What is Business Development?

by Alice Arandia, Business Consultant & Intercultural Skills Coach

“Hi, so, what do you do?” ..“Consultancy in International Business Development”

Then there’s usually a pause.  Some people totally get that and move on to talk about experiences with different markets.  Others look at you inquisitively, waiting for further explanation, and some just look at you blankly, uninterested. 

So, what is business development (BD)? Many people confuse BD with sales and marketing, and I would include myself in that years ago, but over time I have realised that while there is close synergy between them, they are 3 separate areas. People and relationships are at the heart of business development. It’s about identifying, evaluating, and pursuing opportunities to drive growth and profitability of a company. Sales and marketing target those customers identified, evaluated, and nurtured during the BD process.  A key factor in this is listening to others, being well connected, paying attention to news, activities, and changes within the market; and it’s about building long term relationships of trust with strategic partners, customers, and other stakeholders.  

It is said that ‘knowledge is power’ and this is certainly the case with international business development. A key to success is in-depth market research including first hand local market knowledge.  I often ask companies why they haven’t considered the Latin American market.  Generally, the response is that it is down to a lack of awareness of the opportunities, lack of contacts, geopolitical volatility or, for UK companies, that their ties have traditionally been with English speaking countries.  

All of the above reasons are genuine concerns, and any company would be irresponsible to enter a country without sufficient knowledge of the market. Barriers created by culture and language are also real and shouldn’t be underestimated. This is where business development skills are so important; it is imperative to gain the knowledge, understanding and expertise required to be able to make an informed decision as to the best strategy for the company’s growth.

At Finch Global we recommend an agile approach to business development, be that in existing markets or new markets, with a focus on collaboration, cross functional communication, efficiency, flexibility, and continuous improvement. I think we have all probably experienced unprecedented uncertainty over the last couple of years, and this is why we believe a people-focused, flexible approach is more important than ever.  Companies need to be able to make informed decision quickly, adapt to changes in the market, and take advantages of opportunities quickly without over complicating the process.    Traditionally companies may have established a business development strategy that was set in stone and followed without question by employees.  This approach means that practices that aren’t working aren’t dropped, and innovative thinking is not encouraged.

With a focus on continuous improvement, we work with all teams to ensure that we understand all aspects of our client’s business, what each department can contribute, and what their customers want. We don’t work for our clients, we work alongside them, in collaboration, to make sure we understand their needs, their business and values so that we can provide clients with high quality leads and improve close out rates. This allows our clients to concentrate on their core business.

If you are interested in learning more about how we can work with you to develop your business in new markets, especially LATAM markets, it would be great to hear from you - contact us at info@finchglobal.co.uk