Business development and CRM work hand-in-hand

One of the most exciting and fulfilling parts of our business is in the sharing of the discovery of people and business intersections. Our clients gain understanding that accelerates giant leaps in business growth, business clarity, and business innovation.

In other words, allowing people to seek and find the connections between different people, different businesses value propositions and in our clients' value creation that leads to an explosion of exceptional business success.

It can be said that the primary goal of a business development strategy is to build partnerships that allow leverage for driving revenue.

Intersection-Success-with-CRM-Business

Exploring the intersections of people and relationships can also lead to an explosion of exceptional connections. The interests of one person's passions and interests will link to another 150 - 200 people. Joint ventures will be discovered and enhanced value creation is more readily possible.

A well-used CRM system impacts the relationships among people. Often we fail to realize how one person knows another and where relationships exist. Your CRM business development system should be able to show the associations between companies and between the people at those organizations. Additionally, metrics should be available to show your larger referral sources and which customer sites are references for others.

Patterns Emerge:

When an intelligent CRM system becomes available to a business, patterns start to emerge and increased visibility into your ever changing customers needs appear. It may be the pattern of revenue shifts by product lines. It may be the new discovery that your new prospective customers are finding or not finding your business as they had previous done. It may be the trends in the types of service issues that occur which indicates a potential new product development need or a more proactive corrective set of actions.

Relationships within the database:

On the technical relationship side the source data itself is found in a relational database of your CRM system. You aren't restricted with a flat Excel file or a loosely linked set of Outlook contacts. This CRM relational information allows a business to more easily slice and dice OR to group related information by account type, account geography, account sales history, account product lines, customer classes and date ranges for seasonal trends. With today's analytical tools the management team is able to make more informed business decisions, faster and easier.

Observe Differently:

CRM Integrated into a business allows you to observe differently- take on a different perspective. Don't you love attaining those Ah-Ha moments that come from a fresh perspective when you observe your business differently? (As a first time prospect, as a loyal customer, as a business partner, etc).

Did a recent change in perspective affect how you looked at your business and then clarified who your ideal client really was? Did you gain clarity on where to focus your attention?

Resource allocation - Stop doing:

What are you going to STOP doing that is not successful and a drain on your resources?

Opportunities that are not going anywhere !

Advertising that is costing more than it delivers!

Lower quality customers that are not profitable for your business and your staff shy away from dealing with!

Offerings that are not distinctive and full of value for your best customers!

Listen More and Talk Less

What if you listened more and talked less? Every person your sales force meets and your Customer service reps communicate with have a story. How do their needs become even more satisfied with your business offering? How can you learn what additional value needs to be created to retain profitable customers? Are their related wants they are expressing but are not getting recorded in your CRM system? Should your business expand into a new area or join up with a business partner to provide a more complete solution?

Every person you meet has a perspective that differs from yours and you can learn amazing things from simply listening and noting this knowledge in your CRM - relational database system.

Purpose-built design

The core purpose of a CRM system is to acquire, retain and develop profitable customers. For a VP of business development that includes building long-term relationships with strategic partners and alliance organizations, not just customers.

Business development for an organization is from customers, markets, and relationships. It is the intersection of these forces that combines together to create opportunities for Organizational Growth. At its heart, business development is all about figuring out how best to create opportunities and that is why CRM is such a critical foundation for organizational growth

Greater success and the ability to move to the next level require that your business focus on the intersection of your business development and an intelligent CRM system that brings more value into the business.

Free ebook - "People: An Opportunity - Not a Roadblock"