Mastering the Art of Business Development Workshop

The Mastering the Art of Business Development® Workshop is an educational and professional development program which focuses on the thinking, process and discipline required for professional Business Development. This 3-day workshop fosters participants’ understanding of the core competencies required for success in the Business Development role.

Business Development is primarily a relationship development and intelligence gathering process. Participants will learn how to leverage the principles of behavioral psychology to identify valid prospects and pipeline opportunities, effectively qualify them and develop win-win business relationships for their organizations, their clients and themselves.

This interactive, participant-centered workshop introduces the MBDi Business Development Process®, with its early shaping Opportunity Identification & Qualification component and the MBDi HUMINT® Client Engagement Process. This Client Engagement Process guides participants through a series of planning phases and client engagement steps designed to change how participants think, behave and engage prospects and clients within their Business Development role.

Through the instructor’s use of Socratic teaching techniques, participants will acquire the knowledge, thinking, skills and discipline required to proactively engage clients from a Strategic Hunting, Organic Farming or Program Management perspective. Participants have described this workshop as a career-transforming experience.

Utilizing an intensive, interactive, instructor-led, team-learning approach, participants learn:

• The competencies necessary to become a Business Development Professional including the thinking, behavior and skills required for proactive client engagement and revenue generation.
• How to gather the intelligence necessary to identify and disqualify unprofitable opportunities before you invest B&P resources in low probability of win opportunities.
• How to execute the early shaping Opportunity Identification & Qualification Phase of pipeline development with Human Intel gathering, and how to use and refine HUMINT® throughout the Business Development, Capture and Proposal processes.
• The proactive steps of the MBDi HUMINT® Client Engagement Process to ensure each engagement with a client delivers the quality intelligence you need to move opportunities through your pipeline.
• How and why clients “buy” when making sourcing decisions.
• The difference between Strategic and Organic Business Development and who should do each.
• How to encourage customers to participate in your Opportunity Identification and Qualification phase rather than being drawn into their RFP process.
• The difference between goal and purpose-driven business development.
• The basics of utilizing interpersonal human psychology to understand yourself and your clients.
• The significance and interaction of the Intel Funnel and the Opportunity Pipeline.
• The critical “flight gauges” of Business Development. How to read and respond appropriately to prospects’ behavior.
• The basis of a common Business Development language and culture among your organization’s Business Development, Capture, Proposal and Operations teams.