Why Business Development Falters

Business development often struggles when strategy and / or propositions aren’t clear. We often see very busy teams delivering lack lustre results or chasing the wrong KPIs. Without shared priorities and a coherent proposition, effort increases, but impact doesn’t.

We see time, effort and money being wasted following a scattergun approach, or trying to bend a clear proposition to be something it’s not. Whilst every sale is a sale, the organisation needs to be clear whether it is a beneficial or costly sale.

Sales resulting from propositions being bent out of shape are costly sales. They cause delay at every stage; conversion as teams struggle to articulate key components and SLAs; delivery and support as it’s suddenly bespoke; relationship management as it doesn’t fit with the model. All of which adds cost, and a real risk of reputational damage.

Beneficial sales are those where the proposition is sold as defined; with standard terms and procedures and SLA’s. The organisation is set up to sell it, deliver it, support it.

Progress comes from alignment, not just activity.

Business development is rarely about doing more. It’s about doing the right things, in the right way. We support leaders to clarify priorities, sharpen propositions, and align strategy, capability, and opportunity, including identifying opportunities and developing new propositions.

We ensure the teams understand the propositions inside and out; how they solve problems for your clients; how they provide real benefit. We help define the ideal prospect and how to reach them, how to qualify them, and how to move them through the pipeline.

For new or developmental propositions, we help identify how to get it to market to test in an agile and structured way, balancing speed with ensuring scalability.

The focus is always on progress that is sustainable in the real world, keeping clear sight of the bottom line, not just the sales number.