Episode 199
What is Business Development: 2025 Redux
In this episode of The Business Development Podcast, host Kelly Kennedy celebrates the show’s 199th episode, coinciding with the dawn of 2025. Kennedy reflects on the remarkable journey of reaching the 200-episode milestone, emphasizing the dedication, family support, listener engagement, and sponsor contributions that made the achievement possible. He offers insights into how success in podcasting mirrors the principles of business development—consistency, strategic planning, and a commitment to delivering value.
The episode also revisits the core principles of business development, redefining it for the modern era. Kennedy highlights the strategic role of identifying and pursuing new opportunities, differentiating business development from account management and sales. He stresses the importance of human connections, active outreach, and leveraging digital tools like LinkedIn. He also advocates for setting clear growth targets, regularly reviewing marketing materials, and building personal brands to establish trust and engagement. Concluding the episode, Kennedy underscores the value of persistence and measurable success in securing meetings as the cornerstone of business growth, aiming to empower listeners to thrive in the new year.
Key Takeaways:
1. Business development is about creating new opportunities, building relationships, and driving growth, not managing existing accounts.
2. Set clear revenue growth goals and calculate the number of meetings required to achieve them.
3. Regularly update marketing materials to ensure they are visually appealing, accurate, and engaging.
4. Develop a target list of prospective clients and make consistent outreach efforts to engage them.
5. Identify your ideal customer profile to ensure you’re targeting the right industries, roles, and locations.
6. Build a strong personal brand on platforms like LinkedIn to establish trust and credibility.
7. Human-to-human interactions through calls, emails, and meetings remain essential for building relationships.
8. Persistence is key—expect to make multiple attempts before securing meetings with prospects.
9. Measure success by the number of meetings booked, as they drive long-term revenue opportunities.
10. Plan ahead and stay consistent in your efforts to maintain momentum and achieve sustainable success.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Capital Business Development
- Hypervac Technologies
- Foresight for IT
- Maverick NDT Inspection
- Fabled Solutions
- Plains Equipment Rentals
🚀 Ready to take your business development skills to the next level? Join The Business Development Mastery Program with Kelly Kennedy and transform the way you approach growth. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this program is designed to give you the tools, strategies, and confidence to create new opportunities, build authentic relationships, and drive success like never before. Don’t just learn—master the art of business development and make 2025 your breakthrough year! Let’s build something extraordinary together. 🌟
👉 Learn more and sign up today: Book a Discovery Call Now!
Transcript
Welcome to episode 199 of the Business Development Podcast.
Kelly Kennedy: And today we're kicking off: Kelly Kennedy:By going back to go forward today we're chatting.
Kelly Kennedy: is Business Development Redux: Kelly Kennedy:Stick with us.
Kelly Kennedy:This is an episode you are not gonna want to miss.
Mark Cuban:The great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.
Mark Cuban:Value is measured in the total upside of relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.
Mark Cuban:And we couldn't agree more.
Mark Cuban:This is the Business Development Podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and broadcasting to the world.
Mark Cuban:You'll get expert business development advice, tips and experiences and you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps.
Mark Cuban:You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business brought to you by Capital Business Development capitalbd ca.
Mark Cuban:Let's do it.
Mark Cuban:Welcome to the Business Development Podcast.
Mark Cuban:And now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.
Kelly Kennedy:Hello.
Kelly Kennedy:Welcome to episode 199 of the Business Development Podcast.
Kelly Kennedy: st, so happy New Year: Kelly Kennedy:I hope you all had an absolutely incredible Christmas season.
Kelly Kennedy:I know it crazy and wild at our house.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm sure it is that way for many of you.
Kelly Kennedy:I know lots of us love Christmas and lots of us struggle with Christmas.
Kelly Kennedy:I think it's a, it's a win, win, lose, lose situation, isn't it?
Kelly Kennedy:But we all get through it every single year and so congratulations.
Kelly Kennedy:Pat yourselves on the back if you got some happy kids, happy spouses.
Kelly Kennedy:You guys are doing excellent.
Kelly Kennedy: y New Year and let's kick off: Kelly Kennedy:My gosh, this episode feels loaded, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:It feels like there's a bit of like an expectation for episode 199 and for it to also fall on New Year's Day.
Kelly Kennedy:It's like double expectation.
Kelly Kennedy:You have to start your 200 episodes off with a bang and you have to start the year off with a bang.
Kelly Kennedy:So I hope that we are able to do both for you today.
Kelly Kennedy:I will be doing my best.
Kelly Kennedy:I think we have an absolutely incredible episode ahead for you.
Kelly Kennedy:Either way, guys, I think you are all going to make significant progress in your endeavors that you take on this year.
Kelly Kennedy:And remember that whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right.
Kelly Kennedy:You know, it is really cool hitting such a significant milestone for the podcast at the beginning of a new year.
Kelly Kennedy:It really is a fresh start, a clean slate and I love the opportunity in that.
Kelly Kennedy:Many of you may not know this, but you only have a 2% chance of ever making it to 200 episodes.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, out of 4 million podcasts and growing, only about 80,000 of them ever hit 200 episodes.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, we are in the top 2% of podcasts worldwide simply by hitting 200 episodes.
Kelly Kennedy:According to a report that I saw from podmatch.com you have a 45% chance of making it to 8 episodes, a 10.23% chance of making it to 50, a 6.52% chance of making 100, and a 2.09% chance of making 200, and a slightly higher 3.06% chance of making it to 300.
Kelly Kennedy:I kind of think because simply, if you have made it to 200, you're probably doing all right enough to make it to three.
Kelly Kennedy:So it gives you a slightly higher chance of making it to 300 than it does to 200, but it's still pretty low.
Kelly Kennedy:And I hope we make it, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:I really do.
Kelly Kennedy:I love doing this show.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm not sure what I would be doing if I wasn't doing this show at this point.
Kelly Kennedy:It really is, like, incredibly, incredibly hard to believe that we are approaching our 200th episode of the business development podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:It is truly an honor and a pleasure.
Kelly Kennedy:And I never saw this journey taking me here.
Kelly Kennedy:I never saw 200 episodes, nor does any podcaster.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, don't let any of them fool you.
Kelly Kennedy:Not one of them sat down at episode one and was like, yeah, we're going to make it, like, hundreds of episodes.
Kelly Kennedy:It's just.
Kelly Kennedy:It's not something that you could even imagine at the time.
Kelly Kennedy:It seems so far away.
Kelly Kennedy:I remember listening to my favorite podcast hitting 100 episodes.
Kelly Kennedy:150.
Kelly Kennedy:Just thinking, wow, these guys are absolutely incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:And now to be part of that club, of that 200 Club, it's.
Kelly Kennedy:It's incredible, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:It's.
Kelly Kennedy:It's been a labor of love.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm not gonna say it came easy.
Kelly Kennedy:It hasn't come easy.
Kelly Kennedy:It's been a lot of work, a lot of effort and a lot of commitment.
Kelly Kennedy:And I told you guys from the very beginning when I started this show that I was gonna show up, that I was gonna be there, and that I was going to do what it takes to help you grow your businesses, and that I was going to be authentic and that I was going to be Kelly.
Kelly Kennedy:And I really hope that I have been able to show you guys who I am and what I truly want to do here in these 200 episodes.
Kelly Kennedy:And I just.
Kelly Kennedy:I really do care about each and every one of you.
Kelly Kennedy:And I want you all to be successful and I want you to learn the things that I had to learn the hard way, the easy way, so that you can set your businesses off right the first time around or you can grow your client's business right the first time around.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, like I said, it's been an honor, it's been a privilege, and it's been incredible to have you guys reach out to me on such a consistent basis.
Kelly Kennedy:We've built such an incredible Rockstar community here on the business development podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:And I'm so grateful.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm so grateful for each and every one of you.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you for making it what it is.
Kelly Kennedy:It takes a community to build a show, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:And I am not responsible for the success of the show as much as I am the face of this show.
Kelly Kennedy:I am definitely not responsible for the total success of this show.
Kelly Kennedy:It has been a labor of love, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:It has been challenging.
Kelly Kennedy:I have had plenty eroding blocks along the way.
Kelly Kennedy:I've banged my head and face against the wall many times along the way.
Kelly Kennedy:I've questioned what the heck I'm doing this for.
Kelly Kennedy:Because, guys, it is not financially lucrative.
Kelly Kennedy:It takes a lot of listeners to get a really financially lucrative show.
Kelly Kennedy:So a lot of this is a labor of love, a passion project and just a great way for me to be able to express my learnings with the world and a little bit of who I am with the world.
Kelly Kennedy:But guys, you know, I attribute our success to the following.
Kelly Kennedy:Number one, the support of my incredible family without my being behind me on this, supporting me on this, giving me the evenings to do, you know, show processing and social media stuff that I need to do and just being supportive and understanding.
Kelly Kennedy:I absolutely could not have made it this far.
Kelly Kennedy:So huge shout out to Shelby and my boys for being so supportive along this journey to obviously the support of our Rockstar listeners.
Kelly Kennedy:You, you are incredible, incredible listenership of the business development podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:It's been your messages, it's been your kind comments, it's been your emails.
Kelly Kennedy:It's just been everything, guys, you've done so much to support this show.
Kelly Kennedy:Let me know that what I'm doing is appreciated and that really has just contributed to me being able to show up week over week, month over month, and now year over year with this show, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:So thank you so much.
Kelly Kennedy:It's been obviously the financial support of our sponsors.
Kelly Kennedy:I have to give a massive shout out to, you know, Hyper V Technologies at work.
Kelly Kennedy:Office furniture, Planes, equipment rentals, Business solutions, Foresight for it, Maverick, ndt And inspection.
Kelly Kennedy:And now fabled solutions.
Kelly Kennedy:We have had so many incredible sponsors hop on board, put their money where their mouth is and say, you know what, we get it.
Kelly Kennedy:This isn't cheap.
Kelly Kennedy:This is an easy to grow a show and we're here to help you guys.
Kelly Kennedy:I can't even tell you, I can't tell you how incredible that that has been.
Kelly Kennedy:And let me tell you, any podcast, any podcast, if you want to be successful long term, you need financial support, you're going to need the support of people who believe in your mission, who believe in helping your podcast grow, and who really believe in you.
Kelly Kennedy:And I have to say that all of our sponsors that we've had so far all share those qualities.
Kelly Kennedy:They believe in me, they believe in this podcast, and they believe in educating and inspiring the world.
