What is Business Development? Definition

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Business development - Definition

Business Development refers to the search for strategic opportunities by an organization in order to to identify new markets or partners, and therefore of develop its turnover. So that's the whole issue of Akimbo Bootcamp to become a Business Developer.

The comic focuses on The prospecting, The qualification and The transformation prospects in order to develop the business and the positioning of the company on the market (Market Fit and Reach). But also on the search for new partnerships.

It aims to set up and execute a business development plan for create sustainable growth. Business Development identifies potential areas for growth and provides the funds needed to enable its expansion. Developing partner networks corresponds par excellence to Business Development.

If Business Development plays a key role in the creation of a company, with for example the recruitment of Business Developers, Business Development and Sales are normally complementary in their project as well as in daily activity.

In other words, once the commercial strategy is designed and executed by Business Development, Sales will continue the negotiation until closing in order to transform opportunities into customers. Sales will also often make sure to maintain a good customer relationship. The action of these two coordinated areas follows the entire sales process.

This article summarizes all the information on the missions and qualities needed to do Business Development, as well as affiliated positions.

Why do Business Development?

Business Development links all functions and departments of the company in order to ensure seize business opportunities.

Beyond the first two positions in Business Development that one can occupy, these jobs do not require specific training in schools, other than business/engineering, but especially managerial and operational skills for his team, even organizational qualities.

This is a very versatile field that combines prospecting, negotiation, management, and often intl. So we are at reactor core of the company. It is for this reason that many profiles decide to change jobs and Become a business developer. This position attracts a lot of people, leading to one project and then a second, sometimes on an international scale. It also creates numerous job and career opportunities.

The actors in this stage have a strong impact on development of the company: they decide on the commercial strategy, initiate it and monitor its smooth progress. Les career progressions are therefore fast.

Since Business Development initiates commercial strategy, it is of course an activity that communicates directly with customers and develops the customer base. We are So forges qualities extremely appreciated in the business world: relational and sense of contact, active listening, curiosity.

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How to do Business Development?

While theory is essential during the first years of practice, beyond a certain level of experience,practical experience and industry knowledge is decisive: you don't sell software with annual licenses worth several million euros like real estate.

A Business Developer will not have the same daily life as a Head of Sales. That said, there are some convergences.

1. Develop a strategic vision

One of the missions of Business Development is to imagine and then above all to apply the commercial strategy. For this, its actors observe Market trends and analyze the customer needs and profiles in order to make the most optimal choices.

• Create and execute a business action plan

With the final aim of achieving growth and satisfaction goals, the Business Developer sets up a business process. It clearly identifies the market and the product/service on which to focus (go-to-market). Business Development will supervise the launch of this activity by segmenting departments, each actor is specialized in their task and focuses on applying it as closely as possible to the strategy.

• Understand the evolution of your market and its competitors

The commercial strategy is decided internally but is subject to external risks. The business developer must understand the market in which he is established and its competition. Business Development contributes to the development of a good brand image: the launch of a good prospecting campaign and a good follow-up of the activity guarantees a good understanding of its internal needs. Thus, the company establishes itself on the markets, in understands trends And theadapts to his method. By continuing to analyze new consumer segmentations and new markets, the business developer identifies new growth drivers to exploit.

• Involve the people around you in this vision

When it comes to identifying the right profiles, making decisive choices or building a commercial strategy, the collective agreement is fundamental. It ensures that everyone agrees with the smooth running of the business plan. Business Development is the guide to business development, it brings together the coordination of all sectors and forms a group that will serve the same purpose.

2. The experience: the lifeblood

Business Development actors have a job that requires speed of execution and reflection encouraged by experience. Whether it is their own personality or learning through their previous position, individuals contribute their know-how and individualities to the development of the company, which must then be coordinated.

• Know-how cannot be theorized

Unlike math or physics, you don't learn to be a good Business Development player, you become one. While certain skills are required, the success of most missions is based on soft skills. That is, skills that an individual acquires with experience.

• Emotional intelligence that can be learned in the field, particularly useful for management

Some Skills of a business developer can be worked on (leadership, communication...) but most depend on the history and personality of the individual. It is therefore all the more complicated to manage so many behaviors and cognitive biases different when they have a direct action on the company's activity.

• The network allows you to take advice from experts

Business Development requires optimizing your network in order to build good relationships with your teams and to make the right decisions. It is a collective work, Business Development requires critical thinking that encourages individuals to consult external sources in order to better understand and adapt their strategy.


However, before you start looking for a job in this field that you know very little about, it is possible to learn the basics by following a training course. Not during a bachelor's or master's degree but during practical training. Unlike a master's degree, a Bootcamp course like those of Akimbo, which is unique in France, this “school” allows you to train and integrate a startup in less than 3 months. It may be the opportunity of your year.

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3. Seizing opportunities

An individual working in Business Development manages numerous projects that he must launch and manage on time. He must be vigilant to the context conducive to business or not, but also to the coherence of the strategy. Knowing how to anticipate the best opportunities benefits the business.

• Selling is thinking about the next step

Business Development focuses on the launch of a strategy but also and above all on its character. profitable and sustainable. This job requires constant listening to its market and the needs of customers (Active listening) and strategic recruitment to always respond to the challenges and obstacles encountered. The success of a business depends on its ability toadaptation and reaction, you have to make decisions quickly and well.

