Business Development

Commercial development is a discipline, not a mailing campaign

Volume outreach produces volume rejection. What moves a manufacturer forward is a small number of well-chosen companies approached with something relevant to say — and then a disciplined process of follow-up that does not depend on the counterparty’s memory.

What the work looks like in practice

• Building a target list against agreed criteria: portfolio fit, technical ability, coverage, financial standing and appetite for a new brand.
• Reaching the actual decision-maker, in the language and form they expect to be approached in.
• Preparing for each meeting around the buyer’s agenda: what they need to know to say yes.
• Running the follow-up properly, including the conversations that go quiet.
• Working through terms — pricing structure, volumes, territory, exclusivity, support — in the open, rather than discovering the mismatch after the first order.
• Recording progress so the manufacturer always knows exactly where each opportunity stands.

Where introductions come from

Some routes are cold. Some are warm, through people and companies already operating in the relevant channel. Distribution Development is usually what creates the warm ones; business development is what converts them.

On expectations

Not every conversation becomes an order, and no honest operator will suggest otherwise. The commitment here is to work the opportunity properly and report accurately — including when a target turns out to be the wrong fit and should be dropped.