Business Development Requires a Multitude of Skills

 Business development is one of the functions that every company, from inception to exit, performs at one time or another. It's also one of the most "unbounded" roles within a company. For some companies, business development means acquiring new customers. Others, it means raising capital. And, for yet another set of people, it means to build alliances and partnerships.

Whatever the term ultimately means to anyone, it is a function that clearly requires a multitude of skills. Let's take for example, raising money. A business development person in a small startup company would be responsible for building relationships to raise venture capital and/or general financing for startup operations. Oftentimes, the reason this function falls under business development is because the business developer is building strategic partner relationships. Some of these strategic partners deem the relationship critical to grow new business opportunities. In that respect, the strategic partner will then invest money in return for an equity stake in the startup company.

In the case of building and managing partnerships, the business development team is often called Alliances. In this example, business development or Alliance is responsible for recruiting, managing, and supporting partner companies. In addition to this, the Alliances organization would also have a responsibility for driving a certain amount of revenue through the partners, as well. This alliance function essentially builds a core ecosystem around the host company. The ecosystem effectively allows the host company to be in more markets, capture certain geographic territories, or even drive more revenue than it could on its own.

Building joint ventures is also a form of business development activity. There are times when a company needs to work together on a specific business opportunity. The opportunity could be related to driving new business in a specific country or perhaps in a particular industry. The two companies would develop an operating agreement under which they will work together. Shared revenue and expenses, team alignment and sales targets are examples of agreements created as part of this joint venture relationship.

Driving sales is another function where business development is often categorized. This is especially true when a company is first starting off in business. Many small companies categorize their sales efforts as business development rather than sales. One of the reasons for this is because the territory is new or perhaps the product line is untested with customers. The business development group is responsible then for selling new business in an uncharted environment.

Corporate development is another function often interrelated with business development. In general, though, a corporate development function handles aspects of mergers and acquisitions for a company. Their role is to identify companies that have synergistic business models and would complement the host company. In many aspects, a corporate development officer for a company has similar skill sets and experience as all of the above organizational roles.

As one can ascertain, business development is a "catch-all" term that can encompass many different roles within an organization. That said, the skill set and experience for a business development executive is fairly broad. He/she must be versed in areas, such as building partnerships, strategy, technology, geographic markets, sales, and, of course, finance. In addition, understanding the specific industry in which the company operates is icing on the proverbial cake.

The business development executive is a key contributor to the success of a company. This individual, if used properly, can help create the very foundation on which a company operates.

Sales Management - Selling and Business Development in the 21st Century

 The marketing components that used to generate leads -- product, performance, promotion and price --are no longer effective. The tools for selling -- lots of sales calls, lunches, golf and give-always -- are expensive and inefficient. In the 21st century, selling and business development require the following:

* Prospecting Using the Internet
* Relationship Selling
* Network Selling and
* Investigative Selling.

Prospecting Using the Internet

Cold calling is dead. It's not productive. It's demoralizing. It's expensive. Prospecting in the 21st century involves setting the stage for people and companies to find you so that you can solve their problems. Flaunting advertisements and brochures is also a waste. Everyone goes to the Internet these days to find solutions to their problems. Therefore, the successful sales person will have to know how to use the Internet to generate qualified leads. Corporations should have an Internet program, but territory and product-line sales people should have their own Internet marketing program as well. And it's not about having a website, it's much more. This is the passive side of prospecting. This means that sales and business development professionals must set up an aggressive Internet Marketing process for their territory or product so that the people they want to do business with will come to them.

Relationship Selling

The other 21st Century prospecting element is the active side of prospecting. This is where you use professional relationships to find out about problems or opportunities where you can assist. There are so many opportunities for a sales person or account manager to discover within their existing and old/lost accounts. Using professional relationships make this prospecting method effective and easy.

Sales and Business Development people with professional relationships are seen as a resource to protect or enhance buyers' careers. These people will be open to give information and coach you for cross-sells into their business unit, associate divisions and/or other product lines. If you develop professional relationships, these people will give you qualified leads, buy more and more from you, and refer you to others.

Network Selling

However, one has to learn how to use these relationships to get networked to others. There are two focuses for successful selling in the 21 Century:

1. You must spread like a virus in your customers' organizations. I use the phrase - move up and out.

2. You must get to the profit-center leaders, C-level executives, and senior staff of the business units you sell into and develop professional relationships with these people to effectively close sales, cross-sell and be seen as the preferred supplier. Hanging out with the subordinates will never secure your position with your customers.

The only way you'll move up and out and connect with the leaders is by using your professional relationships to network you to others. People with whom you've developed credibility -- your Golden Network as I call it -- will help you if asked. But if they are not asked for a referral and introduction to others, they will rarely offer to connect you with the leaders and others you should be meeting. So you must ask for their help.

To make the networking process productive, what you ask for, how you ask for it, and where you look for help will make all the difference between getting to the right people and getting to useless people for your initiative. This process is Network Selling.

Investigative Selling

Once a sales or business development person connects with a person of value, using his or her network connection, the goal is to convert that individual into his or her Golden Network. In other words the sales or BD person will have to develop a professional relationship with this new contact.

People will consider another individual a professional relationship only if there is something in it for them. So a sales or BD person needs to investigate the critical drivers of their target contact in order to learn what this person values that s/he can deliver. Everyone is different and without knowing each individual's triggers, a sales person will flounder or worst yet, become annoying. But if the sales person can make the connections between the desires and the deliverables, a relationship can be established, and then this new contact will continue networking you up and out until you are connected to the leaders and their staffs.

The process for determining one's triggers is Investigative Selling. It requires knowing the questions to ask and how to ask them. Although this sounds simple, it requires finesse, skill and confidence. Investigative Selling also requires effective listening, and the ability to expose and entice. Both of these are advanced skills never taught in schools and rarely taught in product or sales training. So the successful sales or business development person will have to learn these Investigative Selling skills and be able to take them seamlessly to the street.

The sooner the sales or business development person masters these Internet Marketing, Relationships, Network and Investigative Selling Skills, the sooner sales will close and closing ratios rise.

Tips For An Outsourcing Business

 Understand the handling of the business before contemplating outsourcing it offshore. Determine what facet of the business you want to outsource, why you want to do so, who will handle the offshore project and the time frame for its completion. Contact the outsourcing business company to do the necessary things.

Tips for outsourcing:

1. Define the current process. It allows you to understand the requirements and details of what actually needs to be done. It should be non-ambiguous and offer a measurement method. Information of specific customer queries and time required is of great help while transferring that process over to your new outsourcing partner.

2. Do a cost analysis of the proposed process. Have a realistic and solid estimate of the current operating costs of the process under consideration for outsourcing. Consider all the costs involved, even the marginalized expenditure to have a clear picture. The in-house calls can be answered within a certain time because of available support, but on transfer it can take longer both in time and in cost. Consider the costs honestly to work out the beneficial cost saving for the business.

3. Manage the relationship. Make efforts to establish a good relationship. Have a clear understanding of transfer terms. Communication channels should always be open with a flexible attitude. A liaison officer should take responsibility to address staff concerns of their jobs. He should keep the staff informed and have an effective and regular dialogue within the company. Transfer of employees should conform to employment legislation. A flexible contract benefiting both parties can be drafted. It allows you to innovate to changing circumstances and renegotiate the contract before the term ends for the employee's benefit.

4. Aim for smooth transition. Even with good planning, a lot of times the transition or migration of an employee can cause many problems. It can be litigator in nature or lead to severance of a good employee. Since it's a learning curve for both the parties, use this opportunity to modify the service level agreement (SLA) for the future.

5. Measure success. Quantify and measure the benefits your company accrues for outsourcing. The foremost is the financial benefit for the company. It could also lead to notching higher profile and credibility for your company. Outsourcing means fewer defects in your work and greater speed for work completion in optimum cost and time frame.

6. Plan a clear exit strategy. Have a clear exit term integrated in your service level agreement (SLA). Clarify who owns what and how much percentage of both movable/immovable assets. Specify the compensation or severance due in case of end of partnership. This clause is very important for amicable dissolution of collaboration if the relationship ends prematurely or simply runs its course.

Off shoring a part of your business makes sound economic sense, as it can lead to substantially reduced operating costs. A clear understanding of the outsourced work will avoid many a pitfall later and yield better results.

Business Meeting Creativity Ideas

Developing an innovative spirit in the workplace doesn't require extraordinary measures. As a manager, you can experiment with simple ideas that merely break routines, allowing your employees permission to drop the facade that we all don to some degree when we punch the clock. Here are a few ideas that will help you lighten things up for your staff and get their creative juices flowing, if you have the courage to take the leap.

1. Dart Board

Start every staff meeting by allowing everyone a shot at the dart board. Best shot gets to kick off the meeting, appoint the moderator, or tell what they did over the weekend. Starts things off on a playful note and gets your people out of their chairs. For safety purposes, stick with the magnetic or Velcro variety.

2. Colored Markers for the Flip Chart

Sounds simple, but we are programmed from an early age to correlate the amalgamation of colors with the awakening of our imaginations. If you need further evidence of this phenomenon, observe a classroom full of first graders the next time a teacher instructs them to put away their math books and take out their crayons. And experts agree that the key to creativity lies in the ability to awaken the child inside each of us.

3. Music Creativity

Ask each team member to write a 4-line verse to a song that relates to their job duties, hobbies, business ideas, etc. Go around the room and ask them to sing, rap, or simply recite (military cadence perhaps) their verse. Print the
compilation in the next company newsletter to get a little PR for your department or office (others in the organization might want to transfer in when they realize that you've given your staff permission to have fun).

4. Music Creativity II

Ask your staff to bring in a CD with a song that describes their personality, work attitude, or how their weekend went. Play excerpts before the meeting for a laugh.

5. To Serve Mankind

Ask your staff to convey what they did over the weekend that was a service to another person, charitable organization, or noble cause. Vote to determine whose action was most heroic and award a gift certificate to the winner, let them leave work early on Friday, or take a longer than usual lunch break. This will encourage your staff to think of new ways to develop a sense of community. It will also help your people feel good about their co-workers, get to know them better, and give them a sense of pride in the organization.

6. Vocabulary Expansion

Ask your team to bring a rarely used or obscure word to the next meeting. Have them use it in a context that is applicable to your business.

7. Memory Exercise

Read a list of 10 or 15 things, preferably something related to your business, your industry, or to a customer and give an award to the person who can commit the most items to memory. This exercise can help your staff become more familiar with your organization and with your customers. Memory development is also a key to developing new customer relationships that will help your business prosper.

8. "If I Ran This Place..."

Ask your staff what they would consider the ideal job, the ideal workplace, and the ideal location. You can't transform your place into utopia, but you might gain some insight into feasible, marginal changes that will improve things. Now that you have them thinking without barriers, ask them what they would do first or different if they ran the company, office, or department. You'll be surprised by the answers.

9. Show and Tell

Have your staff bring something that they've created, that they are proud of, or from their childhood that the group would find interesting or funny. Demonstrate an interesting or unusual talent, perhaps. We loved this game when we were in kindergarten, and for some reason they made us stop playing as we got older.

