SBDP Experts Guide: Staying Relevant in the Downturn

From the SBDP Newsletter, BusinessDevelopments Vol II No 2 2009

Those of us on the front lines of complex business development have undoubtedly noticed the growing abundance of webinars, blogs, and articles from various pundits on how to develop accounts in a slump and make lemonade while the world is chomping on lemons.

In this feature, we offer SBDP members a fresh perspective by combining the best advice from the most gifted BDPs around: SBDP Board of Trustee members.

Reality bites… and also presents opportunities.

Even industries and individual businesses that are still doing well are shell-shocked by the avalanche of bad economic news coming out almost daily and consequently are taking a "wait and see" attitude. Unfortunately our employers and our families can't afford to just wait and see. They need us to close business. Now.

The last few downturns have averaged nearly 1.5 years in duration. This one may last even longer, and not everyone agrees on when this one even started. Uniquely, the lack of credit availability is truly frightening to us BDPs because of the potential impact on customers’ ability to finance their purchases.

Still, the basic truth is business must get done and your customer still needs you. In fact, as headcount gets slashed within your customers’ organizations, those who survive are taking on the responsibilities of those who are let go and consequently have more on their to-do list with even less in time and resources.

This means opportunities for BDPs who can truly help customers face their own challenges and weather the storm.

Staying Relevant

As a result of this reality, the buzz in the complex selling profession is about “value proposition” and “staying relevant”. The consensus is that we must become indispensable to our customers.

We asked SBDP Board Members Jill Konrath, Greg Wilk, Jonathan Gilliam and Jim Dickie about what the downturn means for today’s BDPs and what we can do to not only survive but thrive in these economic times.

Our question?
“What should BDPs be doing right now to remain relevant in their roles?”

Jill Konrath: "As far as I'm concerned, there's only one viable option right now – focusing on what you can control. This doesn't mean being blind to the situation we're in, nor is it about false optimism.

Instead, it's a quiet acceptance of the conditions you face, followed by a decision to figure out how to best deal with it. If you take a look at what's within your control, you'll find you have many more options than you might think.

1. Find new ways to fill your pipeline. During tough economic times, you need more prospects in your pipeline. This may mean more cold calling, emails to prospective customers, and perhaps putting on events such as seminars or webinars that add real value for your customers.

2. Enhance the quality of customer interactions. Spend more time preparing for meetings. Do your homework on the company and the individual(s) you’re meeting with. Learn about their issues and concerns. Figure out how your offering aligns with what they're trying to accomplish.

3. Sharpen your value proposition. You must be able to clearly articulate how your product or service can be of benefit to your prospects and help them reach their objectives quickly..

4. Develop provocative questions. Use your questioning skills to engage your prospects in a business-oriented discussion that's highly relevant to their needs.

Should you hit a roadblock or find yourself slipping into the doldrums, stop and ask yourself, 'What's in my control?' Keeping your focus there enables creative solutions to emerge – and ultimately, keeps business coming in the door."

Jonathan Gilliam: "We need to remember that the current anxiety extends to our clients and their concerns about their company, staff and their own positions. We must help them justify their own roles by helping them stay relevant.

Key to this concept is learning more about how we can help solve our clients’ immediate problems. Discerning and analyzing their key issues and how our product or service fits in the solution is critical. We must address client pain immediately and work to make him or her more effective.

With budgets drying up, the BDP's role has shifted. We are no longer here merely to help companies with cutting edge technology or driving future revenue by investing in multi-year projects with far-off return scenarios. We must be more focused on the here and now.With our customers concerned about making their own quarterly numbers, they are less likely to be influenced by long-range alternatives.

We can no longer 'drop in, hand off and move on.' Rather, we must become a trusted advisor, providing new ideas and unquestionable value. Prove your value, and it will be harder to let you go when the budget ax falls. "

Greg Wilk: "The true character of a BDP is revealed in challenging times, and now is the time that will separate the best from the rest.  Why?  Because in challenging economic times conventional business development thinking doesn’t work, wisdom is required!

Conventional sales thinking says work harder doing the same activities when times are tough. Sales Wisdom says focus on listening and learning from your clients and prospects to clearly understand how to build a solid business case that will stand firm irrespective of the economic conditions and differentiate you from the competition.

Secondly, in challenging economic times many companies focus on reducing expenses, which typically limits their opportunities.  While most BDPs join this reactive trend, the best apply counterintuitive sales wisdom and focus on helping companies maintain or grow their top line -- which can provide unlimited opportunities."

Jim Dickie: "My advice is to be sure that the relationships you ‘think’ you have with your existing customers are the relationships they think they have with you. These are the clients that can help you weather the hard times if you have really moved beyond just the status of a vendor in their eyes.

When Jeff Shaper was the Chief Commercial Officer at General Electric (GE), he shared with us the significant benefits they achieved by forming customer advisory boards. GE took the time to regularly meet with groups of customers and have their clients grade how well the company was meeting their needs.

These meetings often surfaced problems in customer relationships that GE was unaware of.  Jeff noted one instance where he believed that GE was operating as the “gold standard” of performance, yet, when asked, their customers rated GE much, much lower.

By taking the time to understand these issues early, they prevented customer satisfaction problems from impacting customer retention." 

Crank up your activity

Indeed, we all need to become more productive so that we can spend time caring for our customers. Think of value you can provide your best clients and prospects other than buying from you. Keep them front and center. Send them ideas, valuable information, and help - they need help!

Success can still be found, even in trying economic times, and we at the Society for Business Development Professionals are here to help you reach your goals. If you have suggestions or advice to share, please drop us a line; we’ll include the best in our next e-newsletter, Business Developments.