Some common sense to do BD work

This article is from the WeChat public account: Wang Zhiyuan, author: Wang Zhiyuan, and the header picture comes from: Visual China

I'll admit, a lot of people don't do BD.

Including middle and senior managers, bosses, and so on. Let's not cast a contemptuous eye for a while, let's look at a phenomenon:

Brother, I am doing media advertising, we can do Baidu Encyclopedia, and there are a large number of contact information of KOLs on platforms such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Zhihu, etc., is it convenient to chat?

Every day, more than 10 such messages are received, some of which come from existing WeChat friends, who have been around for several years, and cast a wide net every day; Some come from strangers.,I don't know where to get my WeChat.,After adding.,Edit the text and output it.,Like a tool man.,It's annoying.。

Come to think of it, I don't even know you, so why should I cooperate with you? Even if it is cooperative, what is the implementation effect? What if the process is not happy and you run away?

Not limited to the above, but also including SaaS products of business, will encounter such scene problems, these common sense, mostly rely on education, now many bosses are out to do business, the senior management does not understand, naturally can not give the executor a reasonable operation method.

Therefore, I summarize four points and share some of my experiences in BD.

One

Let's talk about BD (Business Development) first, why do some people don't like it so much? There are several reasons for this:

1. Think that it is the same as sales, only serve the performance, and keep compromised; 2. It is somewhat similar to direct selling, which is a bit contrary to its own values.

I have the right to complain about this.

In the past, the company tested a new product, even if it was just a simple prototype, and let us go to the customer to sell it; I sometimes think, I don't want to use this thing myself, and I still let the customer try it, isn't this a hooligan? I really don't like this approach.

But because of the performance pressure of the marketing department, you have to go to the customer, which is obviously against your will.

That is, the third point, if you want to promote and sell products that you don't like or agree with, it will make people feel conflicted and uncomfortable; Fourth, BD actually involves many areas, such as sales, operations, marketing, and public relations, and the responsibilities are unclear and confusing.

The most important point is that some people think that BD work is not creative, does not require professional knowledge, and every day is to face specific targets and people, do a good job in sales, and expand resources is enough.

Frankly, the above points are all misunderstandings about the nature of BD's work.

In fact, BD is a comprehensive, creative, to help the company improve the growth of the role, it is not a simple sales, but also include market analysis, do a good job in the relationship between partners and other aspects of the content, excellent BD is no less than a marketing department leader role.

Why? Tell me about an experience from a few years ago:

There was once a leader who thought that I was quite handy in social networking, and I had a strong ability to find people and gossip, and asked if I was interested in switching to market work.

Because my view of business is like this, on the one hand, I really admire the people who do business, they are comfortable on the outside, and they are eloquent and quick to respond, but on the other hand, I feel that I can't do the feeling of pressure on my head, and you let me sell it, and I am always uncomfortable.

Later, although I didn't change jobs, the content I did was basically no different from some other partners in the marketing department.

Including: talking about advertising placement, talking about cross-border cooperation, doing media relations, finding KOLs, etc., and when necessary, we have also done community resource exchanges, all of which have to be done in cooperation with other companies.

Once, I used the company's designer resources to help KOLs quickly get a few posters that were not in the scope of work, but in exchange for a publicity opportunity for the company, the leader praised me at a department meeting.

In other words, BD is like a water delivery worker, paying attention to and solving some of the needs of potential customers, which can lead to greater cooperation opportunities.

At that moment, I suddenly realized that doing "business" can also bring a great sense of achievement, but I didn't expect it at all, at that time, I had always equated "business" with "BD", and I didn't quite understand the difference between media and BD. What role do I play?

I even wonder why a medium needs to understand the work of product development.

I was ignorant for a few years, and it wasn't until I became the leader of the marketing department that I made up for this knowledge. To be precise:

“Business Development=Sales+Operation+Marketing + PR”

"Business" is a part of BD, which is concerned with how to generate immediate revenue for the company in the short term, while BD sometimes focuses on maximizing the company's long-term benefits.

