Every organization wants consummate Business Development professionals on their team. It doesn’t matter whether they are strategic hunters, organic farmers, strategic leaders or perennial rainmakers. Unfortunately, there are very few of these professionals around. Those that are available will choose to partner with an organization that offers a similar level of assets and professionalism to the relationship.
The true Business Development professional brings well-honed leadership skills, keen understanding of behavioral psychology and its application, and an abundance of market knowledge/experience. Professionals exhibit a disciplined approach to the role and a highly refined Client Engagement Process. Additionally, their wide range of interpersonal skills allows them to engage people and access information not typically demonstrated by others.
As one of our clients shared, “They are self-contained entities, best described as a self-licking ice cream cone.”
When hiring Business Development talent, many organizations become myopic and focus upon only one of many skill areas. Typically, most attention is on the market or industry experience listed on a candidate’s resume. What hiring teams don’t realize is that relying only on market or industry experience will lead them to make short-sighted employment decisions.
In order for a Business Development professional to successfully partner with an organization, the company must also bring a range of resources to the relationship. One critical requirement is an internal Business Development process. Also important to consider is the culture fit, market fit and personality fit. All of these components are vital to ensuring the professional and the organization can successfully collaborate to their mutual benefit.
Find the right “self-licking ice cream cones” for your Business Development team, and revenue growth will result.
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