10. Top 10 Lists

Until David Letterman decides to pursue intellectual property infringement, go ahead and try this one. Give a topic at your staff meeting, and ask for the answers the following week. Remember to keep it clean and non-offensive. Have your staff rank the answers and use a point system to determine the winner.

Establishing an Online Business Development Strategy

If you have any aspirations of earning an income online you will need to establish a business development strategy. The reasons are simple, your business venture will have to have a product or service, a way to promote it to the public and a plan to make improvements as needed. In this way your chances for online success will increase dramatically. When working online you will need to adapt to an ever changing environment by adopting new and improved strategies as you move forward, you must evolve!

Here are the 3 stages of any successful online business venture you will need to address when working online.

Creation Stage

Perhaps the most critical stage of developing any business venture is the creation of the ideas and/or concepts upon which the venture is to be based. Without a viable product or service all other efforts from this point forward will be futile. It is this point of the developmental process that will 'dictate' the strategies and direction of all other future efforts!

Innovation or creative energy can make you a shining shine and a tidy profit. whether it is a new product, new marketing tactic, new niche or something other!

Application Stage

Applying your innovations or creations takes another type of energy which involves more patience and diligence. Although not the flamboyance of the previous 'creative genius' stage this energy takes your idea and builds it into something that can deliver you financial security and online success.

Creativity is great and obviously required but until it is applied it is merely a dream. The actual application is what turns your ideas into a reality and what can actually make you money. At this point you are now bringing together your product idea(s) and blending them with your marketing strategies. Here is where you begin to enact your plan and make your creations available to the marketplace.

Refinement Stage

This stage of the business building process is ongoing as alterations will need to be make to adjust to changing demands and the marketplace in general. Refinements will likely need to be made to not only your marketing strategy but also quite possibly to your original creation (product) itself. This is a very natural and expected part of the 'evolution' of your business venture and what will make it grow stronger. You are merely adapting to the changing environment!

When starting out online to earn an income it is advisable to have some sort of business development strategy. A plan like this will enable you to put together and grow your business venture from the early stages into an income earning juggernaut. In fact your long term online success is dependent upon establishing and implementing such a plan! As you can see from the 3 stages reviewed above these tactical measure are not complicated, but do not let their simplicity fool you. For anybody with the aspirations of earning a good income by working online a strategy like this will be critical in terms of the degree of success achieved

Common Functions of Business Development Department

Business development is being practiced by the almost all the major companies. It is now being adopted by the small business too as they also look forward to grow. Business expansion needs a set of skills and different approaches. There no single business strategy that could fit every business. Therefore, every firm or organization needs to work hard, identify its requirements and then work on them. There are a lot of functions which a business development department or a business development teams needs perform. Some common functions of business expansion department are as follows:

Thinking of new ideas 

The very first function of a business growth team or department is to think of new ways of doing business. They should either come with a new idea or they should bring improvement in the existing processes. This function of business development department brings continuous improvement in the business process and techniques.

Gather capital 

The main responsibility of gathering funds is on the finance department of any organization but the business growth department needs to play an important role in this regard. They need to gather the resources from which they can take up capital to enhance the business.

Managing relationships 

Managing relationships is one of the most important duties of the business development department. They need to manage the relationships with the existing clients whereas build relations with the new clients. In today's business world it is difficult to find a reliable and loyal client. And it is even more difficult to retain them. Therefore, a business development manager or the business development team manages the relations with the clients. Tries to identify their problems and report to the company so that the problems could be solved. In other words they are the one to make sure that the client is getting the maximum satisfaction or not.

Building joint ventures 

At times certain situations occur when a single business cannot handle a project and it needs the help of another business to run the project successfully. In such situations business enter into joint venture contracts and start join venture projects. There are a lot of examples in the business world where two major organizations start a single project. The business growth department of the organization is liable to find the most reliable business partners and maintain good long-term relations with them too.

Fulfilling commitments 

Fulfilling the commitments is the key to business development. One of the responsibilities of the business development department is that they must fulfill the commitments made by the clients. They must communicate with the other departments of the organization effectively and represent their organization in front of the business clients. They must be true and honest with the clients and they must make it sure that the commitments are being fulfilled.

Business Development Requires a Multitude of Skills

Business development is one of the functions that every company, from inception to exit, performs at one time or another. It's also one of the most "unbounded" roles within a company. For some companies, business development means acquiring new customers. Others, it means raising capital. And, for yet another set of people, it means to build alliances and partnerships.

Whatever the term ultimately means to anyone, it is a function that clearly requires a multitude of skills. Let's take for example, raising money. A business development person in a small startup company would be responsible for building relationships to raise venture capital and/or general financing for startup operations. Oftentimes, the reason this function falls under business development is because the business developer is building strategic partner relationships. Some of these strategic partners deem the relationship critical to grow new business opportunities. In that respect, the strategic partner will then invest money in return for an equity stake in the startup company.

In the case of building and managing partnerships, the business development team is often called Alliances. In this example, business development or Alliance is responsible for recruiting, managing, and supporting partner companies. In addition to this, the Alliances organization would also have a responsibility for driving a certain amount of revenue through the partners, as well. This alliance function essentially builds a core ecosystem around the host company. The ecosystem effectively allows the host company to be in more markets, capture certain geographic territories, or even drive more revenue than it could on its own.

Building joint ventures is also a form of business development activity. There are times when a company needs to work together on a specific business opportunity. The opportunity could be related to driving new business in a specific country or perhaps in a particular industry. The two companies would develop an operating agreement under which they will work together. Shared revenue and expenses, team alignment and sales targets are examples of agreements created as part of this joint venture relationship.