Therefore, a qualified BD has a variety of invisible abilities, including understanding market trends, building relationships with partners, promoting products or services, negotiating cooperation agreements, etc.

Because it is the key to exploring new value, the responsibilities will change as the company grows at different stages.

Two

Second, there are two super important elements in the BD process:

1. Know yourself

Looking back on my past career, I, like many people, didn't choose the job I first started with. Most of the time, it is only after trial and failure that we find the way we want to go.

Initial passivity can sometimes lead to unclear career orientation, not knowing what BD should do, and not being sure whether you have the required skills and passions, which in turn hinders the ability to train BD's potential.

I saw a book before, I forgot what it was called, and there is a sentence in it that says to "build your personal moat", improve your choice, find your own niche market, and become irreplaceable.

How to dig it? There are three steps:

• The first step is to take stock of personal resources;
• The second step is to find the areas that you are good at and establish local advantages;
• The third step is to review the advantages and further expand your advantages.

In the past, I didn't realize that part of what I did in my career belonged to BD, and I didn't know what skills to learn to strive for better development opportunities. Although I have worked my way up to the position of marketing leader, I think it is more beneficial to explore the career of BD by mastering the skills of BD.

Because, even if you start a business one day, BD skills are definitely the first to bear the brunt.

They helped me understand the market dynamics and explore customer needs. If marketing jobs are compared to firecrackers, then BD is like a fuse, more focused on igniting everything, which is the key to kick-starting the whole process.

We also learned how to lay it out.

Layout, that is, to know how many catties and taels, understand the strength and expertise, and clarify which industry and which resources have advantages, so as to better position themselves, make full use of their strengths, and exert maximum efficiency in the right field.

In the details part, you have to list your abilities, personality and attitudes, study and work experience, interpersonal relationships and external image, and conduct further analysis.

I've also noticed that some companies manage BD by "shooting and changing places" and replacing a BD person if they don't see results in a few months. Such frequent changes do not help to establish a long-term strategy, and can also undermine the stability and development potential of the team.

Now it seems that individuals should combine their strengths and focus on one area; The company should use a group of elite soldiers, which is much more effective than using a large number of ordinary personnel. In the future era of AI, this is even more important.

2. Get to know the company

What is there to know, you may ask? Actually, it's very important. Knowing the company means knowing the product life cycle, leveraging the strengths, and identifying the main tasks according to the current business stage.

Like what:

When a product has just been introduced to the market or has reached a period of recession, it means that the company has not yet formed a mature business model, and at this time, it is necessary to look for new development opportunities.

In this case, the BD role is to start from scratch and explore new possibilities.

Especially for B-end products, in the face of customers who want to use the product, we must collect the first appeal as much as possible, and the customer's first appeal often determines the customer's willingness to pay, and the willingness to pay and the product function happen to be contrary.

To put it simply, the company's functional demands are the same as the customer's demands.

When a product starts to grow or enters the maturity stage, it means that it has gained a certain level of recognition in the market. At this point, the task is to scale up the initial successes and make the transition from small to large-scale successes.

At this stage, the requirement for BD is that the ability to translate the customer's problems and needs into standard SOPs is particularly critical.

Therefore, BD is the key to exploring new value, and BD is like a trailblazer before determining the position of the market and confirming what customers need; During the high-speed growth period, BD needs to organize customers' cases and needs into standardized SOPs for use by other departments.

Three

The above talked about the BD experience of making B-end products, but what about C-end companies?

For example: you are Party B, help the brand find talent to cooperate.

First of all, whether it is for food or use, before going to the battlefield, you must first thoroughly understand a company's business model and understand the pain points of the brand, only in this way can you more effectively impress customers and quickly complete the task.

Party A's marketing department has two roles: one is responsible for brand promotion, and the other is to promote sales; The core point of cooperation between BD, which is responsible for merchandising, is to ensure return on investment (ROI).

As Party B's BD, when docking with Party A's BD, the key is to accurately grasp the needs of the other party and use the needs to match the right talent. From Party A's point of view, when I select a talent, I evaluate the possibility of cooperation based on three criteria, which Party B can also use:

• brand awareness;
• the promotion of the event;
• Sales data for similar events in history.