Kelly Kennedy:That is why they chose to support this show.
Kelly Kennedy:And I have to say, guys, we could not do it without that sponsor support.
Kelly Kennedy:It really does help us with the advertising of this show, help us pay the bills.
Kelly Kennedy:And the bills for a show now are not cheap.
Kelly Kennedy:They're getting more expensive all the time as more technology is required to produce great shows and more time along with it.
Kelly Kennedy:So thank you so much to the incredible sponsors of the business development podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:I could not, could not, could not have done this without you.
Kelly Kennedy:It's been, of course, the expert guests we've had along the way, guys, we've had some pretty incredible rockstar experts on this show and we could not do it without them, without them being willing to put themselves out there to give us their time.
Kelly Kennedy:Time of which for some of these people, guys, is incredibly valuable.
Kelly Kennedy:Thousands and thousands of dollars an hour is what their time is worth.
Kelly Kennedy:And they're willing to come on this show and have that conversation with me for an hour, hour and a half.
Kelly Kennedy:And cannot tell you how much I appreciate the expert guests we met and the friends that I've been able to make along the way.
Kelly Kennedy:A big part of the success of the show has been planning ahead.
Kelly Kennedy:You cannot produce a show on the fly.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm going to tell you that right now.
Kelly Kennedy:You might be able to get an episode out on the fly, but you will not be able to keep a long term show going without long term planning.
Kelly Kennedy:We have guests booked on the business development podcast, guys, a full year in advanced.
Kelly Kennedy: le guest episode for the year: Kelly Kennedy:It's already done.
Kelly Kennedy:We've had all the guest interviews.
Kelly Kennedy:Yeah, it took a lot of work.
Kelly Kennedy:I was doing on some cases, two to three interviews every single week to create a backlog that I could fall back on to make sure that we always had great, consistent content for you guys.
Kelly Kennedy:The weekly shows, I still do, I still plan them out, typically record them on a Monday or Tuesday ahead of the Wednesday release.
Kelly Kennedy:But it's been that backlog of expert guest episodes that has really allowed us to kind of continue this train and keep it rolling forward without getting anxiety about where our Sunday shows are coming from.
Kelly Kennedy:So, planning ahead, making sure that at the beginning of a year, you're writing out all your show topics that you guys want to cover for the year, making sure that you are thinking about, how do I get ahead?
Kelly Kennedy:Don't go with the status quo.
Kelly Kennedy:Figure out how to get ahead.
Kelly Kennedy:That has helped tremendously with me being able to continue the business development podcast now for this long and obviously, guys, a personal commitment.
Kelly Kennedy:You have to make a personal commitment to whatever you're doing, whether it's a YouTube channel, a podcast, a business, a job, whatever you guys are going to do, make sure that you are going to say, you know what?
Kelly Kennedy:I'm going to show up come hell or high water, come, you know, rain or shine, I am going to show up and do the thing that I have committed to you.
Kelly Kennedy:And that is something that I committed to you at the beginning of the show, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:And I've been through some shit.
Kelly Kennedy:I've been through some real shit along this path.
Kelly Kennedy:But you know what?
Kelly Kennedy:I've showed up every single week, twice a week, making sure that I get this show out there for you.
Kelly Kennedy:So commit to something, stick with it, hold yourself accountable, and you will be amazed at what you can achieve.
Kelly Kennedy:I know this has been long winded.
Kelly Kennedy:This has been the longest intro I've had in a very long time.
Kelly Kennedy:It is episode 199.
Kelly Kennedy:You won't have another one like this for a while.
Kelly Kennedy:So thank you for sticking with us thus far.
Kelly Kennedy:And, guys, thank you so much for obviously sticking with us, following us, sponsoring us, telling your friends, family, colleagues.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you so much for being part of the rockstar community that is the business development podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:I truly would not be at episode 200 without your support.
Kelly Kennedy:So thank you.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, let's get into it, guys.
Kelly Kennedy: and the very first episode of: Kelly Kennedy:We're going back to the beginning and we are exploring again.
Kelly Kennedy:One of your favorite topics.
Kelly Kennedy:What is business development?
Kelly Kennedy:Two years from the very first time that I put out that episode.
Kelly Kennedy:And yeah, some things might be A little different.
Kelly Kennedy:Many things are the same.
Kelly Kennedy:And today we're going to give you an absolutely incredible, incredible definition for those of you looking for something for your businesses.
Kelly Kennedy:In episode one, we discussed how so many former definitions of business development were broad and loaded.
Kelly Kennedy:And I think that it's really because nobody truly understood what it was.
Kelly Kennedy:I think for the longest time, people got business development confused with account management and sales, and it is still happening to this day.
Kelly Kennedy:It is a very different position than account management and sales.
Kelly Kennedy:And we're going to get into that today.
Kelly Kennedy:It's really not people's fault, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:Nobody has really taken a solid effort, a truly definitely defining business development.
Kelly Kennedy:I've spoken with so many companies, with so many experts, and almost every single one of them defines business development differently depending on how they've used it or classified it within their business.
Kelly Kennedy:And let me say, many companies are doing business development wrong and it is negatively affecting their business and they don't even realize it.
Kelly Kennedy:So I'm hoping that by the end of today's show, if you're a company and you have business development, that you'll have a really good understanding of what is business development and you'll be able to sit down with your team and hopefully get them pointed in the right direction so that we're not having a whole bunch of role overlap, which is what I am seeing over and over again.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, just to give you like, an idea, in my entire business development career, guys, I have never heard two business development definitions that were similar or even the same.
Kelly Kennedy:They are all very different because there is a misunderstanding within the business community, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:It is critically important for your sales teams, your business development teams, your marketing teams, that they understand what you expect from them.
Kelly Kennedy:Which is why defining a role is so absolutely critical.
Kelly Kennedy:Because if they don't know what they're being measured on, what success looks like, what a win looks like, you end up on a really crappy hamster wheel.
Kelly Kennedy:Trust me, I know.
Kelly Kennedy:You end up on a hamster wheel not knowing whether you're succeeding, whether you're doing what you need to be doing, whether you are, you know, smashing goals.
Kelly Kennedy:Subpar.
Kelly Kennedy:It's really hard to know how you were doing if you don't know what your role is at a company.
Kelly Kennedy:And so defining this properly is absolutely critical.
Kelly Kennedy: As we start: Kelly Kennedy:Two years ago is a long time.
Kelly Kennedy:And while a lot has changed, a lot has stayed the same.
Kelly Kennedy:In episode one I was chatting about what is business development.
Kelly Kennedy:And you know what?
Kelly Kennedy:My definition today isn't so different.
Kelly Kennedy:We're going to get into it later on.
Kelly Kennedy:But in episode one I chatted about a few things.
Kelly Kennedy:I talked about how creating a target list of ideal companies industries is absolutely part of a business development's role.
Kelly Kennedy:I still believe that.
Kelly Kennedy:I talked about how researching ideal customers and positions is part of the business development role.
Kelly Kennedy:This is absolutely still required.
Kelly Kennedy:I talked about how marketing material review and assistance in development is absolutely part of the business development role.
Kelly Kennedy:And I may have a slight change to this in today's because I think more than ever business development people are not just assisting in the creation, they are actually participating directly in some of that marketing material creation.
Kelly Kennedy:The marketing of digital and physical materials to build interest in your business still a critical task of business development.
Kelly Kennedy:I talked about cold calls and follow up calls for lead and meeting generations on a weekly basis.
Kelly Kennedy:Still required.
Kelly Kennedy:I talked about even back then social media marketing and digital marketing for education, not just sales and roi.
Kelly Kennedy:This is absolutely still relevant today.
Kelly Kennedy:And I talked about connections and strategic partnerships is also a role of business development because it is very similar to the role of marketing to customers.
Kelly Kennedy:It's actually almost exactly the same.
Kelly Kennedy:So it can fall under business development.
Kelly Kennedy:And I still believe that today.
Kelly Kennedy:Although in the last 200 episodes I have actually defined or redefined business development for a lot of people.
Kelly Kennedy: community questions September: Kelly Kennedy:And I think I did a pretty decent job.
Kelly Kennedy:Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Kelly Kennedy:Feel free to message me if you think it might be off or it might need some revamping and I will consider it for sure.
Kelly Kennedy:But right now I would define business development as this.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development is the strategic process of identifying and pursuing opportunities that drive new business growth by building relationships, generating interest and creating partnerships.
Kelly Kennedy:It involves researching and targeting the right customers, reviewing marketing materials to ensure that they are effective, and engaging in proactive outreach through cold calls and emails to generate leads.
Kelly Kennedy:Known as active marketing.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development must be focused on new opportunities for an organization.
Kelly Kennedy:If you stop focusing on new opportunities, your funnels inevitably dry up.
Kelly Kennedy:Instead, business development specialists act as champions of the company, driving interest and connecting the business to potential clients and strategic partners to secure new business.
Kelly Kennedy:I hope you guys like that.
Kelly Kennedy:That took me a while to come up with.
Kelly Kennedy:You know I did It a little while ago now, but I had to think really hard about how I would truly define business development.
Kelly Kennedy:And so I think I am happy with that definition.
Kelly Kennedy:You may notice that the emphasis is on new opportunity and here is why.
Kelly Kennedy:Repeat business is account management and not bd.
Kelly Kennedy:Let me repeat that.
Kelly Kennedy:Repeat customers is no longer business development.
Kelly Kennedy:It is now account management and needs to be handled appropriately by an account manager or inside sales team.
Kelly Kennedy:Customers can leave and do leave for any reason, at any time, completely out of your control.
Kelly Kennedy:No matter how great you are, no matter how amazing your products and services are, you do not control your customers.
Kelly Kennedy:Which is why you need to account manage them the best way that you can.
Kelly Kennedy:You need to make sure they're happy, they're looked after, but never, ever, ever depend on them fully for the success of your business.
Kelly Kennedy:You need to find new business and that is a business development specialist role.
Kelly Kennedy:Customers can leave at any time for any reason.
Kelly Kennedy:You need to focus account management and inside sales on them and let business development consistently find you new business.
Kelly Kennedy:Your sales and account management divides BDS time and business development gets neglected.
Kelly Kennedy:I see this everywhere, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:Anywhere that you have business development doing more than new business development, whether they're doing account management, whether they're doing quotes, whether they're doing inside sales on top of business development, every time, every single time new business development gets neglected.
Kelly Kennedy:Why?