Driving sales is another function where business development is often categorized. This is especially true when a company is first starting off in business. Many small companies categorize their sales efforts as business development rather than sales. One of the reasons for this is because the territory is new or perhaps the product line is untested with customers. The business development group is responsible then for selling new business in an uncharted environment.

Corporate development is another function often interrelated with business development. In general, though, a corporate development function handles aspects of mergers and acquisitions for a company. Their role is to identify companies that have synergistic business models and would complement the host company. In many aspects, a corporate development officer for a company has similar skill sets and experience as all of the above organizational roles.

As one can ascertain, business development is a "catch-all" term that can encompass many different roles within an organization. That said, the skill set and experience for a business development executive is fairly broad. He/she must be versed in areas, such as building partnerships, strategy, technology, geographic markets, sales, and, of course, finance. In addition, understanding the specific industry in which the company operates is icing on the proverbial cake.

The business development executive is a key contributor to the success of a company. This individual, if used properly, can help create the very foundation on which a company operates.

Legal Business Development - A Step by Step Guide

I must admit that I'm always a little skeptical about non-lawyers who purport to teach rainmaking or practice development skills. Nothing against non-lawyers, obviously, but I've seen too many suggestions that might work beautifully in another field but wouldn't fit at all in law. And so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked upLegal Business Development. However, it turned out to be one of the best client development books I've ever read.

Hassett's message is simple: plan and execute. In just 26 pages, Hassett explains how to create a marketing plan focused on current clients and referral sources and how to implement that plan and evaluate its success. Unlike many rainmaking books, Legal Business Development separates the "must know" from the "useful to know" information so that readers can implement quickly. Hassett encourages those who are ready to begin marketing to read chapter one only after execution is underway.

The "good to know" information follows and offers more depth on how much marketing is necessary, how to turn current clients into raving fans, and how to strengthen your rainmaking skills. I particularly like the simplicity of Chapter 3, which presents six facts about new business:

1. You must start with current clients. Keeping a satisfied client is much easier than bringing in new clients.
2. Selling is a learned skill. A variety of strategies work for developing new business, but every lawyer will need to put in time to identify and refine the strategies that he or she will apply most successfully.
3. You must listen. Listening is a non-negotiable for successful business development.
4. You must plan advances. Advances are steps that move the "sales" action forward. The concept is well expressed in a book chapter title by Mark Maraia that Hassett cites: "Avoid Random Acts of Lunch."
5. Selling is a numbers game. Not all contacts will result in business, so the more contacts made, the greater the chance of creating new business.
6. It's all about relationships. Clients hire lawyers (as opposed to law firms), and prefer to hire lawyers they know, like, and trust.

As I frequently remind the clients with whom I work one-on-one on business development, consistency is the key to rainmaking. Hassett presses the same point by recommending a weekly check-in on marketing hours and advances. Tracking results increases the chances of following through on a marketing plan, and doing so weekly provides extra impetus - especially if you choose to share your results with someone for added accountability

Hassett also provides seeder questions to get clients talking. I'm sometimes surprised when charming conversationalists admit that it's tough to enter into a deep conversation with clients. Asking for feedback can be difficult, and asking in a way that seeks honest feedback (rather than empty assurances) can take a special touch. Hassett offers four groups of questions:

• Questions to begin a conversation (many of which would be appropriate for potential client conversations, as well);
• Questions to determine the client's overall level of satisfaction with the firm's services;
• Questions to gauge the client's satisfaction with particular aspects of the services rendered; and
• Questions designed to help the client identify ways in which the firm could provide even better service.

If you plan to purchase one book to support your business development efforts, I recommend that Legal Business Development be the one. Hassett's approach is direct and is designed to get maximum impact from the relatively small period of time that most lawyers have available for business development activity. Most importantly, Legal Business Development provides the tools and the "kick" to move consistently from planning to execution.

Business Development For Engineers

Engineers need to generate new business every year. But where do buyers of their services look when they need an engineer? Outside of the Architects and Public Works officials who use networks and relationship, most potential customers are searching online. So whether you are a mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, or environmental engineer it makes no difference - you need to have an online presence. Here are the initial steps to getting found online.

1. Create your web site. On this site it is important to tell the potential customer what it is that you do. In telling your story it is important to strategically place keywords that your customers are searching for in the content. This will give you higher search rankings. You may include phrases such as - we do office building hvac engineering, structural engineering for home owners, commercial building civil engineering, wetlands environmental engineering, etc. You get the point. These search terms, also known as key words, need to match what your ideal customer is searching for.
2. To really move up in the search engines you need to develop a strategy for posting on blogs or sites such as ezines with links back to your site. If you do work in the seven western states you will want to enhance your key words with the names of the cities you work in like San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angels, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, Reno, and Portland. These cities should be included in your website content as well and the posts and links back to your site. Be sure and include your other key words in these posts as well.
3. Register your business with Google under the Local Business Center. If you miss this step you might as well close your doors. Just do a Google search for Google Local Business Center.
4. Launch a regional AdWords Campaign. This will place your ads along the right hand side of the search results. This too will need to target your key words.

Business Development Training Courses and Inspiratio

Business development training courses and sales training presentations are excellent ways to inspire an audience to take action in sales, management, customer loyalty, and their own personal motivation. Raise the bar and test your own "sales superstar potential" by taking the following quick test. As a professional sales person, you should constantly be stretching yourself towards continuous improvement. This quiz will help you to determine where you stand in relation to the "superstar salesperson", and identify areas needing improvement. Give yourself an honest appraisal by scoring yourself on the following questions.

