I’m often asked by prospective and current clients about what makes a good business developer, the assumption often being that it’s all about the gift of the gab.

This couldn’t be further from the truth; effective business development is all about listening and being genuinely interested in your clients’ and your prospects’ challenges, priorities and their marketing and business goals.

Effective salespeople are almost always extremely organised, although not to the exclusion of their passion about their offer or their business. Equally important is the ability to get on the same wavelength as your prospect or client, helping to build a strong working relationship based on both chemistry and trust.

There are no great secrets to effective business development; it’s a relatively straightforward process based on common sense and hard work.

Does anyone else have any tips or opinions?

I read a really interesting article about staff and customer retention in the insurance industry which made me think about my own business and its priorities.

I think it was Sir Martin Sorrell who famously said that a company’s biggest assets leave the building at 6.00 every evening and I have always supported this viewpoint – keep your staff happy and motivated and your customers/clients will inevitably reap the rewards.

One of our key priorities at Alchemis is to encourage our team of Business Development Managers to take responsibility for helping their clients win new business, thus engendering a sense of ownership for what otherwise could be seen as a monotonous job.

As each Business Development Manager works on a variety of clients from a consumer PR agency to a full service agency targeting the public sector, this also prevents ennui from setting in.

A successful sales team will also thrive on team and individual incentives, which also help to create a competitive and dynamic atmosphere – all of which will ultimately help us to help our clients win more business, which is, after all, why we’re here!