Introduction
This guide has been developed by Matthew Elliot at PSC Pipeline as a tool for new starters in the world of business development (BD), although there will be some nuggets that the old hats of BD may also find useful. The guide is based on our extensive experience of the BD world within the construction industry, yet the principles can be applied to BD in most industries.
If you are brand new to BD, you may not have discovered how surreal this world can be. On the outside looking in, it looks like a glamorous life of coffee dates and late night outs. You will have friends and family saying how lucky you are, asking things like ‘what do you actually do for a living?’. There is no doubting that, at times, BD will feel like the best job in the world; a trip to Cannes for MIPIM perhaps, eating in nice restaurants regularly, having almost complete freedom to meet anyone you want, anywhere you like.
But BD is not all plain sailing. Nobody will realise that you will have to ‘perform’, even when you don’t feel like it. Don’t fancy being out tonight? Tough, your guests do. Don’t want to meet with a client that’s always difficult to deal with? Tough, they have a good pipeline. Is your office in desperate need of a win and the pressure is on you to bring more opportunities in? Tough.
Even if you are a great BD doing all the right things, it can still be a lonely place at times. Remember, we all feel like this at times, so it is good to talk about it. It may feel counterintuitive at first, but the BD community are a close knit bunch and you will form strong relationships with rival BDs over time.
There is no degree or formal training qualifications specifically for this job (that we know of), so hopefully this guide is a useful place to start. Part of the reason for writing this guide is that many Business Development Managers (BDM) end up coming into the role from other backgrounds or departments. That is largely because you are typically selected as a good fit for BD because of your personality. However, there are still skills, experience and traits that you will need to work on.
Key Characteristics
Skills
Listening
This sounds silly, but it really is a fine art. Many people are normally waiting for their turn to speak, which means they are not listening properly to what the other person is saying. Listen carefully, ask informed questions and you will be surprised at how much extra information the person will willingly give up.
Communicating
This is more than just listening and speaking. Try to be clear and concise in your language, but not at the cost of it sounding like a script. Body language is also an important element of communication and is the foundation of forming a good first impression. Looking people in the eyes gives an impression of confidence, smiling (not like a lunatic) will give the impression that you are approachable.
Organising
You could be forgiven for thinking you would just have to organise yourself, but often this is only a part of it. Get used to juggling others diaries as well (internal and external), as you may be frequently setting up meetings with many attendees coming from different directions. Apart from the physical arrangement of these events, at times you will need to be the driving force behind the thought that people need to meet. For example, you may have been meeting with another BDM over a few months but this hasn’t really gotten you any traction with a new company. Maybe it’s time to step it up a gear and arrange for a meet between your Director and theirs instead…
Navigating
This might feel petty, but getting used to finding lots of new addresses, finding parking, local transport etc. which can be overwhelming at times. Of course, modern day technology/apps can help (our personal favourite is Waze to help avoid those pesky speed cameras or traffic jams).
Traits
Likeable
Unfortunately, this is a trait that is very difficult to train and is hugely subjective. However, the more likeable you are, the more other people are going to want to engage with you and do business with you on a regular basis.
Trustworthy
In a job where you are mostly trying to extract information out of people and position your business to win the work, trust plays a big role. People will be more willing to share information that can be extremely useful to you if you have their trust. Trust develops over time, so be careful in an industry where cross pollination is common between BDMs. Never share anything that you are not prepared to get back to the original source.
Reliable
Although this seems straightforward, you wouldn’t believe how many people are undone by over promising and under delivering. In a role where one of your ‘go to’ tools should be adding value to others, don’t forget to follow through with those promises. Being reliable also means doing things in the time frame you have set out. If someone asks you to do something and you can’t make the deadline, tell them upfront.
Thick skinned
Hopefully this is a trait that is required less as you develop your reputation, although we all need it at times. In a role where you are doing a lot of cold outreach (or warm – introduced by others) you will get your fair share of people that just won’t respond. This can be extremely confusing, as these people can be at times the ones that initiated contact. This is just part of the game, move on to new targets or alter your approach, but don’t take it personally.
You will ultimately carry your reputation throughout your career, so doing things the right way will not only make you more successful for your current business, but will also pave the way for growth into more senior roles at larger businesses.
Where to get started
Before we get into this vital section, there is a bear trap you must avoid! Your time is finite and reputation can be won or lost in a single moment. So, whilst it might initially feel like you have to ‘get out there’ and ‘BD the sh#t out of everything’, this can be harmful to any success you might achieve in the short to medium term. We can all be busy fools, but your role is to be strategic and effective with your time. Slowing things down initially to plan your approach is critical. There will be some low hanging fruit that you can ‘go after’, and there is always a need to put plans into action, but if you rush, you will increase the amount of rejection you face early on.
1. Get to know your business:
- What type of work are they looking for (New build, refurbishment, general construction, housing, value, public or private etc.)?
- What procurement routes are you on (Frameworks, DPS)?
- Who are the key clients historically (BD is about long-term relationships not new transactional ones)?
- What tools do I already have access to (software, hardware, apps etc)?
- Who can help me internally (BDs in other regions, line manager, specialist departments etc.)?
- Get to know your expenses policy (know what, when and where you are allowed to spend before you do)!
2. Get to know the industry lingo (this is more challenging if you are new in the industry, but over time you will naturally pick this up).
3. Get to know your region:
- Mapping organisations (for public sector this is easy)
- Mapping clients/profiles of decision makers (who are the key clients in the region? Is there already a relationship there? Is there a job role that should be focused on that is typically the decision maker?)
- Mapping events (construction steering groups, professional accreditation chapters etc)
- Mapping locations/haunts (it’s always handy to know good spots to meet across the region for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks)
- Mapping key consultants (break down the disciplines you work with more frequently – who is picking up the majority of the work in the region? Are there consultants prevalent in a particular sector? Are there individuals with a particularly high profile that seem to know everyone?)
- Mapping networking groups (there are loads of these groups, so map the key ones that most key individuals appear to share in common)
4. Set goals. Without setting realistic time bound goals, how do you know if your approach is working? Although the realistic element is crucial, don’t make them too easy – you are doing this to stretch yourself and improve, not to tick a box on a spreadsheet or CRM.
5. Once you have gotten to know your business a bit better, you will need to think about where your focus should be. We would all like to focus on B2C, but typically this is the hardest profile to consistently get in front of and they may not be the best fit for your business. In truth, a mix of B2C and B2B will always be the end result, but who should you focus on initially?
- B2C – this makes sense when you are the direct supplier. For construction, if you are working for a consultant or a main contractor you will want direct access to key client decision makers in your region.
- B2B – if you are specialist supply chain the end user of your product or service is unlikely to be person who will get you the most traction. Follow the money. Who is directly paying your company? If it’s a main contractor or a tier one specialist supply chain, your time will be best spent focusing on these relationships and finding new companies that fit a similar profile.
Pareto 80/20
The Pareto Principle, also known as the “80/20” rule, states that for many events, roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes.
In relation to our BD activities, we can expect that 80% of our results will typically come from 20% of our work or input. Unfortunately, there is no exact blueprint for what that 20% input looks like in terms of activities, as there will be variables in your regional nuances, your skillset and your businesses strategy. However, the good news is that, over time, you can improve your input, and ultimately your conversion, but it will require you to be analytical in your approach. Some examples of metrics to keep an eye on are:
- Has a particular networking group been a good source for new introductions that have developed into meaningful relationships?
- Has there been a way you have provided someone else with value that has led to them making recommendations to others about you?
- Is there a person you meet that always has new quality intelligence or seems to know everything about the region?
To find out what’s working well, you should tailor your metrics to your approach. If you discover something is not working for you, don’t blindly continue doing it! Either find a way of altering the process, or potentially get some training on it. If the process is still not bearing any fruit, consider stop doing it altogether. It is with this constant trial and error process that you will hone your activities into a well oiled machine that will deliver you above average results.
Whilst this may feel a bit ruthless at first, your time is finite so you need to be selective. That’s not to say you can’t ever do anything that doesn’t directly impact your businesses bottom line. Some activities are long term investments that will not always produce anything obvious in the short term. These can be critical to long term success, but you can’t afford to fill all of your days with activities that won’t deliver any short to medium term success.
What things will you typically be doing?
Day to day, the role can be broken down into four simple objectives:
- You will ultimately be responsible for helping to drive brand awareness for your business. The more relevant people that know about your business, the better.
- You are there to provide the human link for your business. People buy from people, not businesses. You are there to create personal relationships with other people that will help drive growth.
- You will undertake activities that will help reveal intelligence about upcoming opportunities that are viable for your business to deliver.
- You will input into a strategy that will help make your business the preferred supplier for the opportunities that you discover and track.
You will notice we have written ‘your business’ frequently, but don’t lose sight of your personal brand and don’t underestimate the importance of it. Over time, you will build your brand, hopefully to a point where people want to work with you, regardless of who you are working for. Sometimes you will want to do things that don’t directly affect anything but your personal brand and that’s okay too!
The typical activities you could be doing are endless. You could be doing anything from grabbing a coffee with another BDM to taking a client to a major sporting event halfway across the world. Unfortunately, the latter will happen far less frequently and potentially never at all, depending on who you work for.
You could and should think outside of the box in terms of activities to put your business ahead of the competition, but don’t overlook the fact that this is a well-trodden path. There are many other BDMs out there and many similar businesses that have done a lot of the trial and error for you. Look at your competitors or other businesses that you are impressed with and research what they do well. The chances are it won’t be groundbreaking and you can look to set up similar activities for your business.
