Bizpreneur Middle East April 2021 | Page 44

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

THE FOUR PLANT GROWTH STAGES:

BY MARIA ZYRYANOVA

Learn how, similar to the six plant growth stages; business follows the same rules of nature.

For the last 17 years, I have had the opportunity to work in the business development landscape for numerous businesses and non-profit organizations worldwide. Since my childhood, I have always been labeled as the "perfect student." This, followed by my competitive nature, has led me to seek any opportunity to present myself as a high achiever and the best in my field since I began my career.

 

Like many others experience, this drive deep in my core has fueled me to get to where I am today. However, you must remember that while this fuel may seem inspirational and pure, it may also cause you to burn out before you know it. This greed of wanting to accomplish more, of being in a state of lack, can distract us from what matters in success. Before you know it, both your personal and business life has been adversely compromised.

 

With this in mind, I would like to draw your attention to simple biological processes that we have all learned at least once or twice throughout our education: The Four Plant Growth Stages. I will be using this natural process to form an analogy of how business development follows the rules of nature.

1.    Sprout Your Unique Ideas & Selling Points

 

Whether you've recently joined a new company or are present at a company that you have been

employed for years, it is crucial to identify a unique

selling proposition for your company's products or services by linking your objectives to the pain-points your target consumers have. You must then brainstorm and discover a meaningful message that will incite your target audience's emotions in a way that they will understand and inherently relate to –the sprout of your operations.

2.    Plant Your Business Roots

 

Once we have determined our company's products or services' selling points, we must now create our foundation. We assess market conditions and identify our target customers' profiles who will benefit from our business, along with who will be fruitful for our operations from a budget perspective. As a business, we want to avoid seeking customers who have limited budgets. This will prevent us from nurturing our "seed" as they will not be able to commit to your ideas from a financial standpoint.  

3.    We Begin to Grow Taller

 

In business, we may utilize numerous channels and tactics to engage in communication with our target audience during our first encounter with our target audience, including lead generation, outsourced services, social media and digital marketing, networking, and events. We generate our pipeline, introducing our products and services while creating a need even if it does not exist yet. This process is when we begin to expand our business ideas and make them fruitful.

44 | BIZPRENEUR MIDDLE EAST April 2021

A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ANALOGY