Kelly Kennedy:Because it is the harder job.
Kelly Kennedy:It is the harder job.
Kelly Kennedy:It takes consistency, it takes dedication, it takes weekly effort, and it inevitably gets kicked to the back burner in favor of account management and inside sales.
Kelly Kennedy:Every time.
Kelly Kennedy:Every single time.
Kelly Kennedy:So if right now you have your business development people doing inside sales, doing quotes, doing all that work, doing client management, doing, you know, account management every single time, guys, I can guarantee you the new business development is falling to the wayside because it is not as easy or sometimes not even as fun of a job.
Kelly Kennedy:So keep that in mind.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development absolutely needs to be focused on new business.
Kelly Kennedy:New business.
Kelly Kennedy:That is my definition of business development.
Kelly Kennedy: s development in this year of: Kelly Kennedy:Okay, a lot of this is the same.
Kelly Kennedy:We're going to go down the details that I kind of chatted about in episode Episode one.
Kelly Kennedy:A lot is the same.
Kelly Kennedy:The thing is business development is about people and people respond to human to human interaction.
Kelly Kennedy:So a lot of this is the same.
Kelly Kennedy: ng about in the beginning and: Kelly Kennedy:There's just some additional stuff we have to look at as well.
Kelly Kennedy:So let us roll down it.
Kelly Kennedy: iness development in the year: Kelly Kennedy:Number one, you have to know the growth target and meeting requirements for success.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, I talked about this briefly in the beginning.
Kelly Kennedy: th you have put as a goal for: Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Just shooting for the stars and thinking, I've set a growth number and I don't know what it's going to take to get.
Kelly Kennedy:It ain't gonna get you there.
Kelly Kennedy:It never gets you there.
Kelly Kennedy:Why?
Kelly Kennedy:Because you don't know what it takes.
Kelly Kennedy:The fun thing is it's actually not that hard to figure out if you just think about it critically.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Whenever I start with a new client, whenever I do coaching, this is the place we start.
Kelly Kennedy:Because if you do not know where you are going or how to get there or what it's going to take, how the heck can you measure success?
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, we have to know the growth target and meeting requirements for success.
Kelly Kennedy:So we have to know the revenue growth number.
Kelly Kennedy:What is the growth number you want to achieve in this year?
Kelly Kennedy: If it's: Kelly Kennedy:Do you want to achieve 500,000 in growth?
Kelly Kennedy:Or do you want to achieve 20 million in growth?
Kelly Kennedy:Whatever it is, write that number down.
Kelly Kennedy:What is the growth number for the year?
Kelly Kennedy:The next thing is, we have to know what is an average customer worth?
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, you need to dive deeper.
Kelly Kennedy: all the customers you had in: Kelly Kennedy:Divide how much they spent by how many there were and you get an average customer value.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:So we need to know that number.
Kelly Kennedy:We need to know our closure rate percentage.
Kelly Kennedy:How often after you have a meeting with a client, do they turn into a customer in that year?
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, we need to.
Kelly Kennedy:We need to figure out what this number is.
Kelly Kennedy:This number might be a little harder to get.
Kelly Kennedy:You might have to dive deeper.
Kelly Kennedy:You might have to guess a little bit.
Kelly Kennedy:I think for most companies, this is probably somewhere around 50, 50.
Kelly Kennedy:It could be higher, it could be lower, but figure out what that percentage is.
Kelly Kennedy:Is it 50%?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it 30%?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it 70%?
Kelly Kennedy:What is your odds of closing a meeting into a new customer in that year.
Kelly Kennedy:Once we have all of these numbers, you can take the revenue growth goal, you can divide it by the average customer value to get in a perfect world, how many new customers you need, then we can divide that number by the decimal point of closure.
Kelly Kennedy:So point 50.3 0.70 and we can get our required meetings for the year.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, this is going to rock your world, okay?
Kelly Kennedy: and all of your companies in: Kelly Kennedy:If you know the meeting requirement now you have a measure.
Kelly Kennedy:Now you know if you are achieving it or not, if you are generating success or not, if you were talking to enough people or not, this will change your business for the better.
Kelly Kennedy:Number two, we have to review our marketing materials, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:We have to review these on an annual basis.
Kelly Kennedy:Not every five years, not every 10 years.
Kelly Kennedy:Do this at least once per year, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Sit down with your marketing team, with your business development team, with your management team.
Kelly Kennedy:Review the website.
Kelly Kennedy:Make sure that it's accurate, up to date, visually appealing.
Kelly Kennedy: because that's what it is in: Kelly Kennedy:Review your brochures, assuming you have them.
Kelly Kennedy:If you don't have them, make them.
Kelly Kennedy: both digital and physical, in: Kelly Kennedy:Once again, make sure that they are visually appealing, that they represent you fairly, that people are actually going to want to read the content.
Kelly Kennedy: eal is absolutely critical in: Kelly Kennedy:Guys, you are marketing to millennials.
Kelly Kennedy:We have short attention spans.
Kelly Kennedy:Make them bold, make them beautiful and make them engaging.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to comment if these are not stacking up.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, it is your responsibility as business development specialists, as leaders in your organizations, as marketing experts, as sales experts, to step up when.
Kelly Kennedy:When the marketing materials are not up to par, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to call them out.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to pipe up and say, hey, this probably isn't going to work for us.
Kelly Kennedy:We need to make changes, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:It takes bold action to get real change.
Kelly Kennedy:But bold action and real change can be the difference between success and failure with our marketing material.
Kelly Kennedy:So be brave, stand up and voice your opinion.
Kelly Kennedy:Number three, we have to create target lists, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:We have to.
Kelly Kennedy:Every year, guys, every year.
Kelly Kennedy:I want you to sit down.
Kelly Kennedy:It's a fun exercise.
Kelly Kennedy:It does not have to be challenging.
Kelly Kennedy: mers you would love to get in: Kelly Kennedy:And guys, this can be as big and as bold as you like, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:I want you to understand, I've been in business development long enough now to know that no company is off limits, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Every single company is achievable.
Kelly Kennedy:Given enough effort, given enough time, and given the right marketing materials, you can do just about anything, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:So don't be afraid to be brave with this, to be bold with this, to aim for the stars and at least maybe you'll hit the moon.
Kelly Kennedy:Trust me on this.
Kelly Kennedy: you would like to achieve in: Kelly Kennedy:It's a really great habit to get into.
Kelly Kennedy:And heck, even if you only close one or two a year, it's still huge wins.
Kelly Kennedy:Number four, create your ideal customer profile.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:One of the biggest things about business development is making sure that we are targeting the right people.
Kelly Kennedy:Because targeting the wrong people is a gigantic, gigantic waste of time and money.
Kelly Kennedy:Remember, you pay for every single reach out, even if it's the wrong person.
Kelly Kennedy:And this applies to both your active marketing with physical calls and emails and it applies to your digital marketing.
Kelly Kennedy:If your digital marketer is not targeting the right groups of people for you, okay, you're paying for all of them.
Kelly Kennedy:So you have to make sure that if you are paying for all of them, you were talking to the right people.
Kelly Kennedy:The best business development people, they don't make 200 calls a week.
Kelly Kennedy:They don't.
Kelly Kennedy:They make like 30 really targeted ones to the right people and they almost always book meetings, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:That is the difference.
Kelly Kennedy:It's about doing the homework up front.
Kelly Kennedy:Identifying the right position that buys your product and service, identifying the right industry that needs your product and service, and identifying locations you can actually be competitive in which nine times out of 10 is where you are based first and move out from there.
Kelly Kennedy:But if you can make sure that you are competitive, that you are talking to the right people and you have a product and service that they need, you are going to close more business.
Kelly Kennedy:Mark my words.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Do the legwork upfront.
Kelly Kennedy:Figure out what are the buying positions at these companies.
Kelly Kennedy:There might be multiple.
Kelly Kennedy:Actually, they're guaranteed as multiple.
Kelly Kennedy:So make sure that you are identifying.
Kelly Kennedy:Is it the project manager?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it the plant manager?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it procurement?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it supply chain?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it the HSE director?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it the quality director?
Kelly Kennedy:Is it the director of operations?
Kelly Kennedy:Figure out who it is.
Kelly Kennedy:What are all the positions that buy your products and services and target the people in those positions at the industries you want to serve.
Kelly Kennedy:And you will book more meetings you just will.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, number five, LinkedIn and personal branding.
Kelly Kennedy: you need LinkedIn Premium in: Kelly Kennedy:Is no longer an option, is no longer not on the table.
Kelly Kennedy:Not only do you need LinkedIn Premium, you need to be active on your social media guys.
Kelly Kennedy:It's no longer enough to just have a social media profile and not be doing stuff on it.
Kelly Kennedy:LinkedIn has become the greatest weapon, the greatest tool a business developer has ever had.
Kelly Kennedy:But you have to use it and you have to use it effectively.
Kelly Kennedy:And part one is simply making sure that you have all the tools at your disposal.
Kelly Kennedy:And LinkedIn Premium gives you those tools.
Kelly Kennedy:You don't need Sales Navigator, you need, like the basic business account.
Kelly Kennedy:That's all you need to be able to get the search functions.
Kelly Kennedy:You need to target the right people on LinkedIn.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:It is absolutely critical that we are building our pages, that we are completely filling out every detail on our pages.
Kelly Kennedy:That we are getting bold, beautiful cover photos, that we are getting bold, beautiful banner images, hopefully ones that match and speak to what we are doing and how we are helping the world.
Kelly Kennedy:Make sure that your profile is filled out correctly, that you have a great info page that speaks to what you're doing on there, what your products and services are, how you want to help the world, and maybe who you are as a person.
Kelly Kennedy:We want to know the people behind the businesses now, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:It is no longer enough to hide behind your organizations.
Kelly Kennedy:We want to know who you are as a person.
Kelly Kennedy:And that is a major, major change from business five years ago, okay?
Kelly Kennedy: tically important material in: Kelly Kennedy: to build a personal brand in: Kelly Kennedy:It really changed the whole game.
Kelly Kennedy:So there's lots of things that we have to do.
Kelly Kennedy:But guess what?
Kelly Kennedy: all the difference for you in: Kelly Kennedy:So LinkedIn offers you so many tools, okay?
Kelly Kennedy:One of the tools it offers you is the ability to connect with 100 new people a week.
Kelly Kennedy:And I want you to think about this.
Kelly Kennedy:100 people doesn't seem like a lot, and it probably isn't but 100 people over, what, 52 weeks in a year.
