Business development is an essential part of any company’s growth. However, not everyone’s a natural. Good business development requires a great deal of empathy and understanding. Luckily for you, you have a business development manager who shows you the ropes. If you’re looking to become a better business development manager, you should keep reading. It’s important to understand what makes a good BDM. That way, you can work toward becoming a better BDM yourself.
Define What Success Looks Like
It’s important to know your own definition of success from the start. What does success look like for you? These are all good questions you should ask yourself when defining what success looks like for you as a business development manager. You need to know what makes you happy and what will make you successful in this position. You need to know what you want to achieve, so that way, you can set goals and be well on your way to becoming a better business development manager.
Set Clear Expectations
Clear expectations are key to any business development process. A BDM should always set clear expectations with the person they’re meeting with. This includes defining the goal of the meeting and what they expect to get out of it. When you make goals clear, you set a timeline and provide motivation for both parties involved in the meeting.
Clear goals will allow both parties to work together more efficiently. It’s important that you’re specific when you set goals for a meeting because vague goals can make it difficult for both parties in the meeting to succeed.
For example, if your goal is to increase revenue, then define how you want this revenue increase to come about. You might want more people purchasing online or an increase in in-store sales. You should specify these as your goals so that everyone involved understands what you’re expecting to accomplish during the meeting.
Know What Makes a Good Lead
The first step to becoming a better BDM is understanding what makes a good lead. A good leader is one who’s interested in your products or services and has the ability to purchase them. If a lead doesn’t fit this profile, they’re not worth your time. So, make sure you know what makes a good lead before you start contacting people – that way, you won’t waste your time on uninterested buyers.
Ask For Reviews
One of the easiest ways to become a better BDM is by asking for reviews. If you’re not asking for reviews, it could be because you’re terrible at it, or you just haven’t thought about it. You should start by analyzing your own social media and emails.
Do you have an area for people to leave reviews? People are more likely to leave a review if they feel like their opinion matters. If you don’t have a way for customers to give reviews, then consider creating one! Many companies that offer products and services use third-party platforms like Yelp or Google Business Reviews, which makes it easy for people to leave reviews without having to sign up somewhere else.
Don’t Be Afraid to Asks For a Meeting
The best way to understand what makes a good BDM is to ask. If you’re looking for more clients, don’t be afraid to email a potential client and ask for a meeting. They may be impressed with your initiative. Another way of learning about the best business development managers is by watching them work. Watch how they interact with customers and how they deal with rejection.
These are all valuable skills that you can learn from an experienced business development manager, who will help you become better at your job in the process. It also helps to find mentors within your own organization, or even people who work on other teams within the same company,
who can teach you how to become a better business development manager through their experiences or by sharing their thoughts and ideas on the subject. It’s often easier to see someone else’s mistakes so that you can avoid them yourself. If you want to become a better BDM, it’s important that you know what makes a good one! You’ll need empathy and understanding if you want to succeed as a BDM, but no worries – there are plenty of ways that you can learn!
Plan Multiple Meetings Per Day
One of the best ways to become a better BDM is to plan multiple meetings per day. Meetings are essential for any business development, and you should always be on the lookout for new opportunities. That can’t happen if you’re only having one meeting per day. You have to plan at least three meetings, but five or six meetings are even better. It’s important to spend time out in the field, too. Meeting people in person will give you a better understanding of your potential customers and their needs. Remember that customer service is also an essential part of being a BDM; this means knowing what your customers want and need before they can even ask for it!
Stay Consistent with your messaging
One of the most important things you can do for your company is to stay consistent with your messaging. You need to make sure that every piece of communication you send out has a clear call to action, like visiting your website or making an appointment.
Your customers are bombarded with advertisements and marketing messages on a daily basis; don’t let them forget who you are! When new people hear about your company, they should be able to tell someone else what it’s all about in one sentence.
This is where we get the saying “Tell me, so I can forget; show me, so I can remember; involve me, so I can understand.” If you want people to remember your company after their first meeting with you, then make sure that there are multiple ways for them to find out more about what makes you unique.
Wrapping up
: As a BDM, it’s important to have empathy. Business development is all about finding solutions to client’s problems. It takes patience and understanding to find the right solutions. But as a business development manager, you also need to be strategic. You need to know where your business can grow and what growth opportunities are out there.
The best way to get better at this skill is by learning from someone who has been in the industry for years. If you want to become a better BDM, talk with your company’s current BDM. Take note of their strategies and see how you can apply them in your own work as well.
