Many are under the assumption that sales and business development are for all intents and purposes, synonymous. But this isn’t necessarily accurate. While the two are complementary to each other, they work to reach the same end goal by different means.
The goal of business development is to reach and surpass your company’s revenue and growth goals. Overall, the aim is to make a business stronger.
Sales, on the other hand, focus on closing a deal. Sales in a sense are part of business development. Closing a big sale could be the step needed to grow a business to the next level, but overall consists of much more.
“Sales is the business function and process of creating revenue for a company by closing deals with customers. ” –HubSpot
While we have established that sales and business development are two different worlds, it’s crucial that they work closely together for optimal success. Effective selling is near impossible without a solid business development strategy, such as incorporating training and development. On the other hand, implementing a development strategy is only going to work if your business fills a need within the market.
So if these two factors are so similar and rely on one another for their mutual success, why are they separated at all? They were split for two reasons: the increased difficulty of reaching buyers, and the benefits of specialization.
Effectively reaching a buyer requires a “larger effort by smarter people” according to Bryan Gonzalez, a sales development analyst at research and advisory group TOPO. A genuine connection requires significant research and touchpoints to reach the completion of a sale. The likelihood of a general salesperson rushing to meet a monthly quota being able to meet these demands is slim.
A talented salesperson is exactly that, a salesperson. If their skills and successes are in selling, then they’re best left to that. They shouldn’t be the ones wasting their time researching and hunting for qualified leads. This is where the benefit of splitting the job into two becomes necessary. Having a business development team to focus on research allows the sales team to focus on what they do best, selling.
Your business might have the best sales team in the world, but in our ever-changing world, that might not be enough going forward. The partnership between a high performing sales team and a business development specialist is critical for future success. If you’re wondering where to start, look no further. Contact KelNet founder, Kelli Yount to schedule your free consultation immediately and get started growing your business.
