My two previous posts of the article "The Life of a Business Developer" focused on the "why" and "what" of BizDev. Now we are getting to the "how". So, after all this, will I be able to explain to you what I do. You may be thinking I don’t do anything and that BizDev is just another fancy term for a big old pile of nothing. Give me a second. It will all be clear soon.

Generally speaking, BizDev is a lot about identifying new business opportunities (what some call New Business Development) and nurturing existing business relationships. I have a strategy-centered view of BizDev. Therefore, for me, BizDev steers the direction of a company. The deals of today will be the ones creating value in the future, thus feeding the bottom line of the business strategically.

The famous book “The Art of War”, by Sun Tzu, is a must for every professional in the business world. Can you guess why I named the triangle after him?

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”

by Sun Tzu

Good BizDev starts with a strategy. This is closely related to how one measures success since it defines our goals and will, therefore, guide all the BizDev process. The strategy may, in some cases, lead to sales focused BizDev, nevertheless, the beauty of it all is the fact that a myriad of BizDev strategies are available out there. According to Sun Tzu’s Golden Triangle of BizDev, we just made the plan.

Some activities involved in developing the BizDev Strategy

Market Research

Situation analysis: Internal & External Partners, Customers, Product, Service, Competitors, Market, Employees, Pricing etc.

Ensure Marketing and Sales work together and have complementary goals Competitive Advantages Channels: Communication, Distribution, Marketing, Sales, etc. Positioning Value Proposition



My next blog post will focus on the tactics that can be used to achieve the strategy. In the meantime, don't forget to give your feedback on this post, but also, my previous ones. I explored the purpose of Business Development and the big "WHAT" of BizDev.