Kelly Kennedy:That is a lot of new potential clients seeing your posts, learning about your company, building trust with you and your personal brand throughout the year.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Do not underestimate the power of your hundred invites every single week.
Kelly Kennedy:Use them or lose them.
Kelly Kennedy:You do not get 200 the next week.
Kelly Kennedy:You do not get 300 the week after that.
Kelly Kennedy:You get 100 per week.
Kelly Kennedy:And if you do not use them, you lose them.
Kelly Kennedy:Make sure that we are sending our 100 invites a week to potential clients of our organizations or people who can support our organizations.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:We need to make sure we're connecting with the right people every single week, and we are dedicated to doing that on a weekly basis.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm going to take one more moment, guys, and just chat with you guys again about personal branding.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:This is.
Kelly Kennedy:This is a big change from the first.
Kelly Kennedy:First time that I did this particular episode.
Kelly Kennedy:Personal branding was not as important back then.
Kelly Kennedy:It is absolutely critical now.
Kelly Kennedy:If you do not have a personal brand, if you do not have a social media strategy, if you do not have a social media history, right, that people are going to see, I don't care who you are.
Kelly Kennedy:If you are reaching out to an organization on behalf of another company, they are checking you out, not just the company.
Kelly Kennedy:You.
Kelly Kennedy:It is no longer enough to hide behind your organizations.
Kelly Kennedy:You need to make sure that you are coming across as someone who is trustworthy, has a history, is sharing their information, is being honest, is displaying integrity.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy: that as we move forward into: Kelly Kennedy:Let me be the first to say this is not easy.
Kelly Kennedy:I struggle with this.
Kelly Kennedy:Many people are struggling with this.
Kelly Kennedy:But you know what?
Kelly Kennedy:I'm not going to let it slow me down.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm showing up, I'm doing videos, I'm doing weekly posts, significant weekly posts.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:I am getting out there in the world and I am pushing my boundaries because that is what it takes to build a personal brand.
Kelly Kennedy:You have to push your own boundaries.
Kelly Kennedy:Ironically, it's not about all the other people.
Kelly Kennedy:It's about you.
Kelly Kennedy:It's about facing your fears.
Kelly Kennedy:It's about believing in yourself and sharing yourself with the world.
Kelly Kennedy:So let me just take a minute here and let you guys know.
Kelly Kennedy: and is absolutely critical in: Kelly Kennedy:You can do it a week at a time, a day at a time, a month at a time.
Kelly Kennedy:Whatever you want to do.
Kelly Kennedy:Just start committing to it today.
Kelly Kennedy:Start committing to building your personal brand today because it will follow you wherever you go from this point forward.
Kelly Kennedy:Number six, we have to talk about active marketing.
Kelly Kennedy:We cannot hide behind our computers, we cannot hide behind our social medias, we cannot hide alone behind our digital marketing strategies.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:We have to embrace active marketing and it has never been more critical.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, in a day of AI and robots, you have to be human.
Kelly Kennedy:I've been talking about this from the very beginning, but my gosh, did it happen, didn't it?
Kelly Kennedy:Right?
Kelly Kennedy:I took off and so now if you want to stand out, you have to go back.
Kelly Kennedy:You have to go back to the beginning.
Kelly Kennedy:You got to pick up your phone, you got to make real human to human connections.
Kelly Kennedy:You got to build trust, right?
Kelly Kennedy:We have to build relationship.
Kelly Kennedy:We have to build trust and that takes human to human interactions.
Kelly Kennedy:Do not be afraid to pick up your phone and make calls.
Kelly Kennedy:Do not be afraid to find people's direct email and send them a personal email.
Kelly Kennedy:Do not be afraid to ask for face to face meetings.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, this is what it is all about.
Kelly Kennedy:This is what business development is about.
Kelly Kennedy:It's about human to human interaction.
Kelly Kennedy:And guess what?
Kelly Kennedy:2025 is going to be a massively human centric year.
Kelly Kennedy:Why?
Kelly Kennedy:Because we went so far in the wrong direction with AI.
Kelly Kennedy:We got so disconnected that we are absolutely craving human to human interaction.
Kelly Kennedy:The business development specialists, the business owners, the executives who are willing to embrace human to human interaction go out of their way to have face to face interactions to build real relationship.
Kelly Kennedy: the ones who are going to win: Kelly Kennedy:And a lot of people are giving up way too soon.
Kelly Kennedy:So let me just start there.
Kelly Kennedy:I think the statistic is, is that most business development specialists give up after the second or third phone call with no response.
Kelly Kennedy:This is not enough.
Kelly Kennedy:This is absolutely not enough.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:It takes on average at least eight direct reach outs before you secure a human to human interaction.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:In my experience it's been 11.
Kelly Kennedy:So with capital business development, it is on average taking us 11 direct reach outs to book meetings on behalf of our clients.
Kelly Kennedy:And that's with small to medium sized companies.
Kelly Kennedy:With large sized companies, it has taken up to 30 plus 30 plus weeks of direct reach out to get that meeting.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, it takes time.
Kelly Kennedy:Do not give up too soon.
Kelly Kennedy:Do not quit.
Kelly Kennedy:Understand?
Kelly Kennedy:The people you're reaching out to, they're very busy.
