It can be, but it all depends...
Certainly, when IT companies are looking for business development people, most of them are really looking for garden-variety peddlers to roam the land in pursuit of some warm bodies with wallets who can be sucker punched with some hype and bullshit, and their money can be taken away in exchange for some stuff many of those poor sods have never wanted or needed.
So, when we talk about tactical business development, it's basically forced selling, and it's pretty self-centred. The objective is to flog as much stuff as humanly possible to anyone with money and pulsebeat.
And thousands of sales trainers teach millions of salespeople hundreds of manipulative sales tricks to fool prospects out of their money.
Don't you believe me? All right!
Ask 100 people about their opinions on salespeople in general. "Sleazy, slimy scumbags" is probably one of the mildest and friendliest descriptors you're likely to get.
So, here is a rough outline of...
Definition: A tactic is a method to achieve a short-term gain, usually by doing what has always been done but doing it harder and longer. E.g.: Selling more by hiring more salespeople and mandating more cold calls.
It's about out-brawning, out-drudging and out-peddling the competition. Series of low-trust, mercenary, hit-and-run interactions between overzealous sellers and apathetic buyers.
Approach: Tactical selling for market pursuit: Sellers chase buyers with sales pitches and dog-any-pony show presentations.
Objective: To make another sale and live another day.
Recognisable by:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Market position: Being regarded as a fungible vendor or dreaded peddler. Being relegated by executives to the peddler fodder department (Purchasing and Procurement).
Process: Knocking on buyers' and doors pontificating...
"We're the best and you should want to do business with us."
And bending over backwards to win the deal at any cost.
But when we're talking about strategic business development, it's about creating multiple pathways from buyers to sellers, so self-qualified buyers can come to buyers on their own volition and buy whenever and whatever they need.
It's about offering value to the market before purchases take place.
When we talk about tactical business development, it's basically forced selling. Assembling a large army of peddlers and send it out to chase after the market and collect as much money as possible by flogging their companies' stuff regardless whether or not people want it or need it. It's pretty self-centred.
Actually the video below nicely outlines the problem with tactical business development...
Now in contrast, let's take a look at...
Definition: A strategy is a detailed plan to achieve a long-term goal. It's about the overall impact on the company. It's about out-braining, out-thinking, out out-manoeuvring the competition by doing something drastically different. Working smarter not harder.
Approach: Strategic positioning for market attraction: Sellers attract buyers with valuable content.
Objective: To plant and nurture the seeds of trust, respect, peer-level credibility, price eminence, repeat and referral business, recognised expert status, influence, brand loyalty and urgency to buy in order to become the default go-to company for the products and services your company sells, and build the company's long-term prosperity.
Recognisable by:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Market position: Being regarded as recognised and respected experts. Being treated by executives as peers.
Process: Buyers' knocking on your door saying...
"We've heard you're incredibly good. We've heard you're obscenely expensive. And we've heard you're worth every penny you charge. When can we start?"
So, is business development just a glorified name for selling? Most definitely if business development is just a tactic for forced selling performed by a legion of lone peddlers. But definitely not if business development is a strategic initiative with the boardroom'[s deepest involvement.
My interpretation of business development is that it's like farming. A range of tasks from ploughing the land to harvesting the crops.
The way I see it, business can be split into two main functions. 1) client acquisition and 1) client satisfaction. And client acquisition is basically business development, that is, developing new opportunities for the company's products and services.
And that is much more than mere selling, just as real estate investment (a wealth-creation strategy) is much more than the art and science of rent collection (one single tactic to support the strategy).
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