Business Development Insights from Live Interviews

  • Outbound Efficiency, Inbound Effectiveness - Finding Equilibrium in Sales
    • 10/10/2024

    Outbound Efficiency, Inbound Effectiveness - Finding Equilibrium in Sales

    Join us for a candid conversation with industry experts where we explored how to find that sweet spot where outbound efficiency meets inbound effectiveness.

    This webinar is designed for those working in business development, sales, and marketing agencies who are looking for practical insights to improve their approach.

    We discussed:

    - Outbound Efficiency: How to make your outreach more effective and less time-consuming.

    - Inbound Effectiveness: Tips on creating content and strategies that genuinely resonate with potential clients.

    - Finding Balance: Real-world advice on how to integrate these two approaches for better results.

    We interviewed:

    - Steve Fair, Managing Partner at Sponge

    - Katie Street, Founder at Street Agency

    - Charlotte Maldari, Founder at Kaffeen

  • Networking, Partnerships and Referrals

    Networking, Partnerships and Referrals

    We carried out a deep dive into the strategies that can elevate your networking efforts, forge powerful partnerships, and harness the potential of referrals.

    Learn how to build and leverage your relationships that drive sustainable growth and success. Whether you're looking to expand your network, create synergistic partnerships, or boost your referral rates, this webinar will equip you with actionable insights and proven techniques.

    We covered:

    1. The Importance of Networking in Business Development

    • Why networking is crucial for business growth.

    • Tips for effective networking in-person and online.

    • Tools and platforms to enhance your networking efforts.

    2. Building and Sustaining Partnerships

    • Identifying potential partners: what to look for.

    • Approaches to initiating and nurturing business partnerships.

    • Case studies of successful business partnerships and their impact.

    3. Leveraging Referrals for Growth

    • Understanding the value of referrals and how they contribute to business development.

    • Strategies to encourage and incentivise referrals from clients and partners.

    • Systems and tools to track and manage referrals effectively.

    4. Creating a Networking and Partnership Strategy - Steps to develop a networking strategy.

    • Best practices for integrating partnership development into your business plan.

    • Metrics and KPIs to measure the success of your networking and partnership efforts.

    We interviewed:

    • Stephen Knight, Founder/CEO, Pimento

    • Ellie Hale, Partnerships Director, Reflect Digital

    • Dave Plunkett, Founder, Collaboration Junkie

  • From Vision to Sales: Mastering Founder-led Sales

    From Vision to Sales: Mastering Founder-led Sales

    Gain valuable insights from successful founders on navigating new business challenges.

    In this insightful webinar, Chris Molloy from Brand Potential and Felix Velarde from 2Y3X explore the challenges and strategies of founder-led new business efforts. Often, CEOs or Managing Directors take on this role, whether naturally or by necessity. We discussed how to develop effective sales strategies, engage teams, and recruit for growth.

    We covered:

    - Creating and implementing growth plans

    - Inspiring a culture of new business

    - Recruiting and building a strong sales team

    - Key focus areas for the upcoming year

    Our speakers shared their sales approaches, how they empower leadership, recent hiring experiences, and strategies for building a brand. Learn the balance between inbound, outbound, and referrals.

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

    What is BD Matters? 👩🏼‍🤝‍🧑🏼👬

    BD Matters is a community for business developers, marketers, growth experts, salespeople, and business owners who contribute to growth from the top of the funnel, to the bottom. If that's you, don't be a lone wolf. We're better in packs.

    Join us: https://bdmatters.co/business-development-commmunity

    What are Industry Interviews? 🤔

    Industry Interviews are our FREE monthly interviews with industry leaders on a new biz growth topic.

    We also host Monthly Meet-ups (for paid members) where we informally meet to discuss the challenges you're having with new business, find solutions, and support one another. We also host in-person training workshops led by experts.

    Who's the host? 🎤

    This interview was hosted by Adam Graham, Founder of BD Matters https://bdmatters.co/

    Connect with Adam on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkgraham/

  • New Business ain't what it used to be
    • 10/06/2024

    New Business ain't what it used to be

    In today's rapidly evolving world of B2B business development, staying ahead requires a keen understanding of the changing dynamics. Our speakers will be discussing this shift.

    We will delve into how buyers now hold more power, budgets are tighter, and sales cycles have lengthened. Moreover, technology and data are playing increasingly vital roles in the sales process, making opportunities scarce. In this environment, standing out and winning the right clients is a challenge.

    Our speakers will share insights on leveraging content and events to navigate these challenges and secure success in the competitive B2B landscape.

    We interviewed:

    - Katie Grosvenor, Chief Engagement and Growth Officer from Group M

    - Jessica Gibb, CMO from St Luke's

  • Building Sustainable Relationships from Day 1

    Building Sustainable Relationships from Day 1

    In this enlightening interview, we explored the keys to building sustainable relationships in business.

    • Learn how to pitch and win the right clients from day one, understanding the emotional aspects of client decisions and adapting to their needs.

    • Discover the crucial role of Business Development in maintaining briefs, accountability, and attention to detail.

    • How to conduct open and honest conversations, focusing on qualification and addressing concerns.

    • Explore the art of active listening, making clients feel heard, comfortable, and respected, while avoiding power dynamics.

    • We also delved into pricing strategies, involving procurement, and creating mutually beneficial commercial models.

    We interviewed:

    • