Advancing in BD
The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts - John Locke
A major reason for my transition out of government was a desire for more career control. I tired of being at the mercy of a promotion panel populated by those who lacked my experience.
This motivation led first to tech and then to BD. Now that I’m here, the desire for control hasn’t lessened. Nor has it been satisfied.
No matter what, you need to hustle.
Close deals. Find new ones. Build a network. Build a pipeline.
Depending on your BD role, you might have a quota. Or a team one. Or none at all.
Regardless, it’s about impacting the bottom line.
Do this, and nothing else matters. Don't, and everything else you do doesn’t matter.
For many, me included, BD appears daunting at first. Maybe even repellant.
No one wants to end up as a cliche used car salesman.
So don’t.
There’s no need to do the job that way.
Identify what part of the sales cycle you do better than anyone else. Focus on that. Don’t worry about weaknesses. Let others excel there.
For me, it’s building networks and relationships. I learned to break into places where I don’t belong, and neither, ostensibly, does my employer. Maybe it was a lack of credentials or just not knowing the right people.
So I figured out what customers would be good ones, cast a wide net and started asking people I did know for introductions to people I wanted to know.
And my network started to build. My relevance grew. I made progress. I advanced.
To reiterate, my progress resulted from introspection. I defined the measurements of accomplishment. I didn’t wait around for any attaboys.
This is a repeatable process. I will keep doing it. Again and again.
It’s also replicable. You can do it too. So get started.
10 Steps to Breaking Free of USG: My complete guide to quickly and efficiently landing your first post-government role
Network Superpower Part 1 - Enlist the connectors in your network to supercharge your career transition
Crush Conferences: A conference execution strategy, complete with document and spreadsheet templates, to maximize event productivity. Especially helpful for BD and sales pros.