A business development plan is an essential tool for all prudent entrepreneurs if they wish to remain in business. Firms of all sizes will sometimes find that they lack a particular skill or area of expertise, and seek the advice of a specialist. In the table below a classification of business development institutions are plotted out, based on the various stages in the company life cycle.

Its products and services are gaining acceptance in the marketplace and customers are patronizing them in increasing numbers. Find all kinds of information about small businesses, right from beginning a small business, to getting government grants, analyzing the market, etc.

From the birth of ideas to early startups, to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who seek second stage growth, and all they way to strategy implementation for corporate giants, many institutions exist to support firms in their business development efforts.

Boutique consulting firms offer organizations highly specialized advice that addresses specific problems or aspects of a business. The inevitable is cash flow drying up and losses mount up. Most businesses fold up during this phase. Failing to do this a common problem with companies and their sales teams and even more so with business development professionals as the relationships they have and bringing to the table are often held tightly and not given up easily.

Business Development Steps And Strategies

Every business has its life cycle that it undergoes during the course of its entire existence. Moreover, no company can house all expertise internally, thus the advice from external business professionals may at times come in handy. A business development specialist is typically a cross between a marketing and a sales person. Hiring a development consultant is going to cost you money, but it’s important to see this as an investment for your business.

While a consultants hourly rate may be higher than you’re comfortable with a deal can be put together much faster by a professional than someone trying for the first time to structure a business partnership. If you’re the typical small business starting, growing or even just surviving in a tough economic market with little or no credit, you also need business development strategies that don’t eat up your cash flow.

Consultants often will require an hourly rate or fixed salary as well as some kind of bonus structure for placing deals together which may be a single payout for each business deal that is signed or a revenue share that is paid out over a period of time based on the amount of business that is ultimately generated from the relationships.

Strategic Management For Business Development

In the almost 30 years that I’ve worked as a CPA, I’ve had the opportunity to see businesses go on to achieve amazing results in the marketplace and for their community and for the owners. Ironically, it’s the most expensive option, with ‘front of the line’ service and unlimited consulting with partners in the firm that sells the most. Moreover, the job of a business developer is highly cross functional, as it requires collaboration with various internal and partner-company teams such as sales, engineering, and marketing to ensure that a deal is consummated.

With the development and constantly-expanding use of the Internet, many entrepreneurs are finding it easier to tap their potential market, and market their products and services to customers across the globe. There are both niche specialists targeting specific business needs and generalists taking a 360° view of the firm and its strategy and objectives.

In the cases where the business has taken the steps to develop and to base their activities on foundational marketing planning then in these circumstances – these plans can be used to serve as a basis on which to base the digital marketing; search engine and social media activities upon.

5 Reasons To Hire A Business Development Consultant

The Business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them. During this phase, the business require infusion of additional capital to buy capital equipment to increase production (for manufacturing businesses), to establish additional service network (for service providers) or procure more goods for trade (for trading businesses).

Lastly, the value of business development services is discussed from the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A company spends varying amounts of time in an incubation program depending the type of business and the entrepreneur’s level of business expertise.

Business Development

If your business has been struggling to get more clients in the last few months or year then consider hiring a business development expert that can find the right joint venture marketing partners that can deliver hot leads to your sales team. A particular interest will be taken into how business development activities differ across company sizes and growth stages, from early-stage startups to fully-grown companies, and the various institutions that can support companies on their paths to growth.

But if you need help refining your business model or if you are a first-time CEO seeking guidance from proven peers and entrepreneurs, these types of services can be perfect. The Seed Accelerator derives much of its characteristics from the business incubator; their services often include pre-seed investments (usually in exchange for equity) and the focus is on business model innovation.
This is an extract from my FREE eBook – “How to Construct an Effective Business Development Strategy” which is available for download – please see details below.