In order to execute a renovation that will deliver pleasure and usefulness for years to come, you must first create a plan, or blueprint, for achieving your goal. The design of that blueprint can differ immensely depending upon what industry or channel you are involved in. Are you executing direct or indirect (channel) sales. Is it a tangible or intangible product that you are selling? But no matter how unique you believe your area of the market is compared to other industries, all of these differences are just nuances of your Biz-Dev plan, like unique paint colors create a different look on a wall. Regardless of the paint hues you choose, underneath it all walls are built from the same materials – frame, studs, drywall, plaster, brinks and spackle. In that same way, any successful Biz-Dev plan contains same the basic bone structure. In this session we are going to touch on the basic, but utterly necessary, structural elements of your Biz-Dev blueprint.
Business Development plans will map out the way you connect to existing customers and how you effectively attract new clients and prospects. It should also define the types of customers that you need to target, how to connect with them, how to articulate your value proposition, and most certainly, how to close and track your results.
Sidebar: Is a Biz-Dev plan really just a marketing plan? The answer to that question is emphatically NO. A Biz-Dev plan drills into the Sales/Marketing strategy and provides tactical plans on execution. If your sales & marketing strategy contains a lot of ‘how-to’ tactical steps, you probably need to relook at it to determine if you have established a marketing plan, or if you have designed a sales process. But I digress….
The first step is to understand your organization’s marketing plan. A marketing plan is your Biz-Dev tool belt and is contains the nails, hammers, saws and other items necessary for your renovation. A well-formulated plan includes a marketing summary, competitive landscape, product/service comparison and positions, communication strategies, launch plans (if a new product), and marketing schedules. You need to understand how you will apply these utensils before you even pick up a saw (make your first call).
Once you understand these critical components of your reno, you are now be ready to engineer your Biz Dev strategy.
As we continue to move thought this process together, we will deconstruct and rebuild your renovation plan around some of these key areas:
· Competitive landscape
· Product analysis
· Evaluate sales staff
· Sales budget/Projections
· Sales strategy
· Territories/channels
· Sales Operations
· Customers/Prospects
· Use of Social Media, PR, Event Marketing (tradeshows, conferences)
Question: Do you think your marketing plan is really a sales process? Why?
Trash to Treasure: A Biz-Dev Renovation is an occasional series.
