If you ask 10 people "What is Business Development?", you are likely to get even more than 10 different answers.  In turn, if you ask "What barriers to growth does Business Development present to an organization?" the question itself is often misunderstood.  As a result, the key question of "How can an organization best position itself to avoid or overcome these barriers to success?" becomes virtually unanswerable. 

For an organization to succeed in Business Development, it is crucial to have a firm understanding of exactly what it is.  Business Development is not only:

• Internationalization

• Sales

• Partnerships

• Organic / In-organic Growth

• Marketing

• Products

Our experience at the BwB Advisors has taught us that:

Business Development is the sum of all ideas and efforts to create long-term value and growth for an organization through key items such as clients, partnerships, products & markets. 

It is crucial to have an understanding these key items, the interplay between them & combine this understanding with the organization's current position and the vision of where it wants to be tomorrow.   Armed with this the barriers to an organization's Business Development can be identified & avoided or overcome.

As examples, each of the below initiatives in Business Development have their own unique set of barriers to success:

• Acquisition & retention of clients and partners

• Growth strategies both organic & in-organic

• Selection of markets and strategies for each (one size does not fit all)

• Product management (managing the full life cycle of a product)

In this first post in a series on Business Development topics, we have taken the critical step of defining what it is.  In subsequent posts we will dive into different areas of Business Development and help identify barriers, as well as, the best way to avoid or overcome them. 

BwB Advisors wants to give you a better understanding of Business Development, equip you with expert knowledge & tools and help your organizational grow smoothly and efficiently. To learn more about our Business Development services please click here.

September 2020   /   Insights   /   By: Marek Sukiennik