3= I'm doing this now, consistently. 

2= I'm doing this now, occasionally. 

1= I don't do this now, but am willing to start. 

0= I'm not interested in doing this.

Personal Goals:

___ I have a written one-year plan. 

___ I have a tracking and reporting system to monitor performance to plan. 

___ I incorporate life goals beyond pure business goals. 

___ I know the daily/weekly/monthly actions necessary to reach key objectives. 

___ I start off each day with a detailed to-do list. 

___ I follow a disciplined time management system. 

___ I have the necessary patience, realizing superstar results come from a process not an event.

Marketing Goals: 

___ I try new and innovative marketing ideas. 

___ I understand and implement an effective "perception of value" campaign. 

___ I have an ongoing "touch system" to stay visibly in front of my market. 

___ I evaluate my competition to gain and implement new, winning ideas. 

___ I spend at least 50 percent of my time each week talking with prospects, customers, and clients. 

___ I seek out and develop niche markets to expand my marketing and business reach.

Business Development Goals: 

___ I approach new markets and new business sources regularly. 

___ I identify a "Prospect Basket" of candidates to do new business with, and weekly pursue a specific quantity, including a proactive follow-up. 

___ I practice "Model the Masters" by brainstorming with other superstar sales professionals in my business. 

___ I am actively involved in both trade associations and community groups to ensure visibility.

Customers for Life Goals: 

___ I calculate the lifetime value of customers. 

___ I am selective in whom I work with, and manage my time accordingly. 

___I maintain a database of standard form letters for typical customer contact points. 

___I provide value added suggestions, ideas and tools to help your database be more successful, and enhance my relationships.

Referral Goals: 

___I create the "Great First Impression". Make it easy for first time customers to be enthusiastic about referring business opportunities to you. 

___I have a formal plan and process for asking for referrals at different stages where appropriate. 

___I refer business to clients whenever possible.

Entrepreneur Behavior: 

___I treat your book of business as if it were a business. 

___I invest in your business and marketing efforts, don't wait for the company to do so. 

___I stay focused on business creating activities. 

___I seek out a mentor to help you reach the next level. 

___I master key products and services. 

___I attend industry conferences, seminars, business development training courses, and maintain a regular industry reading program.

Culture for Success: 

___ I align myself with top professionals and a company with a solid reputation. 

___ I maintain ongoing recognition systems for 1) prospects, customers, clients,2) fellow sales associates, and 3) sales support team. 

___ I focus on key revenue generating activities, delegating as much admin activities to support personnel/assistants. 

___ I leverage the company resources as further support to my business. 

___ I maintain a practice of "under-promise", "over-deliver" in daily business activities.

Scoring Results:

85-105: Congratulations on your superstar performance and direction! 

60-85: An acceptable direction towards sales professionalism. 

60 and below: A wake up call is necessary-rework your activities and commitment to excellence in your sales profession.

Business Development Training Courses

No matter what type of sales professional you are, always focus on staying on top of your game through ongoing and continuous improvement: sales management training programs and business development training courses are a step in the right direction. This quiz is a strong indicator of where you can take your business actions and performance to a higher level. This simple exercise can serve as a catalyst to reinvent yourself and your business. Learn more about business development training courses and the benefits they can bring to your business-use this quiz as a starting point and begin to implement more activities that will bring you recognition as a sales superstar.

7 Business Development Marketing Tips For Social Media

You would have heard so many marketing experts telling everyone to use social media as part of their promotional marketing mix. The Internet is flooded with information on using Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. Numerous articles have been written on how using social media can help promote your brand image and how it can generate web traffic for your main business website.

Keep in mind that that social networking is a marketing tool and it is only effective when used properly to promote your business.

The key question for a business is "How is social media harnessed to generate real revenue and customers?" In today's digitally connected society your customers regardless of their age, gender or economic status will be active on social networking sites.

Here are some of the latest usage statistics on social media use that will make a business take notice:

• 68% of small businesses will increase their social networking marketing efforts in the next year
• 56% of Twitter users say they use the micro blogging site for business or work related purposes
• Over 40% of people have become 'friends' with or 'like' a brand/company on Facebook or MySpace
• 20% of tweets are about business products
• 46% of Facebook users say they would talk about or recommend a product on Facebook
• 44% of Twitter users have recommended a product
• Social media played a major role in holiday shopping - 28% of shoppers say social media has influenced their purchases

On the Facebook site alone:

• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• Average user has 130 friends
• People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook
• There are over 160 million pages, groups and events that people interact with
• Average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events
• Average user creates 70 pieces of content each month
• Males and females almost equally use social sites (47% vs. 53%)
• 61% of Facebook users are middle aged or older, with the average age being 37
• 18- to 24-year-olds don't dominate any particular social networking site; they're spread out all over
• More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month

The participation of your business in social networking should be self-evident, however, many businesses will go on to set-up social media sites and make no effort to participate and engage in the groups that their potential customers use.

To be successful in using social networking your business must find out where your potential customers spend time on these sites so that you can engage with them where they prefer and not where you prefer or are comfortable with. Participation and engagement with their social networks will form a platform from which to build relationships with communities of interest. This in turn will provide a new customer acquisition channel using the share and like capabilities of the social networking world. This "sharing" is the equivalent of word of mouth in traditional marketing.

Here are the 7 Business Development Marketing Tips for using Social Media:

1. Go where your customers are and not where you are comfortable

To find your customers on social networking sites consider the following:

• Conduct a survey among your customers or potential customers.
• Analyse and monitor traffic on social sites to discover how and where customers are sharing information about your business and your competitors.
• Review marketing research or statistical information on the usage and demographics of the different social media sites.