• Market the right product at the right time to the right people

Faced with the dynamism of the market and competitors, the challenge of Business Development is to succeed in grasping Kairos (In Greek, the best time) to close a deal. By sufficiently anticipating the needs of the market, Business Development succeeds in understanding what it must respond to and who its audience is. In a very competitive and unstable context, timing and the choice of the target are fundamental in order to have a positive impact and results the first time and thus avoid constant adjustments and the loss of efficiency in the face of the competition.

4. Use tools: CRM, Automations, etc.

As Business Development requires special attention during almost the entire sales cycle, Business Developers needmonitoring and data processing tools in order to facilitate the development of the commercial strategy.

These tools allow for a structured and organized approach to internal expectations (team, company) but also external (customers, competition). Thus, there is a visual trace and quick access to all the elements that need to be integrated into decision-making.

• Operational tools: CRM and associated data (customer appointments, team activities...)

The analysis and interpretation of data is essential in the establishment of a good commercial strategy. The CRM brings together all the information needed to Prospecting or generating leads. It is complemented by other technological tools that continuously manage and update the customer base to always have reliable and current data.

• Productivity tools: email sequences, calendars, automatic account scoring...

Since time is an important concept in Business Development, it is essential to optimize it at each stage. Faced with the large number of projects and contacts that this field requires managing, organizing and automating certain tasks, certain tasks make it possible to focus and facilitate everyone's work.

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5. Resilience and perseverance

Whatever the level of experience of the individual, resilience, perseverance, perseverance, organization, determination and rigor are among the essential qualities of a business developer.

• At the junior level

Faced with unreceptive prospects or a project that is difficult to manage, a young business developer can accumulate doors and not succeed in achieving his goals. If the difficulty of the task is certain, he must Questioning his work and that of others to bounce back. Like a sport, Business Development requires an excellent mind and stamina throughout the mission.

• At the most experienced level

As they move up the Business Development ladder, salespeople take on more and more responsibilities and their obstacles change shape. A Head of Sales will have to deal with poor recruitments, accelerating competition or a market downturn. These obstacles are part of the challenges of this job and it is essential to overcome them and learn from these situations. These lessons will be beneficial for the future because the experience is built up throughout one's career, The iteration is essential in this area.

6. Know how to prioritize your missions

• One of the jobs where the 80/20 Pareto law applies best

The Pareto method highlights the 20% of customers who produce 80% of turnover. For the sake of profitability and customer satisfaction, it is necessary to give priority to accounts with high added value (key account). Business Development can then focus on these few elements in order to develop until it has a sufficiently stable base to open up further.

• An activity that pays off in the long term

Business Development is a long process; if it is slow to implement, it is even slower to show concrete results. This is an area with few short-term returns on the effectiveness of its actions, which is why it is therefore important to prioritize your actions. The aim is to have the most impact possible, and this involves developing the best possible strategy. One mistake and the whole process falls apart, with everything to do again. So you have to be patient and organized in order to focus your energy on the right elements and thus guarantee the best results.

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Business Development Actors

Business Development actors are individuals, departments or groups whose role depends on the structure and the sector. Commercial prospecting requires a lot of different skills and the specialization of the job allows them to focus their mission. To find out more, discover the different commercial profiles and their job description.

The Business Developer

The Business developer is the former French name for Business Developer, today, a distinction is established between Business Developer in traditional companies and Business Developer which is more specific to startups. The role is essentially the same, i.e. to increase the company's turnover by implementing an effective commercial strategy.

The Business Developer (Bizdev)

As seen just before, the profession of Business Developer Enables the latter to follow the entire sales cycle in order to ultimately increase the turnover and activity of the company. Its action is multiple throughout Business Development, from position to customer prospecting to commercial development.

The Business Developer Manager (BDM)

The Business Developer Manager is a profile that is more involved in service companies. He oversees the application of the commercial acquisition strategy by generally managing a small team of salespeople. He will intervene in the Business Development of his company from a commercial and strategic point of view.

The Business Development Representative (BDR)

The Business Development Representative focuses its action at the beginning of Business Development by engaging in the prospecting of outbound leads. That is to say, it identifies potential leads external to the business and then qualifies them as prospects. If the latter show an interest in the business and its product/service, then they transfer these profiles to sales representatives to initiate a sales negotiation with these potential customers.

The Sales Development Representative (SDR)

The Sales Development Representative acts at the beginning of Business Development by qualifying inbound prospects, i.e. individuals who have already shown an interest in the products or services offered through the company's marketing. Once the profile is identified and qualified at the end of the lead cycle, he sends it to the sales department who will continue the sales cycle.

Choosing one of these jobs allows you to enter the business development machine, to cut your teeth on this position before being able, depending on your results, to move on to more senior management positions or even internationally. These jobs have no instructions, it is up to you to take advantage of this opportunity.

To discover business development, it is possible to do an internship or a work-study program in one of these positions. Apprenticeship in this field offers many opportunities: an often high salary for an apprenticeship and land to progress. Internships offer these same advantages, but companies prefer apprentices who they can train and keep for longer.

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