The purpose of sales is to find buyers for products.
The purpose of business development is to find products for buyers.
Sales is a linear process.
Define the steps, so they can easily be measured.
Model the mechanism of how X gets from Step A to Step B.
Make the purchase as frictionless as possible.
Deliver the product as promised.
Collect the money and repeat.
Business development is a network process.
Define the activity spaces.
Define the threads and strings connecting activity spaces.
Clarify the focus of the customer's activity space.
Catalog the transformation mechanisms in your activity space.
Discover the ways that possible transformations are consistent with your customer's focus.
Those transformations are the kernel of products.
Prototype, test and evaluate new products within an addressable market.
Have a path to scale.
Sales - Define the steps, so they can easily be recognized.
Suspect - ("target customer") is a person who potentially needs Print.
Prospect is a person who has requested information
Customer is a buyer who has completed a transaction.
Client is customer who has completed a number of transactions.
Business Development - Define the nodes of the network
A node can be said to exist in two spaces:
The Environment Space and the Actor Space.
E - The Environment Space
A - The Customer Space (in the context of Print sales)
B - The Printer Space (in the contest of Print sales)
The Actor Space and the Environment Space is further divided into
PS - A Physical Space
CS - A Cognitive Space
Model the communication exchange mechanism.
A= Customer Space
B = Printer Space
E = Environment Space
POV = point of view
CE = Communication Exchange
ITO = input - transformation - output is the primary mechanism of communication exchange
Actors can be either individuals, communities or organizations.
Increase the number of communication exchanges.
No. of CE = Actor's perceived risk/ Actor's perceived rewards
The proximate risk is lost time. The secondary risk is delivery failure.
The proximate reward is time saved. The secondary reward are defined by the Actor who purchases the product. They may include increased status, reduced stress, or increased income.
Exchange events are the result of proximate pressures.
Communication Event "Moving X from Suspect to Prospect"
POV from B = Printer Space
Event: Printer needs prospects
Output to Customer Space: Information sent (email, marketing brochure, sales call, web site)
Transformation in Customer Space: Decision made to ask for information.
Input to Printer Space: Information request - (estimate request, paper sample, production question)
Feedback: If request is estimate request, B moves to prospect bin. Anything else moves B closer to prospect bin. No request for info keeps B in suspect bin.
POV from A = Customer Space
Event: A problem has entered the Customer Environment Space.
Input to Customer Space: Customer Actor needs information.
Transformation : Customer decides to ask this printer for information.
Output from Customer Space: Information request
Feedback: Was the risk/reward ratio acceptable? The risk is wasting time. The reward is getting the information required. If the time spent in getting the information was less than the time saved by getting the information, the "brand" of the Printer goes up. If the "brand" goes up, the likelihood of further exchanges increases.
Communication Event "Job ordered and delivered"
POV from A = Customer Space (business)
Event: A need that must be met has emerged
Input: Internal or external client has requested X
Transformation : Information is collected from clients and transformed into a collection of digital files, pricing, specifications are formalized.
Output: Files and purchase order sent to printer.
Feedback: If the time/money invested is less than the value to the customer of the delivered product, another exchange is likely. If it is more, another exchange is less likely.
POV from B = Printer Space
Event: Product has been purchased.
Input: File sent, specifications agreed, price agreed.
Transformation: Printer turns information into product
Output: Product delivered as promised.
Feedback: If the time and money invested is less than the price received for delivered product another exchange is worth pursuing. If the time/money invested is less than the price received, another similar exchange is not worth pursuing.
More to come....
The Defensible Value is the Network.
Designers + production + business mangers = business development.
Too busy with sales to do business development?
Business development is the operational definition of innovation.
Print Injects Information into Physical Space.
The Web Injects Information into Information Space.
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