MODERN BUSINESS
However, your ability to do this is
highly dependent on the kind of
work that customers contract your
business to do. And this, in turn, is
dependent on the effectiveness of
your business development effort.
Let’s start by defining what business
development actually is. Business
development is not “sales” – or even
marketing. Somewhere along the
line, though, the terms have become
interchangeable.
• The purpose of business
development is to build value that
customers can buy.
• The purpose of sales (and
marketing) is to go out and sell
value, once it has been created.
The most successful businesses
are those where everyone in the
business understands the role that
they play in creating value for a
customer.
This includes the front-line staff who
deliver the work and who interact
with customers every day; the
managers who support those people
in their role; and the senior leaders
who free up staff to pursue value
creation projects and to pilot new
programs.
The best new business ideas often
come from the coal-face of service
delivery.
Recently, I ran a Contract Leadership
Program with a human services
organisation. Their front-line
managers include tertiary-qualified
social workers, counselors and
psychologists. Working together,
we had already doubled the
organisation’s revenue by bringing
in new government contracts from
Justice and Health, both markets
where the organisation had
aspirations to grow. The program
was designed to help the front-line
managers to identify opportunities
for improvement and growth within
the existing funded programs
they manage. Sixteen managers
participated, and it’s fair to say that
in the beginning, many struggled with
embracing business development
as part of their role. By the end of
the program, though, things had
changed. Everyone had come up
with new ideas to grow the business
by bringing continual improvement,
best practice and innovation to their
customers. One manager was so
enthused by this prospect that she
approached her main contact in a
Victorian government department
immediately with an idea for a new
program. She walked out of that
meeting with a commitment to
$900,000 in additional funding.
Problems can arise when we treat
business development as a function,
and not an intention.
• When we rely on salespeople to find
new business, we ignore the people
who interact with customers every
day and who have access to insights
and opportunities.
• When we rely on proposal teams
to write proposals, we ignore the
knowledge of the people who deliver
the service every day and who know
it best. We are also letting those
people abdicate from the need to
sell what they do, as well as just “do”
what they do.
• And when we rely on our good track
record as the incumbent supplier to
see us through a contract renewal,
we leave ourselves vulnerable to
being picked off by competitors.
Only 50% of incumbent suppliers end
up keeping the customers they have
worked very hard to win and to serve.
This isn’t because they are doing a
bad job – most do quite a good job.
It’s because they are still doing the
same job, and this just doesn’t cut it
with customers any more.
As an HR Director or practitioner,
here are five ways that you can
contribute to the long-term business
September 2016
ModernBusiness
41