2. Engage and interact

Social-media engagement is a conversation and your participation in the social network groups and communities is core to building relationships. Your value as a participant is judged by the value that you provide to the community as a whole. You can achieve this by freely sharing relevant, interesting and useful information

3. Research your competitors' activities

You need to gather competitive information that can help your efforts. Conduct a competitive analysis of your top five competitors' use of social media for the following:

• The social networking sites that they actively participate
• The type of content they publish
• The number and type of followers, fans and views
• The products, programs or events promoted

4. Release offers and programs that are exclusive to your social networking channels

You must give importance to your social media with exclusive offers for these promotional channels. This will entice potential customers to share with their networks the offer that is not available from other marketing channels.

As an example, provide offer an exclusive offer for your social media channel, such as discount coupon or voucher.

5. Social media participation requires authenticity and transparency

The words "authenticity" and "transparency" are a bit overused today, however, these are cornerstones to be successful with social networking. Be a real human being in your interactions. This is the foundation to build trust and connections with real people on social media groups and networks.

6. Look for value opportunities in selling through social networking

Take the opportunity to leverage social media in selling your products and/or services by offering relevant items that are of value to your followers. Make it easy for them to make the purchase from these social media channels.

7. Always test and refine based on results generated

Social media programs as a marketing channel are not exempt from testing and refining your messages and offers. You must make the effort to test, gather results and analyse how it can be improved before launching the program to the entire channel.

Apply these 7 Marketing Tips for using Social Media to give you the foundation for success building and growing your business using these communication channels.

Patrick Zuluaga has more than 20 years experience in marketing and business development roles with Australian and international companies. He is Director of PMZ Marketing, a consultancy focused on Small and Medium Enterprises to help you succeed in business with better marketing results.

Strategies That Business Development Firms Use

Business development firms as we all know, are considered as good partners to have if you're getting started with a small business that you want to propel to huge heights through the use of proper techniques and strategies. Using the right tools is very essential if you want to get ahead of the competition, which is really tough and fierce.

If you want to achieve great heights for your own business, you don't necessarily have to employ the services of business development firms. Getting started means that you still don't have the necessary resources to get expensive services so the best thing you can do is to make the first steps on your own. Learning the dos and don'ts of business is an essential thing that you need to do. You have to know what you have inside out. Learning is part of turning yourself into an expert in your own field. Dig into the strategies that I'll be tossing at you in this article. Being a successful businessman doesn't mean that you have to learn rocket science. Instead, you just need to know the right tools to use and the proper way of using them.

The first most essential thing you need to do is to define your goals. You can only define yourself as successful if you have reached your goals so you need to be aware of them first. What is it that you really want to reach? Contemplate on the things that you want to achieve within the next weeks, months, and years. Having a specific set of goals will provide a good sense of direction for your business because these let you know the things that you need to do and when you need to do them. If you have other members in your company, be sure to set your goals with them. Get everybody in one boat so that you don't end up being divided. In addition, take note that when you set goals, you have to be sure that they're SMARTER or specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound, exciting, and recorded.

Next, take aim at the right audience. You need to allot the right amount of budget to all of your departments such as marketing, accounts, resources, and operations. This is part of creating balance. Only after you do this will you be able to take proper aim. When you do so, you need to study the real target market of your business. Know your best prospective customers and focus on them. You can determine your audience by having a look at the products and services that you offer. Define those and determine to whom they are best fitted for.

Lastly, learn to innovate and make innovation your top priority. Being innovative means that you need to mix things up. Never settle for only strategy. Try experimenting until you stumble upon or the best approach that will lead you to sure success. You're dealing with a lot of competition so you need to spruce up methodologies that will give you boosts so that you can take the lead.

Business Development Consultants Are Saving Small Businesses

Business consultants provide the answers you need to make your business a success. They will objectively assess strengths and weaknesses and then develop a plan that is right for your business. These consultants will give you the answers you need for long-term revenue and profit. They will consistently work with you and your employees on how to use the tools they provide for you, so you and your employees will have a profitable business for the future. Just because you open a business does not mean you know how to run it. Many people have great ideas but their operating strategies need work. While there may be a simple plan that doesn't cost too much, consultants can give you personalized marketing tips such as website ads and promotions, direct mail, or a half-page ad in the yellow pages. You, too, may have come up with these ideas all on your own. However, unlike business consulting companies, you have no idea which one of these ideas would be the best choice, or how to strategically place your ad were it will get the best results.

When hiring a Business Development consultant, you should align their skills and expertise with the area of your venture that needs the most help. For example, if you desperately need to contract the right sales force, hire a consultant with sales and marketing expertise. If you need assistance in production, then hire specialists that are manufacturing and sourcing experts in your industry.

The best thing to do is go online and search for the right website that will give you information about business consulting companies, and how you can get in touch with them. Most of these sites are low-cost and using someone to help you find good business consulting companies is worth it. They do all the hunting for you and look for all the qualities you're looking for in a candidate. Be sure to use the same level of caution in hiring a business consultant that you would a new employee. When hiring a new employee, you typically perform an initial screening, conduct a background check, and schedule a formal interview to ensure that you are hiring the right candidate. The same process applies to hiring the right Business Development consultant. Hiring the right candidate will relieve a tremendous amount of stress. It is difficult to be an expert about all aspects of your company. Outsource this responsibility to someone who is more skilled, and spend your time worrying about strategy.

LinkedIn for Business Development: The Top 10 Gotta Do's

The Top 10 Gotta Do's of LinkedIn for Business Development Professionals

In other words...what can I do with this thing to make money?

