
Thinking like your customers.............................................................23
Understanding Business Development Challenges for 
Services Firms ............................................................................................25
Identifying value in a services firm ....................................................25
‘You’re the top!’ The owner-led sale..................................................26
Being proactive rather than reactive ................................................27
Taking Stock of Where You Are ...................................................................30
What you’re not doing – and being okay with it ..............................30
It’s a numbers game: How’s your firm really doing? .......................32
Chapter 3: Diving Inside Your Customer’s Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Uncovering Your Customers’ Real Needs ..................................................34
Understanding what customers need today and whether
they know it ......................................................................................36
Staying current with your customers’ needs ...................................37
vi
Business Development For Dummies
Powering Growth Using Your Customer’s Viewpoint ...............................39
Focusing on your customer: Why you should care .........................39
Mapping your customer’s journey ....................................................42
Tailoring your solution to your customer’s need
(not vice versa) ................................................................................46
Using influence to get the outcome you want ..................................48
Chapter 4: Using the Lifecycle to Your Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Clarifying Precisely What You’re Selling — and How ...............................52
Being in control ....................................................................................52
Keeping your offer fresh .....................................................................55
Investing to stay up-to-date ................................................................58
Creating the customer experience ....................................................59
Considering the Pre-Sales Stage ..................................................................62
Selling without looking like you’re selling ........................................62
Dating the customer: EDUCATE stage ...............................................62
Courting and proposing: PRESENT and PROPOSE stages ..............65
Confronting reality: CONTRACT stage ..............................................66
Handling the After-the-Sale Process ............................................................67
Moving from ‘Yes’ to ‘Done’: DELIVER stage ....................................67
Wrapping up delivery: COMPLETE and EVALUATE stages ............68
Part II: Planning for Business Development .................. 71
Chapter 5: Getting Ready for Business Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Developing an Offer that Sells ......................................................................73
Ensuring that you’re giving the market what it needs ....................75
Making your specialty really valuable...............................................78
Assessing your competition ...............................................................80
Accepting that the grass isn’t always greener .................................81
Developing focus – or it’s all over .....................................................83
‘Really? You do that?’ Articulating your offer ..................................83
Presenting Your Offer ...................................................................................84
Finding your customer ........................................................................84
‘Tell me what you want, what you really, really want’ ....................85
Who drives the customer? Engaging effectively ..............................87
Getting to the sale ................................................................................88
Building your contract process .........................................................89
Continuing Your Great Work beyond the Sale ...........................................89
Understanding the importance of relationships ..............................89
Completing the work ...........................................................................91
Learning from Your Customers ...................................................................92
Gathering intelligence: The importance of data ..............................93
Evaluating your offer ...........................................................................94
vii
Table of Contents
Chapter 6: Building Your Business Development Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Planning for Business Development Success .............................................98
Winging business development doesn’t work .................................98
Knowing where you’re going ..............................................................99
Creating Your Winning Plan .......................................................................100
Choosing where to start planning ...................................................101
Working on metrics ...........................................................................108
Components of your plan: Creating the blueprint .........................110
Monitoring progress ..........................................................................113
Chapter 7: Putting Your Plan into Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Checking Your Plan before Lift-off ............................................................116
Setting milestones, tactics and metrics ..........................................116
Identifying initial tasks ......................................................................121
Calling on helpers ..............................................................................122
Determining your investment ..........................................................125
Lift-Off! Launching Your Plan .....................................................................125
Communicating your plan internally ...............................................126
Enrolling ‘friends’ ...............................................................................127
Making use of friendly feedback ......................................................128
Getting the team going ......................................................................130
Considering a few final thoughts as the plan takes off .................131
Managing Risk while Implementing Your Plan .........................................132
Thinking the unthinkable: What can possibly go wrong? .............132
Dealing with large challenges ...........................................................133
Part III: Making the Most of Marketing ...................... 135
Chapter 8: Appreciating the Benefits of Marketing for
Your Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Working Together in Harmony: Marketing and Sales .............................138
Enjoying the perfect relationship (not!): Marketing and sales.....139
Making your marketing sales-oriented ............................................140
Setting Out Your Stall: Marketing for Services Firms ..............................144
Selecting the best marketing techniques for you ..........................145
Energizing your team.........................................................................146
Using your network ...........................................................................148
Forming partnerships and alliances ................................................149
Understanding technology and the online dimension ..................150
Finding some quick wins in marketing ............................................152
Deciding whether Your Firm Needs Branding .........................................154
Understanding the importance of brands ......................................154
Identifying yourself with a brand .....................................................155
Marketing your brand .......................................................................155
viii
Business Development For Dummies
Chapter 9: Driving Sales Success with Effective Marketing . . . . . . 157
Revving up the Marketing Engine ..............................................................158
Appreciating the differences between sales and marketing ........159
Ensuring that marketing drives results ...........................................160
Tuning up the marketing engine ......................................................162
Carrying out the hard work of marketing .......................................165
Setting Accountabilities between Sales and Marketing ..........................166
What am I striving for? Establishing the goal .................................167
‘How will I know that marketing is achieving its goals?’
Measuring marketing .....................................................................168
Ensuring that Marketing Generates Interest ............................................170
‘Hey, we’re over here!’ Getting attention ........................................170
‘Over to you!’ Timing lead handover correctly ..............................172
Chapter 10: Creating Your Marketing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Preparing To Market Your Business .........................................................175
Defining your plan..............................................................................176
Researching marketing opportunities .............................................177
Choosing your channels ...................................................................179
Brainstorming your tactics ...............................................................182
Putting Marketing into Practice .................................................................186
Creating your marketing programs .................................................186
Creating your marketing calendar ...................................................192
Creating and managing collateral and content ..............................194
Making the Most of Your Resources .........................................................196
Breaking the plan down to decide on resources ...........................196
Satisfying marketing’s appetite: Who does the marketing? .........197
Making marketing accountable ........................................................198
Chapter 11: Automating Marketing – More Leads with
Less Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Introducing the Automated Demand Generation Game .........................200
Understanding the buyer’s journey .................................................201
Providing insights for your prospective customers......................202
Attracting an audience ......................................................................202
Asking whether Demand Generation Is Right for You ............................203
Deciding when to consider automated demand generation ........203
Gathering the required resources ...................................................205
Adding Automation to Your Marketing Armory ......................................206
Choosing your infrastructure tools .................................................207
Building your database .....................................................................210
Designing demand generation programs ........................................212
Testing and evaluating your programs ...........................................216
Making the phone ring ......................................................................218