1) Recognizes Buying Trends and Patterns of People
Marketers are aware of the well-known statistic that buyers make up to 57% of their decisions before even speaking with a seller. Customers are more informed than ever thanks to the growing amount of information available online, whether it comes from a company, its rivals, or its prior clients. However, is your salesperson aware of and cognizant of the ramifications of this? The seller used to be in charge of the information. They must now act as a consultant who can tailor the solution to the particular buyer and her problems.
Business development professionals need to be knowledgeable about tactics that will enable them to win over a customer’s trust and progress that customer through the sales cycle by demonstrating their expertise and credentials.
2) Excellent Question-Asking and Attention-Gaining
According to Dave Currie, president of The List, “the most successful business development professionals are those that can ask terrific questions.” “Through their professional curiosity, they ask excellent questions and listen with the intent of identifying and truly understanding the issues, the impact of those issues on the prospect’s organization in measurable terms, and the importance of solving that issue for the prospect now versus later,” says the author.
Prospects are informed about your organization, your offerings, and your competitors; therefore, the business development representative must add something new to the conversation rather than merely reiterate what the possible client already knows.
During the interview stage, Currie’s team utilizes two impartial tests: an (EQ) and a conversational capacity test.
3) provides clients with realistic expectations
A business development representative should be skilled at managing expectations with prospects so that your company may go above and beyond them. This might be the delivery date of a proposal (promising “tomorrow” when it generally takes your team three days to produce one is unacceptable) or providing a realistic account of what it will be like to work with your firm. To help prospective clients understand what it will be like to work with your team and whether your points of view align, this person must be able to effectively explain your agency’s values, personality, and culture.