Being able to mobilise a meticulous set of competences combined with an ability to dissociate oneself from the subject matter is the ultimate role of the business developer. This means that the management of competences becomes an important part of the management process of business development units. Naturally, the specific competences will vary according to the area(s) of responsibility, and attention must be put into matching competences and responsibilities. Aside from that, competences should be managed with careful attention to the role that the unit fulfils in the organisation.
D. Measuring the performance of business development
A well-managed business development unit has a clearly defined role and area of responsibility, an organising logic that complies with it and a range of competences that cover the relevant competence spectrum. What is missing to complete the picture is to understand how to define the expectations to the outcome of business development and define its key success factors. Or, in other words, to find an answer to the question: "When do you release an extraordinary bonus to your business developer?"
"Business developers are probably the easiest cost-cut for executives to pursue, but they may also be one of the most dangerous parts to cut off if the business development unit has matured to become an integrated part of the way the organisation spots new opportunities, formulates plans and executes strategies"
2. MANAGING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The nature of the work carried out by many business development units leaves it next to impossible to document the value of the work they perform and hence legitimise their existence. Business development units are subject to the same risk as external consultants – being the first to lose their job once economic slow- down kicks in if they have not delivered value to their organisation. Business developers are probably the easiest cost-cut for executives to pursue, but they may also be one of the most dangerous parts to cut off if the business development unit has matured to become an integrated part of the way the organisation spots new opportunities, formulates plans and executes strategies.
The lack of well-defined performance criteria causes many business development practitioners to operate blindfolded, never really knowing whether they are successful at what they do or not. Tracking the performance of business development units and setting up performance measures for them is necessary to mature business development as a discipline rather than operating it as a magic cure-all bullet.
"Tracking the performance of business development units and setting up performance measures for them is necessary to mature business development as a discipline rather than operating it as a magic cure-all bullet"
The tasks at hand are often diffuse and ad hoc, and they are rarely planned in advance. Therefore, setting up performance measures is a way of clarifying goals, documenting effect and aligning expectations – in particular important to enable long-term planning in the unpredictable and changeable operating environment of today's business development units.
However, defining universal performance measures and report metrics that are viable for all business development units is an impossible mission due to the diversity of business development practices. Again, the analogy from the discipline of HR and HRM may serve as a point of departure. As HR has matured and become an integrated organisational discipline, a framework for measuring the value and performance of a successful HR function has been derived. This framework measures the management's and the organisation's overall satisfaction level with the work performed by the HR function as well as a range of specific and directly measurable metrics.
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