Along with your purpose in Business Development, your ability to stay emotionally detached in interactions with prospects and clients is a critical component to your success. Emotion impacts both ends of the transaction: don’t expect a prospect/client to be concerned about your feelings; and in turn, do be objective in assessing the relationship in order to do what’s best for your prospect or client.
In reality, this is easier said than done. Even though we are aware that Business Development isn’t the role where we get our emotional needs met, we still fall into the trap of relating the closing of a deal to personal and professional self-worth. This is a no-win scenario. Allowing feelings to interfere in the transaction seriously damages your ability to fulfill your purpose—doing what’s in the client’s best interest.
In Business Development, it’s never about you. It’s all about the client and their needs, their concerns, their perspective on the problem and, ultimately, their decision about the solution. In some cases, the solution may not even involve you or your company!
Professional objectivity is key to establishing trust and credibility in any long-term Business Development relationship. Leaving emotion out of the transaction is the best way to achieve it.