People often confuse the true meaning behind the importance of business development and direct sales. They often interchange their meaning or, worse, define the meaning of both these terms as the same. Business development and sales may look similar, but they differ in certain ways. In a small organisation, you might be expected to perform both roles, but large companies have them as separate roles and responsibilities.
Well, to simplify it for you and bid adieu to the confusion, we are here to discuss the importance of business development and direct sales.
Why Do We Confuse Business Development With Sales?
The common practice is to combine sales and business development because they are both considered extensions of one another. However, it is not a suitable approach.
Although both approaches are dedicated to giving your company’s solution for satisfying clients’ needs, both these approaches are separate yet complementary pieces than a unified approach. Moreover, it is persistent to note that your sales efforts can suffer extremely if you don’t have both.
Here, we’ll delve deeper into the field of business development, discuss the importance of both approaches and separate them apart from each other.
Meaning And Difference Between Business Development And Sales
Let’s first discuss the difference between direct sales vs. business development. To start with the primary difference, Business development, and sales are two entirely different functions that require immense experience, skills, and talent. Indeed both of these approaches work for the same goal, i.e., to increase the goodwill and profits of the business.
The primary goals of the sales approach are the Identification, research, and development of leads as they go through the sales cycle loop at the end. Business development entails identifying new avenues for the business’s expansion and establishing powerful alliances that tap into untapped markets. In this post, we go over the contrasts between business development and direct sales approaches within an organisation.
For instance, when your approach is directly focused on selling the factors that you can deliver right away and when the customer base and product are pre-recognized, then it is known as direct sales.
On the other hand, when your efforts are focused on pursuing and defining the customer base, product, and services and how to deliver them, then you are in the process of business development.
It is persistent to note here that both of these approaches can be adapted and implemented at the end or in the mid-process of the business.
Importance of Business development vs. Direct sales approach
Direct sales vs. business development is a contentious issue. The greatest choice is always the one that best satisfies your needs, and without first fully comprehending both, it is impossible to predict which one will be more effective for you. Therefore, before selecting which is the perfect fit, it’s critical that you have the ability to objectively evaluate the objectives and goals of your business.
If we fail to distinguish between these two situations, as well as the roles of the people we hire, we will be unfocused in terms of market penetration, sales cycles, revenue forecasts, fluctuations in revenue, and processes that are impossible to repeat, optimise and scale.
In the same way that R&D, G&A, manufacturing, and logistics are business processes, business development, marketing, sales development, sales, and customer success are also business processes.
Results
With the direct sales approach, you sure can keep your business running and reach your profits in the very short term. However, with business development, you ensure that your business will keep running in the long term.
The approach of business development makes sure that your business grows steadily for a long period of time.
Lengthy And Time Consuming Process
The direct sales approach is a simple process. Whereas the approach of business development is a long and time taking process.
End Goals
The end goal of the direct sales approach is all about closing the product sale and reaching the business sales targets. On the other hand, a business development approach is about knocking on new business opportunities and sealing them for more business in the long term.
Approach As Per The Situation
The direct sales approach is about working on the present situation of the business. At the same time, the business development approach is about working for the future of the company.
Conclusion
Essentially, business development is the idea, strategy, and activities that are involved in growing a business. Alternatively, a sale occurs when goods or services are exchanged between two or more parties for money or other assets.
While business development is a much broader term than sales, both are crucially important and dependent on each other since business development aims to increase sales, and when business development is planned correctly, sales will increase.
We at beWise understand how overwhelming it can be to understand the different processes involved in Business Development and to execute the desired sales results. Our business strategists are experienced in helping you manage all the development processes. You can count on us to help you every step of the way. Feel free to contact us and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.