Combining these three points, you can roughly estimate the ROI of the project.

For example, it is certainly much easier to promote a well-known brand than a less well-known one. The discount of the event is strong and the price is low, which will naturally attract consumers' interest in purchasing.

When I was doing CPS before, the company's CRM database recorded in detail all the previous brand cooperation and influencer order data, so I could predict the sales (GMV) that a certain influencer live broadcast might bring, so that I knew which influencers were most suitable to find.

When developing customers for business, take the company's case to talk, if the other party is facing a lot of sales pressure, after detailed communication, feel feasible, and then sign the contract, the contract is generally implemented on a monthly basis, and 50% of the advance payment is paid in advance.

Of course, as Party B, I will also be worried, will the talent I am looking for have the same scam as the live broadcast brush? It's normal. However, I am generally not stupid enough to make a hammer deal, and from the three dimensions I gave, there will be no big deviation.

In addition, you can also make it clear in the contract that one month after the end of the cooperation, the data of both parties will be checked with real sales data, so that it is clear at a glance.

So, the third point, if you want to successfully develop customers, understand and be clear about what their needs are.

Four

Fourth, stay away from the Aquaman model of casting a wide net and manage yourself.

What is Aquaman?

I've seen some businesses that sign up for several accounts, attend conferences, import users into accounts, and then use the contacts they get as a resource pool that they think will use to send mass messages when they have business in the future.

It's hilarious.

A truly efficient BD is not a cold promotion machine, but a smart brain, a person who can use wisdom. Smart people understand the "butterfly effect": a large number of indiscriminate mass sending is far less than carefully managing your own brand and business.

The key is how to transform a first-time stranger relationship into a familiar social one, and the most important skill here is to "communicate effectively".

You can't talk to the same person every day, and it's easy to feel awkward, but by liking, commenting, and sharing personal opinions, you can drive a delicate relationship.

For example:

I once heard a boss say that he used automatic like software in order to maintain customer relationships, and I don't completely deny this practice, but if others find out, it will appear insincere.

Personally, I take the time to like others every day, and I will leave a message after liking, which can express more personal care and real feelings, and is a good way to get closer to each other.

As for posting ideas, you can use a variety of sticky note software to regularly write industry insights or personal reflections, which will not only show your professionalism but also attract the attention of like-minded people.

Next, let's talk about how to attract customers.

Imagine that you just add someone to WeChat, and then, immediately introduce yourself in a large paragraph, most people will get bored. From a psychological point of view, passively receiving information can make people feel uncomfortable, and they don't have the freedom to choose whether to accept it or not.

In contrast, I prefer to be simple and straightforward about what I do.

Talking about business is a natural thing, when someone inadvertently sees your content or your photos when browsing the circle of friends, his behavior becomes an active acceptance, and the active acceptance of information is more attractive and gives people a sense of psychological comfort.

That's why people say that good-looking people, both men and women, have an advantage, and when someone finds the content of your circle of friends interesting, they think, "Well, this person is interesting, what does he do?" Then, they will take the initiative to chat or like you.

In this way, a new social cycle is naturally formed, and everyone is like a book, with their own unique experiences and ideas; It's really lucky to have someone who takes the initiative to get to know you and is willing to communicate about it.

As for becoming a friend of customers in the future, it is a high-level state.

But if your circle of friends is set up to be visible for three days, there is nothing updated, and the avatar is not your own, then it is difficult for others to understand you, unless you are Party A, otherwise, it is really not conducive to establishing social relationships.

summary

BD is an elite position.

People who can look at BD as a lifelong career, social circles and network circles are like a rising spiral, and they will not be far behind, and I hope you can do the same.

This article is from the WeChat public account: Wang Zhiyuan, author: Wang Zhiyuan

This content is the author's independent view and does not represent the position of Tiger Sniff. May not be reproduced without permission, please contact [email protected] for authorization

People who are changing and want to change the world are all in the Tiger Sniff APP