By James Harry
Finding customers is your first objective as a startup company. Attracting customers through the door is only one part of the puzzle for your existence; you need to figure out how to strengthen your company and make it long-term sustainable. This is where business development comes in.
Large companies usually employ a full-time business development manager. What if you run a small or startup business, though? Should you hire one as well, to be safe? Or can you survive without a business development manager, at least temporarily? Let’s find out.
What is business development?
Business development means searching for ways to make a business more successful. Success looks different for various companies, of course. However, the majority of business development strategies center on one or more of the following:
- Increasing revenue
- Creating new products
- Expanding into new markets
- Developing strategic alliances with other companies
The ultimate objective is to ensure your company continues flourishing for many years.
So, what is the role of a business development manager?
A business development manager hired through business development recruitment is in charge of expanding and improving your company. They are responsible for:
- Exploring potential new company ventures, such as:
- New markets that your company might start serving
- Create new goods that would make your clients’ lives easier.
- Opportunities for cross-selling and upselling
- Trends you could benefit from
- Searching for and contacting fresh leads
- Establishing connections with companies that are complementary. The business development manager could establish contacts with printing companies, PR firms, and design studios.
- Examining ways to improve the organization and efficiency of the business
- Setting goals when creating and expanding the sales pipeline
- Setting objectives, drafting action plans, and carrying them out
Why hiring a business development manager can help your business
The main benefit of hiring a business development manager is that you’ll have someone focusing on business development full-time.
To get your business off the ground when you first start out, you will likely spend most of your time planning, knocking on doors, and cultivating relationships. Therefore, you will be the one carrying out the duties of the company development manager.
However, as your company expands, you’ll become too busy managing it. Thus, you’ll have less time for business development as it becomes more crucial.
A business development manager is more than just someone to take over for you. Additionally, if you choose the appropriate candidate, you’ll gain:
- Their contact list, which they might use to expand your company
- Skills at which you might not be excellent. For instance, not everyone feels at ease conducting sales.
- A fresh viewpoint. Given that your business is your child, this can be highly beneficial. Which means you can struggle to be objective or make difficult decisions.
Final thoughts on hiring a business development manager
According to studies, most businesses hardly make it past three years. So, suppose you don’t want your business to be part of another statistic, it’s essential that you take business development seriously, and you can achieve this by working with a business development manager. You can hire one through business development recruitment.
