Putting yourself out there is hard. Rejection is difficult. And feeling like the rug is being pulled out from under you is the worst. When you’re in charge of business development, where you’re responsible for growing your revenue within your current client portfolio and seeking out new potential opportunities, it can be easy to waver from feeling like a hero to feeling like a zero, depending on the results your efforts yield.
As a time management coach for 17 years, I have learned how to summon the inner determination to continue with business development even when it feels difficult, and I have coached many clients on how to do the same.
Here are three of the biggest challenges you may face as you stay consistent with business development, and solutions to move forward with tenacity, no matter how fragile and overwhelming it may feel.
1. You are so busy with current customers that you don’t invest in future customers
One of the most difficult parts of success is maintaining that success, especially if you don’t dedicate yourself exclusively to business development. Often people come to me because they are managing their current portfolio but continue to put off the activities that will help them maintain and grow their business in the future.
In these situations, I think this two-pronged strategy works best: The first is to clearly define quantifiable actions that will support your goals. For example, “I will make ten follow-up calls to strong leads per day,” or “Five business development meetings will be booked each week.” These concrete objectives help you to know more clearly what you need to do and to honestly assess whether you are doing enough.
The second point is to determine a timing strategy so that you don’t keep putting off business development tasks. Here are a few examples: I don’t check my email until after I’ve made five prospecting calls, or before I go to lunch, that I do any necessary follow-ups on open proposals. I’ve found that doing business development activities earlier in the day and before a usual activity you really want or need to do makes them happen much more often.
- You get too many no’s, so you shy away from the question
Experiencing no is a natural part of the sales process. But in most cases, there is a typical closing rate that you expect. If you close a long series of deals that don’t go beyond what you’re used to, doubt can creep in: what if other deals don’t close? What should I do if I don’t achieve my goals? What should I do if I don’t receive my bonus? What if I lose my job? What if other people lose their jobs?
Even with a long history of success, this negative spiral can happen quite quickly, and you have to catch yourself before your doubts and fears stop you from taking the actions that will take you to a more positive place.
There are two powerful actions you can take in this scenario: First, think about what you can learn (if at all) from the deals that didn’t happen. Was it the wrong type of customer? Could you have presented the benefits in a different way? Was there anything about the financial structure that needed to change?
Second, let go of the past and create as many opportunities as possible to meet other potential customers in the present and future. The only way out of a slump is to double the chances of people saying yes.
- You’re reeling from market changes, so you’re not sure what will work
Typically, effective business development requires a greater level of commitment to the strategies you know work. But sometimes wider circumstances have had an impact on your business and you need to change direction completely. A platform that has been a great source of leads may no longer provide them. It may be that the industry you typically operate in has shrunk and you need to move to a new one. Or it could be that AI has changed the way people see the value of your business.
These shifts can make business development even more overwhelming because you no longer have a repeatable, predictable strategy for your sales process.
To continue making progress when faced with this dilemma, you must shift your definition of success from closing deals to systematically testing strategies to learn what works and doesn’t work in this new environment.
For example, you might decide that you’re going to run a new ad campaign and see if it generates the kind of leads you’re hoping to attract. Or you can work with a consultant on tactics to enter a new industry. Or you might be working on a new presentation strategy to help people understand your company’s unique value within the context of AI and test the response you receive.
In these circumstances, basing success on the revenue you may or may not generate as a result of trying new things is too fragile. This can leave you feeling frustrated, angry, and demoralized, thinking that you would have been better off not even trying a particular experiment if it didn’t turn out as you had hoped. Instead, you will want to consider it a success that you have tried something new, and then understand that every attempt has value. As you continually try new strategies, you will eventually arrive at what works.
Business development despite disappointing results requires enormous inner courage not to give up. But by following these strategies, combined with a good dose of determination, you can not only survive the challenges you face, but thrive.
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