One thing not to overlook is your business’ values and policies. Make sure your business supports what you are doing, there is nothing worse than racking up expenses that can’t be recovered.
A word to the wise, BD can at times involve hosting evening events where alcohol is involved. At first this can feel like you have cracked the Da Vinci Code, ‘hang on a minute, I’m being paid to drink’! But don’t let this undo all of your hard work, you are there to host and ensure everyone else has a good time. Drink responsibly, remember these are clients and colleagues, not your mates on a Saturday night. Whilst it might seem like a good idea to let a client get really drunk, this can have short term consequences (they may feel embarrassed and avoid you for a while or worse – forever).
What activities will drive the best results?
There is not one activity that will singularly make you a success, (if you do find one though please let us know!) but there is an overarching philosophy that has always served us well. ’Always trust people to be people’ and ‘add value to others’.
Always trust people to be people
Understanding core principles in human behaviour and psychology might feel a little over the top, but it’s crucial. Your approach should always consider what is in it for the other person. If the answer is nothing, most of the time this will not lead to the best outcomes for you. To make some sweeping generalisations, most people are there for personal gain. Tailor your approach so people feel like they have been heard and have had chance to talk about their favourite subject – themselves and their achievements (we’re all guilty of this).
Add value to others
This goes way beyond listening to someone pat themselves on the back. You really need to understand what the other person needs and what your business is prepared to let you promise. The more you and your business are willing to do for others, the more others will come to respect you and even rely upon you. The trick is to hold off asking for anything in return, as you are doing these things to be helpful…right? If you can consistently provide others with value, you won’t always have to ask for contracts, people will willingly want to return the favour.
As a BDM you will naturally have more insights into the goings on of your region, coupled with a powerful network. Don’t underestimate the value of these two things. Introductions between your network and recommendations are very good at helping to build early relationships. Just be careful to only recommend other people and businesses that won’t come back to haunt you. Equally, sharing insights into the market can help to build confidence with the other person. It shows that you really are a person that’s worth knowing and an expert in your field. Just remember, you need to deliver what you promise. So don’t overuse this tactic, it’s always better to under promise and over deliver.
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Tools that can help you
There are a number of tools on the market to make your life easier. Some of our favourites are:
- LinkedIn – Love it or hate it, this is the go-to platform for business social media interactions (at the time of writing). You will want to build up your network on LinkedIn as well as your face-to-face network. LinkedIn Premium is also worth having, even if only for a few months (it will help with all the mapping exercises immensely). Over the years, we have found that cold outreach has been more successful when approaching others that also use LinkedIn Premium.
- Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) – Your business may already have a CRM that you will need to use. Modern CRMs have a wealth of features and some will help you more directly than others. Most will have a deal tracker, which can really help you visualise where your opportunities are, in terms of the stage of discussion. This part of the tool is usually able to be customised so you can get alerts/reminders, which can help avoid underdelivering on those promises! A good CRM will also integrate with all of the channels you use for communication, which is essential in today’s modern world.
- Credit card – You are likely to be spending a fair amount of your own money on travel and other typical expenses. Why not get a credit card that offers cashback based on spend, or perhaps rack up air miles using AMEX instead? Just make sure you pay it off at the end of each month!
- Subscriptions to news outlets – No need to go overboard with this but getting access to relevant news in your industry is key in helping you become the expert. Build ten minutes into the start of each day to scan the headlines and read anything that is particularly noteworthy. This can give you an edge in conversations throughout the day.
- Networking groups – There are many groups that you can join to give yourself a leg up in getting to know a region. The best ones for you are likely to be business and region specific, some will also require specific professional accreditations to access.
- Market intel tool – You will need access to accurate project market intelligence. We might be biased, but for public sector construction projects of at least £1m in value, there is only one place to go: www.pscpipeline.co.uk. This service will give you access to high quality early intel – most schemes are added to the database at RIBA 1 or RIBA 2.
Useful links
In no particular order, here are some links for you to explore:
www.pscpipeline.co.uk | Best public sector project market intelligence platform
Contracts Finder – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) | For opportunities in public sector worth over £12k
Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) | For high value opportunities in the public sector
Architecture News & Buildings | The Architects’ Journal (architectsjournal.co.uk) | Keep an eye on the design competitions, they turn into works contracts eventually…right?
Construction Enquirer News | Daily snapshot of industry news
Driving Directions & Traffic Reports by Waze | Satnav app
Marketing agency for the construction & manufacturing industries | SWW Marketing | Best for construction marketing advice and services
Public Sector Network – The UK’s largest Public Sector network for Public Servants (public-sector.co.uk) | Great tool for mapping out region initially
Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) | Go to group for all things public sector housing
UKREiiF – The UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum | Potentially biggest built environment conference in the UK – a must attend for BD
Home – Constructing Excellence | Popular membership networking group with regional clubs