Kelly Kennedy:They may not have a need.
Kelly Kennedy:The first, second, fifth time you reach out to them, you have to get them at the right time when they're thinking about it.
Kelly Kennedy:But trust me, don't give up.
Kelly Kennedy:Unless you're at like 10, 15 reach outs, then great.
Kelly Kennedy:It's time to maybe reconsider and see if you have the right person, if there might be somebody better.
Kelly Kennedy:But guys, if you know you have the right person and it's a big company and it's on your top 50 list, don't be afraid to give them 30 weeks.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to leave 30 different voicemails.
Kelly Kennedy:It will make all the difference down the line.
Kelly Kennedy:Number seven guys.
Kelly Kennedy:Last but not least, measure success in meetings.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Understand that as a business development specialist, success is not how many calls you make a week.
Kelly Kennedy:It's not how many emails you send.
Kelly Kennedy:It's actually not even how much revenue you close.
Kelly Kennedy:Although obviously we hope to close that revenue.
Kelly Kennedy:You have no control over that.
Kelly Kennedy:You have no control over a customer buying your product and service.
Kelly Kennedy:Understand that they have the control.
Kelly Kennedy:They make that buying decision.
Kelly Kennedy:And even if your product is the best product and service on earth, they may choose not to buy it.
Kelly Kennedy:That is not your metric of success.
Kelly Kennedy:Your metric of success is did I achieve the number of meetings that we determined I needed to achieve to close our revenue growth goal this year?
Kelly Kennedy:That is the measure.
Kelly Kennedy:That's why starting there is so absolutely critically important for your organization.
Kelly Kennedy:You have to know how many meetings it's going to take to hopefully achieve your growth statistically over the year.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Stop beating yourselves up when a deal goes south.
Kelly Kennedy:Stop beating yourself up when a client doesn't buy.
Kelly Kennedy:You do not control it.
Kelly Kennedy:You have no control over that.
Kelly Kennedy:Try not to worry so much about it.
Kelly Kennedy:Worry about getting the next meeting.
Kelly Kennedy:Because meetings lead to business over time.
Kelly Kennedy:Business comes from meetings.
Kelly Kennedy:Measure your success in the number of meetings you close in a year and it will absolutely change the way that you look at business development forever.
Kelly Kennedy:Let's go over now what Business development is not okay.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development is not day to day operations.
Kelly Kennedy:You are not executing the work.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development is not sales.
Kelly Kennedy:You are not an internal sales team following up with current clients, making sure current clients are okay, asking for additional business business.
Kelly Kennedy:Once again, this is also not account management.
Kelly Kennedy:You are not looking after clients, building long term relationships with them.
Kelly Kennedy:That is an account manager's job within the organization, typically a long term employee who you know is not going anywhere.
Kelly Kennedy:You want your account management team to be exceptional, to be able to build relationships and friendships over the long term.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development cannot do this.
Kelly Kennedy:It is not part of the task because they have to be focused on new business.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:Business Development is not repeat business.
Kelly Kennedy:Once they are a client, it is no longer business development's role to look after that customer falls now under inside sales or account management.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development is not current customers.
Kelly Kennedy:Current customers are, you guessed it, account management or inside sales.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, Business development is new relationships, finding new business with new opportunities.
Kelly Kennedy:It is new introductions to new companies, to new partners.
Kelly Kennedy:It is new meetings.
Kelly Kennedy:It is establishing a foothold at an organization, starting the relationship right new.
Kelly Kennedy:It is new partners.
Kelly Kennedy:Maybe it's finding opportunities for you to grow with another company, to partner with another company.
Kelly Kennedy:Because it is very similar to business development with clients.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development with partners is very similar.
Kelly Kennedy:It's very much the same job, but they are after new partnerships for you.
Kelly Kennedy:And last but not least, business development is about generating additional and new revenue.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, it's about hitting your growth goal for the year.
Kelly Kennedy:In new business, you have to focus your business development on new opportunity for you.
Kelly Kennedy:The focus is new.
Kelly Kennedy:The keyword is new.
Kelly Kennedy:That takes us to the end of today's show.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, shout outs this week.
Kelly Kennedy:Charles Perez, Irina Horiacheva, Roxanne Cassianchuk, Chloe Wu, Shane Sisson, Brad Warren, Zale Moransky, Lou Kamenye, Sandeep Walia, Ruthanne Weeks, Carmen LaBelle, Vijayan Swami Nathan, Randy Lennon, Mike Mack, Colin Harms, Deanna Keane, Tatiana Zamettalina, Jesse Kerr, Ken G, Jason Chakalakal, Rodney Lover, Crystal Bowen, Sean Suli, Dan Balaban, Derek Armstrong, Tyson Hunt, Ricardo J.
Kelly Kennedy:Flores, Sherry Allen Amin, Samji Jim Gale, Jim Flett, Lauren Graf and Ace Qureshi.
Kelly Kennedy:Happy New Year everybody.
Kelly Kennedy: Keep focused in: Kelly Kennedy:This has been the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.
Mark Cuban:This has been the Business Development podcast with Kelly Kennedy.
Mark Cuban: business development firm in: Mark Cuban:His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.
Mark Cuban:The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.
Mark Cuban:For more, we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.ca.
Mark Cuban:see you next time on the business Development podcast.