Important Note: These "Gotta Do's" are listed in order of the importance of "Gotta Be Doing Them"

1. Gotta use Advanced Search Function once you have a lead or target

• a. Find out which of your friends knows someone at the target company
• b. Use keywords to search for names and titles
• c. The more first level connections you have, the better this works
• d. Joining groups helps with this, especially "super groups"

2. Gotta look at profiles of the new people you are going to meet or call

• a. Find out about the person's history
• b. Find out about the person's interests
• c. Find out what the person thinks their company does well and how they fit in
• d. Find that "one thing" that can start the conversation besides, "Hey, do you want some furniture?"

3. Gotta add "trusted connections" consistently

• a. You know 200 to 250 people which will lead to over 1 million people in your network
• b. You now can know who they know and who the people they know know, etc.
• c. Every new first level connection you add will bring you many second and third level potential contacts

4. Gotta "beef up" your profile

• a. Keywords
• b. Your story of credibility, experience and trust
• c. Do you want to be found or do you want your competitors found?
• d. Perform "keyword" search test in advance searching function

5. Gotta review connections of your first degree network

• a. Who are they calling friends?
• b. Who can they introduce you to?

6. Gotta look at the company profile

• a. Find out what the "elevator pitch" is for the organization
• b. See certain statistics
• c. See not only who is on LinkedIn but who is "active"

7. Gotta keep track of what your network is doing and help them

• a. Read status updates religiously; this is what is important to them
• b. Offer help and assistance
• c. Offer to connect them with others in your network

8. Gotta look up competitors (individuals and companies)

• a. What are they saying about themselves?
• b. Find out who they are recommending and who has recommended them
• c. Find out what groups or associations they are involved with
• d. Look at "Viewers of profile also viewed..."

9. Gotta join some groups

• a. Helps in searching
• b. Your industry and customer industry groups are important
• c. Alumni, chamber and clubs help you with "I love doing business with people who are in the same groups I am."
• d. You will be found there
• e. You can be smart there

10. Gotta spend some "purposeful" time each week on LinkedIn, with a strategy/plan, or don't waste the time; instead, do some other form of networking. You can watch me present these and other tips on the WISN video blog with Kyle Blades

Business Development Strategy For Innovative Business Growth

The evidence is very visible and many have already spoken that innovation is the core element in creating new versions of growth. Long-term business growth requires an authentic innovation. However, it is not easy to detect what kind of innovation shall click and that will lead to platforms of development. And there are a lot of ideas to invest on and the time it takes for an invention to be innovated into a product requires patience. These big challenges mean managers usually send away truly innovative prospects as it is too risky, and the growth imperative stays unfulfilled. Nowadays, professionals concerned have developed proven ideas to improve the probability of success in innovation business growth and this is through business development strategy.

The innovators' solution offers tips in making and sustaining growth in the globally competitive market. Disturbance is inevitable, but companies who can grasp the process can harness it and they can actually take advantage of disturbing growth. To take advantage of disruption and create new growth business, managers need to make counter-intuitive decisions. There are different identified areas in addressing business development strategy and some of them are:

According to research balancing not aligning is the key to create future platforms for growth. Strategic planning is also another helpful way as it combines elements of scenario based planning to real options and the result is a portfolio of flexible strategies provisioned to execute arrangement of contingent strategies.

Good and innovative ideas do not usually occur by chance and most successful companies have well designed processes, structures and tools to motivate and manage idea production. From ideas appear innovative strategies to be used in executing the plans. Ideas are effective plans and if they are already implemented, they can make a great difference. Ideas can be best achieved through group collaboration and team work.

Creating a new way for the business to grow is a way to unzip the process of innovation and it is through creating innovation-driven growth business all over again. Managers should be challenged in a way that they should best manage the capabilities of the company to deliver innovation. A best business development strategy will help identify the processes capable and incapable of accomplishing. That's why a good plan is needed beforehand so all involved can look at and visualize all possibilities on how the business will go. In order to survive, learn how to apply these strategies at work.

Tips For Organizing Business Conventions

 If you are an organizer of a company and looking to organize a well-off convention, then go for the options of event facilities. They can provide you a reasonable offer in this location. Ranches are also very famous for conventions. Many company organizers find it very suitable as they recommend the big farms to be the perfect location for organizing a successful business meeting.

Organizing conventions is very important for a company. It is an occasion that takes place once a year in which different mind sets meet on the single venue and they discuss different issues regarding the business success stories. It has become a formal trend in which the business individuals pass on the appreciations and persuasions with each other. It is the right time for the bosses to thank their employees and encourage them for their future work. But the tough task is to arrange a formal venue where this meeting can be formally organized. The organizers of the company play a vital role in this perspective. They are on the boss's list to arrange a gathering which meets the corporate requirements in the best way possible.

For the organizers it is really a complex task to achieve as they find it hard to decide a suitable location. Organizers have to take care that the location is according to the corporate standards as many of the delegations are also invited. Deciding the venue is the most important one as the whole impression depends upon selecting a good location. Booking a hotel or an open hall is really an odd decision to take so which the planner have to go a little different on this.

If you are a company organizer, and your boss has given you this particular task for the very first time, then first of all check out the latest booked venues online. It will give you a brief idea which venue would be the ideal as per the corporate requirements. If you are looking for a big space lawn or an open hall then check them on the internet. Internet is the best resource which can show you some better options of farm locations. You can check the rates on the websites; this will help you compare the price listings of your choice. The best way of knowing the right price is by comparing it with the other places which are already booked. Try to bring the rates close to the price of already booked locations.

