Successful Business Development: is it aquired skill or born with it
A business development person must have a strategic plan. There are some jobs you can do that do not require a lot of planning. But when you are asking someone to sign a large deal which could involve millions of dollars you need to have a formula. You need strategy to penetrate the complex layers of business management, you need to develop allies, you need to have the users on your side etc… Some companies provide leads or territories for sales people but typically most business development people are responsible for locating their own prospects.
A business development person must be committed to their success. It has long been argued if a salesperson is made or born. My opinion is that you are born with a certain personality type and certain types do better in sales. Typically the more outgoing person ends up in business development but it really depends upon the product or services or deal you are brokering. For the introvert can be very difficult to be more outgoing and can succeed in deal making but they will always feel that they are out of their normal behaviour which can be uncomfortable in the long run. To be successful in business development a person must be willing to A) learn everything about the organization that they are dealing with; B) negotiation techniques and C) how to manage multiple types of personalities. This can take time. It takes 10 years to become a doctor, 5 years to become a lawyer, and 1000 hours to become a barber. Many times those in business development give up after just a few weeks or months, before they have had time to learn what is needed to be successful.
A business development person must be willing to continue learning and growing. Business development people are typically expected to be knowledgeable about their products and their company. They have to stay on top of what is happening in the industry, and various economic and political influencing factors as products change and situations change. Because they have so much contact with people they need to be aware of what is happening around them. It has been said: The super-wise man learns from the experience of others. Top business people attend meetings, read books, and associate with business professionals.
A business development person must know how to set goals. Some jobs just happen whether you do anything or not. But business deals do not just happen. You have to make them happen. It is critical that a business development person know how many deals they need to make to meet their quota, how much money they need to propel their company forward, and what they need to do to make this happen. The best way to do this is to set daily, weekly or monthly goals, which should fit in the long term strategy
A business development person you must work relentlessly hard and smart. A deal maker’s job is not easy. Much hard work is required if one is to be successful. But working hard is not enough. One must also work smart by managing their time and resources well, being disciplined, and following the example of others who have been successful. I personally follow the principle of “and then some.” I don’t just give it my best; I give it my best and then some. At the end of the day when I’m ready to go home I would make one or two more business calls. Often these calls would be the one that produced results. By giving just a little more time and effort you could propel yourself from an average salesperson to a super star business development person.
Robin Ayoub 
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