To develop a thriving business that has potential for long-term growth, it is key to nurture client and partner relationships and stay committed to putting in the hard work that it takes to get the company running and off the ground.
In addition, keeping your community engaged consistently—be it employees, clients or other partners—will also require leaders who are willing to make the right investments to become more efficient and elevate their ROI goals. Below, 12 Forbes Business Development Council members share their insights on the investments needed to develop a sustainable way of doing business.
1. Research And Development
Investing in R&D is one of the few ways companies can generate top- and bottom-line growth. Digital engineering technology supports enhanced product design and collaboration among global teams in addition to mitigating the risk of redesigns. I understand that more than half of prototypes experience failure due to flaws in the initial design phase, discovered during late-stage validation, where fixes are extremely costly. – Walt Hearn, Ansys
2. Co-Creation Partnerships
Long-term growth is driven by two factors: deep relationships and commitment. Biz dev leaders must invest in a co-creation partnership model based on joint investments and a commercial model that is linked to the customer’s long-term business goals. Having such an operating model will develop trust, enhance sales team productivity and further enable repeat buying and opportunities for cross-upselling. – Ramendra Rout, Wipro
3. Client Experience Program
The most vital investment is in a client experience program for higher client satisfaction, stronger loyalty, higher margins, better employee engagement and stronger partnerships. Being a client-first organization and investing in long-term relationships is key. Research shows that 89% of companies that lead with customer experience stand out in the market. – Kathleen Abbott, Arcadis
4. Transformation Of Efficient Sales Planning Or Data Analytics
Many sales teams are operating under outdated organizational structures. Biz dev leaders should invest in commercial transformation to drive quality revenue. An example may be instituting a formal cross-functional deal review committee or creating new functions for sales planning or data analytics to be efficient. These investments can help your team become more nimble when serving customers. – Cory White, Stericycle
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
5. A Documentation Process To Streamline Repeatable Tasks
Playbooks, competitor battle cards, talk tracks and any other repeatable tasks that are needed to scale an organization should be documented so they’re available to everyone in the revenue organization. Ideally, they’re stored in a shared location—such as an internal wiki or a documentation hub—to avoid old versions floating around. – Kaspar Fopp, Wondersign
6. Hiring The Right Talent
Fast-growing companies often hire based on headcount, as opposed to quality. This attracts the wrong talent. As a result, companies cannot smoothly digest such growth and properly onboard new individuals, which leads to friction across company culture and teams. There is no AI or platform that will solve core internal issues. – Laura Vidiella del Blanco, LedgerPrime
7. CRM System Integration—And Personal Training For It
Consider a simultaneous investment in a CRM system—and personnel training for it—within the context of your sales process, applicable to your market. The CRM system is the glue between the social aspects of customer acquisition and loyalty with the technical aspects of your offerings, products and support. Personnel should be continuously planning and collaborating using its data and analytics. – George Earle, Thoughtworks Inc.
8. Sales Training And Coaching
I always advise biz dev leaders to invest in their people. Strategies and skills learned from sales training and coaching will benefit the organization’s long-term growth and sustainability and it will also develop your people, who are more likely to stick with you if they know you are investing in their success. If you aren’t growing, you are likely to be left behind. – Julie Thomas, ValueSelling Associates
9. Privacy And Security Methods To Protect Customers
Listen to current and potential customers—whether it’s about your product, the industry or their business needs. Prove you were listening by configuring a custom, scalable software bundle. Strengthen your business to alleviate customer concerns, such as privacy and security, and offer transparency to earn trust. Customers willing to advocate for your brand are the best insurance during downturns. – Vijay Sundaram, Zoho Corporation
10. An Enablement Program
The best time to invest in enablement was yesterday. The second best time is today. Enablement supports your go-to-market team’s long-term growth and empowers development. A thorough enablement program can ensure that your best salespeople are exceeding their goals and leading their teams. And, your new sellers are learning best practices and mirroring the behaviors of top performers. – Hayden Stafford, Seismic
11. Implementation Of Case Studies, Utilization Data and Surveys As Proof Points
Invest in collecting proof points. Not every company has the name recognition that Salesforce or Microsoft does. Thus, companies need to invest in the processes and technology that will allow them to gather the proof points necessary to convey effectiveness when name recognition alone is not adequate. Companies should incentivize case studies, leverage utilization data and consistently survey. – Jean-Marc Chanoine, Templafy
12. Video Marketing
Making an investment in video marketing is essential. We’re seeing strong gains, across the board, with our various video marketing campaigns that helped improve our funnel conversion rates exponentially. The key is finding your niche in video and the right platform. When this is done properly, the ROI is significant. – Ray Schultz, Liquid Rubber
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