Insights Archives

As professionals in Business Development we have to take responsibility for the nature of our relationship with our customer. Prevent issues from becoming negative issues by negotiating and [...]

If we do not understand how and why people buy or have a process to disqualify opportunities early, we tend to rationalize a reason why the person did not buy from us. On a fundamental basis, [...]

Prospects and individuals in general are self-centered and really only care about themselves. Given the opportunity, they are happy to discuss every detail of their world, situation and [...]

In his poem “If”, Rudyard Kipling shares examples on how to relate to others and exhibit grace, class and humility. People are comfortable with and instinctively trust those individuals who they [...]

Credibility, confidence and courage are three interwoven factors essential for Business Development success. These key elements make us powerful, efficient and effective in the role. Any one of [...]

One of the defining characteristics between amateurs and Business Development Professionals is their early pursuit of “no.” Business Development professionals have moved beyond fearing rejection [...]

When responding to bids or RFPs there is a key point to understand: you are automatically a part of someone else’s process. That may be either the prospect’s process or a competitor’s bid-shaping [...]

Many traditional sales processes are push-oriented and focused on features and benefits. These processes attempt to convince prospects that they need products or services. This methodology is [...]

In Business Development, it’s easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble. What you do to establish the rules of the relationship up front is critical for setting the tone for the [...]

People in Business Development frequently have problems separating business from personal relationships. They think if they develop a personal relationship with a prospect or client, it will [...]

One lesson a Business Development Professional learns over time is the cost of bad business. Early in our careers, we are so anxious for business that we fail to establish relationship [...]

For any professional development or transformation of behavior to be effective, you have to change thinking. It’s thinking that drives behavior, which drives results. In order to be [...]

It is becoming more evident that to be successful in the current business environment, you have to change the way you engage with your prospects. The Business Development processes and thinking [...]

Use your homework prior to every call to stretch yourself conceptually and mechanically. Find out what you don’t know about your client’s business. How do they really make money? Who are [...]

We have all heard that any strength to an extreme is a weakness, although many of us fail to really understand this principle. Knowing our strengths and seeing them as potential limitations, will [...]

From many years of experience, we know that the top 3%—the true professionals in Business Development—have learned how to change their thinking. Not only have they learned how to think like a [...]

Too many people in the role of Business Development get caught up in the mechanics, the questions, the presentation and the processes. It’s certainly important to know what to do and how to do [...]

The philosophy of risking, failing and learning is one of the most powerful concepts to embrace in furthering yourself personally and professionally. How many times have you decided to change [...]

We frequently encounter individuals who, when challenged with why they continually do things a certain way, will defend their position and the thinking driving their behavior—even when they know [...]