Best Practices for Business Development in a 2.0 World

Every professional defines business development differently. In the broadest sense, the term refers to a set of activities by which an individual or firm aims to develop and implement opportunities for growth within a business. To investment bankers, private equity firms, and other capital providers, the hope is that every opportunity represents the potential for a closed deal. To them, business development has always been about one thing – creating deal flow.

While each investor and banker may have a unique perspective on what comprises of a sound business development strategy, the central notion is the same — relationships lead to opportunities which lead to deals. And dealmakers are not new to the concept of relationship building. What is new, however, is the way deal professionals are initiating, growing and managing these relationships. Instead of relying solely on references, cold calling or being invited to a round of golf with a new group of contacts, they are turning to online networking and technologically-powered tools to help them capitalize on new and existing relationships, better market their firms, share their expertise, find new clients and opportunities, and ultimately, close more deals.

Business Development 2.0, then, is the next era of relationship building and deal sourcing, by which the updated digital and networked environment has created a new normal and using the internet has become a source of competitive advantage for those deal professionals interested in higher levels of interaction and growth.

Last year, Axial held it’s inaugural all-day conference, Axial Concord, where over 300 CEOs, bankers, advisors, and investors gathered to discuss the latest trends affecting the M&A environment and share best practices around bringing efficiency and greater success to their deal sourcing efforts.

One of the biggest themes at Concord in 2014 was how to get to business development 2.0. We took the opportunity to capture some of the thoughts and concepts put forth by Concord attendees in a visual depiction. The results were quite compelling.

This October, we’re excited to bring together an even bigger group of Axial members at Concord 2015 to discuss what changes, like the evolution of business development, are defining the modern dealmaking environment. Click below to learn more about participating in Axial Concord.