My tuppence and I see Andrew has beaten me to the punch!
Building relationships is key, both internally, and externally with customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders.
And don't be afraid to ask for advice and input from outside specialists in this area (and other areas). Sometimes you become too ingrained in your business that you can't see the wood from the trees.
Thanks Andrew for your points. I have always felt I have been involved in business development. As an offshore engineer I wanted to do a good job that would enhance the company's reputation and bring in more business. When I moved shoreside and was responsible for mobilising equipment for numerous survey/ROV support vessels and their offshore pipelay and trench barge spreads, I wanted to make our offshore staff feel that they had 24/7 support so that the inevitable technical issues were handled well. All because we as a team would enhance the companiy's reputation and bring in repeat and new work.. Moving across to the sales side of business I have always taken the same approach. Be part of the team, share information at all times, use your initiative, develop and build relationships, above all, find solutions for your clients and be able to communicate that clearly. Moving on, and here it becomes more complex, you have to understand - what the company has the potential to deliver, what drives the people who manage it, how they "message" their markets, gets them noticed etc and a myriad of other aspects of BD that produces real results.
Good post Iain! Imho, I think the key word is developing, developing quality relationships that benefit all parties, including the business, of course!
Replies
My tuppence and I see Andrew has beaten me to the punch!
Building relationships is key, both internally, and externally with customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders.
And don't be afraid to ask for advice and input from outside specialists in this area (and other areas). Sometimes you become too ingrained in your business that you can't see the wood from the trees.
Thanks Andrew for your points. I have always felt I have been involved in business development. As an offshore engineer I wanted to do a good job that would enhance the company's reputation and bring in more business. When I moved shoreside and was responsible for mobilising equipment for numerous survey/ROV support vessels and their offshore pipelay and trench barge spreads, I wanted to make our offshore staff feel that they had 24/7 support so that the inevitable technical issues were handled well. All because we as a team would enhance the companiy's reputation and bring in repeat and new work.. Moving across to the sales side of business I have always taken the same approach. Be part of the team, share information at all times, use your initiative, develop and build relationships, above all, find solutions for your clients and be able to communicate that clearly. Moving on, and here it becomes more complex, you have to understand - what the company has the potential to deliver, what drives the people who manage it, how they "message" their markets, gets them noticed etc and a myriad of other aspects of BD that produces real results.
Good post Iain! Imho, I think the key word is developing, developing quality relationships that benefit all parties, including the business, of course!