A strategic asset for the longer term

28th April 2016 |   Claire Edmunds

How business development is proving to have a transformational impact on the sales and business process.

A strategic asset for the longer term

The term “business development” will conjure up different connotations depending on who you canvass opinion from; it often gets classed as demand generation or inside sales to name but a few. In fact the roles that these functions perform and the skillsets required are very different.

So before we begin, when we refer to business development we are defining a strategic capability, a distinct part of the sales process designed to create, qualify and develop high-value, complex sales opportunities from identification to forecast.

Most of us are aware that selling is undergoing a significant and unprecedented change: practices at the consultative end of the market are becoming highly sophisticated and maturing sales methodologies in many B2B enterprises are shifting from transactional sales to a “challenger” solution.

Claire Edmunds

Founder and CEO of Clarify | + posts

Claire Edmunds is CEO and founder of Clarify, a specialist in strategic business development. The company works with global B2B enterprises that take high-value consultative propositions to market.

She chairs the Diversity Steering Group on behalf of the Association of Professional Sales, which aims to increase diversity in the sales profession and build high-performing and inclusive sales cultures.