Business Development and Sales Are Not The Same Thing
I’m not sure who decided it was time to re-brand Sales.
I don’t know who wrote the first job description for a commission-based Business Development Leader.
I do know that too many organizations confuse the two professions.
The function of Sales is to generate revenue for your product, service, or solution in a chosen market (i.e. CLOSE). Again, I’m not sure who decided that selling needed a new hairdo because it is a critical competency for any organization. Sales Directors should wear this title as a badge of honor, as their efforts are LITERALLY tied to financial gain.
Business Development sets the stage for selling by developing channels and matching products, services, and solutions with the correct market segments (i.e., "product-market fit"). Business Development is the cross-functional foundation that brings marketing, R&D, business, and technology teams together to set your Sales Leaders (read: CLOSERS) up for success.
In other, journey mapping, words:
AWARENESS: Business Development
CONSIDERATION: Business Development
DECISION: Sales
These roles require different skills, interests, networks, and –– to some degree –– personality traits.
Asking a Business Development leader to create a high-performing growth ecosystem in return for sales commission is like a restaurant chef paying a farmer a percentage of dishes sold. “These tomatoes look great, Mr. Farmer, we’ll let you know how many plates go out tonight and you’ll receive your payment then.”
Can a Business Development leader close? Of course. Can a Sales Leader inform go-to-market strategy? Absolutely. Should the two work together? An emphatic YES.
Can a farmer prepare a delicious meal? Sure. Can an Executive Chef grow some basil in their windowsill? You bet. Does this mean the two professions are one and the same? No.
Conversely, asking a God-gifted closer to take attention away from the decision stage and focus on awareness and consideration stages is like asking a deep subject matter expert to become a generalist overnight.
All this to say, please take a good hard look at your job postings. If you need selling support, say so, you’re more likely to attract the appropriate talent this way. Create Business Development roles when your business is mature enough to appropriately compensate and support the leader(s) you hire.