Organizing an occasion not only ends in booking a venue, you also have to look for the arrangements of the meals and food items. For this, you can go on internet and check out the latest offers of cookery and catering services. You can also hire a separate team of cooking, as there are some specialized chefs working in the team. They are experienced in preparing special food items for special guests like Italian, French or Chinese food. This would be a delight for the company's international guests and also would be appreciable in the eyes of your work mates. For a little change you can also add some sweet dishes or deserts for the guests, it will add an extra value on your arrangements.

5 Reasons Why Security Companies Are Booming

 Security companies in Los Angeles will provide services that include everything from armed body guards to foot patrol security agents. They will supply whatever their clients require to feel safe. With the increased crime rate and the numerous terrorist threats and attacks, clients pop up from everywhere. Some service requests are made by celebrities, politicians, and gated community committees, while others are sent in by factory owners, airport and bus depot managers, and more.

There is no doubt about it; the need for protection by security companies in Los Angeles has increased in the last several years. The demand is high, despite the poor economy. Why? Here are five of the most common reasons why private citizens, as well as industrial leaders, insist on effective security programs.

1. Increased crime rate - The daily news is loaded with reports on crime and terrorism. The borders are no longer secure, many people who lost their home and job turn to violence to release their frustration, there are not enough police officers to deal with the criminals, and the list goes on.
2. Limited police intervention - Many police departments have become victims of financial cut-backs. This often leads to reduced manpower and old equipment. As a result, these brave men and women can no longer efficiently perform their sworn duty.
3. Affordability - The more publicity security companies in Los Angeles receive, the more it becomes clear that the services they provide are quite affordable.
4. No liability - When hiring a licensed, bonded and insured security firm, you are not liable for injuries and damages caused by your body guard or security officer.
5. Being pro-active - By requesting protection, crime can be prevented.

Tips to Increase Sales Using Customer Loyalty Schemes

 Selling ought to maintain turnover volumes or increase them. This activity is often transposed one-sidedly into winning new customers. Indeed it is not unusual for newly promoted selling professionals attending their first formal sales training course to want to focus on this aspect alone. However, in the effort to move into new target clients and to cover more completely target groups already worked, care of your core customers is an important subject.

Many well known businesses use loyalty programmes as a way of caring for and developing their existing customers. To be effective all loyalty programmes need to achieve two goals. These are promoting customer loyalty through reward, and building the customer relationship as something long term.

Worthy of particular attention is the second of these goals. The "Bargain of the Month" or the regular "Trial Price" do not make a loyalty programme. The reward must be designed so that it promotes long term loyalty, otherwise you will only achieve the effect of a short term promotion and the full potential of the loyalty programme remains unused. In other words, instead of attracting bargain hunters, good existing customers should be encouraged to purchase again and again from you.

Loyalty programmes from the business point of view: From the business point of view a loyalty programme starts with the realisation that not all clients are the same and that it is sensible to aim, in preference, the loyalty scheme at your most attractive clients. The loyalty reward and the desired behaviour of the client must be closely bound to one another. In this the value of the reward should not go beyond the additional value creation aimed for. The checklist below lists the considerations which are helpful in thinking about a new loyalty programme:

What types of customer do we have? (e.g. often buys small amounts, sometimes buys large amounts, only buys special offers, often buys one-off pieces / ends of lines etc.)

How much is each type of customer worth? (if applicable, taking into account the length of the customer relationship)

What types of customer have potential for development? How great is this potential?

What customer behaviour (or what type of customer) do we want to encourage, what type do we want to avoid? What do we get out of the change?

How much additionally created value are we aiming for if we gain x% of added potential with a programme?

What is the maximum amount that the loyalty programme can cost? (y% of the additional value created)?

Loyalty programmes from the client's point of view:

As taught on sales training courses, whether customers take part in the loyalty programme in the way you want them to or not depends on five factors:

1. The cash value of the reward. In some schemes it is easy for the customer to calculate the cash value of the reward, such as a customer card which gives a discount of, for example, 5% off all purchases. With other schemes the cash value is less easy for the customer to calculate, for example an airline company's air miles scheme where the multitude of tariffs, means the customer can only estimate the cash value.

2. Attractiveness. Customers pay attention to how worthwhile the reward is for them personally. Thus it is quite possible that, when buying furniture, a reward in the form of a side table (cash value c.5% of the purchase price) will be valued less than a free flight on a frequent flier programme (cash value c.3% of the tickets paid for).

3. Palette of redemption possibilities. If there is a choice of several rewards of equal value, the attractiveness of a programme increases because from the point of view of the client it is more likely that one option will meet with their personal tastes.

4. Relevance. Behind the issue of relevance is the question, "Is the reward attainable?" The bargain hunter who constantly changes supplier for the sake of investigating something else, may come away having spent less in total than the client who stays. As such they do not reach the premier level with any supplier. If they become aware of this they may change their approach and concentrate on one supplier - the one with the most attractive rewards.

5. Comfort. Neither the client nor the suppliers' involved want to carry out onerous paper chases in order to operate the premium process. This is what makes premiums connected with credit cards and client cards so attractive - since all the turnover data are available immediately centrally through the operation of the transaction by computer.

Businesses whose size or capabilities are not sufficient for all the aspects, can increase the attractiveness of their programme by way of partnerships. In the conception of collaborative programmes it is necessary to carefully test whether the loyalty being aimed for will also benefit your own business. Mistakes in conception are expensive - the costs are real, the "loyalty" emerges as the consequential problem.

In summary, a loyalty programme is successful if it can compete in all five areas. Good sales training courses will show you how you can best present the benefits of your loyalty scheme to your customers to maximize sales success.