What I Learned About Being a Business Development Manager for Five Years

I'm not going to waste any time telling you that I had to learn the craft for the first twelve months before business started rolling in or that there is a secret formula to being a successful business development manager.

However I did want to highlight a few key points on what I learnt along the journey to becoming successful in this role.

What I'm about to go through isn't rocket science but without knowing how to keep the discipline, the motivation and the skill to adapt to change (plus doing it quickly) the role of any sales person becomes a challenging one.

Understanding the Industry You're In

When you're in a sales role you are in the industry of communication and trust.

The quicker you realise that in sales, people will do more business with you when provide them with greater opportunities to get to know, like and trust you.

Urgency is Key

Assisting, responding and educating with urgency provides your clients with positive experiences that allows them to deepen their trust and reliability of you.

Working with urgency also removes your competition from the picture and can potentially take the transaction off the market minimising the risk of loosing business.

The Art of Listening

The art of listening is a skill that like everything, requires practice to master.

A great listener is attentive. They make good eye contact, don't interrupt what the other person is saying and show an interest in what is being said. They are fully immersed in the moment without any distractions and with an open mind.

Here are a few tips that will help.

- Put your phone, tablet or laptop away and ensure they are on silent

- Pay attention and ask questions

- Have good eye contact and positive body language

- Never interrupt

- Learn to summarise key points

Do What You Say You Will

Whatever words you speak are the actions you must take.

If you say you will got back to someone the following day by 9am then you do it by 8:59am no excuses ever.

Always Be Transparent

Be honest 110% of the time especially when things are going the way you planned.

Don't hide under the desk and expect someone else to fix an issue. Get on the front foot, be proactive and take charge.

Nothing kills trust and respect like dishonesty.

Activity is Key

Without doing the right activities daily you cannot expect to keep your pipeline fed.

Proactive calls, the right number of meetings each week, operational tasks, training and development, rest, planning, feedback the list goes on and on...….

Know Your Market

Understand what your market is doing. What's happening and why. Form your own view and don't be afraid to speak up.

Know what the competition is doing but always focus on your own activities, don't get derailed by others. Believe in your capabilites and focus on the controllables.

Turn Up Each Day

No matter how you are feeling (your mindset not physically) ensure you are present each and everyday. Mentally and emotionally turn up with the objective of helping your clients as best as you can.

Get Creative

Keep challenging yourself to come up with new ways on how to stand out and add real value to your clients.

The more you do this the more front of mind you will be and the greater the impact you'll have.

What value have you added to your client's, outside of your normal duties?

Be Resilient

Not everything is going to go your way.

Train yourself how to cope when things don't go as planned. Being resilient will also open your mind to be more accepting of others. We all deal with different people each day, so how accepting are you of other peoeple's beliefs? Can you adapt to suit a mutilple of situations (don't get me wrong I'm not saying change who you are but adaptability does play a role).

Follow Your Passion

It's ok to put time and effort into your passion and if possible, make it a side hustle, especially if it's within your industry.

Do it and make it noticeable. Collaborate with others and ensure the "Why" benefits many and not just yourself.

Yes there is more that I could list but I'd like to keep this short and straight to the point to ensure there is value in it for any sales person that read it.

Thank you

Dino Pacella