Developing a Business Development Action Plan
There are five steps you need to do for effective business development action planning.
The five steps most useful to generate leads and win new business are really quite simple and form the basis of a very powerful Business Development (BD) Action Plan.
Do your research
Where are the opportunities? Which prospective buyers would get value from your products and services? What are the needs and plans of your current clients? What is the competition doing? Who could be a strategic alliance or a referrer? Do you know where your leads are coming from and can this be further developed?
Develop a plan
A BD Action Plan does not have to be more than two pages long, but the information you have gathered from your research should guide your approach. State your objectives, priorities, targets, what needs to be done (and why), when, where and who is responsible plus the metrics to measure success. A Budget that shows implementation costs and the income likely to be generated will keep you on track.
Schedule your calendar with actions and tasks
Transfer the action items detailed in the plan into calendar slots so you put aside enough time to make things happen, that way you are more likely to get them underway.
Consider an Accountability Coach
Whether you engage a BD coach like me or you assign one of your colleagues to do the job of being your task master, having to tell others how the action items are progressing will always improve accountability, especially if working outside your comfort zone.
Implement and Refine your BD Action Plan
BD is an ongoing process and you will soon work out what works and what doesn't. Your plan should be tweaked and refined as you make progress. You will be able to determine how to manage contacts and develop relationships with the people you meet as you learn about their needs and where they are in the buying process. Be generous in spirit and connect people to others who will be of benefit and value to them, but stay focused on your own objectives to ensure your efforts return results for you too.
Acting quickly to answer questions and respond to requests for quotes will help close leads. Identifying prospects who require some further nurturing will drive your BD management plan going forward. And, don't chase those contacts who have indicated they are not going to buy. You will only waste their time and yours.
If you need help developing a BD Action Plan that get results, contact Lyn Hawkins on 0437 197 914.
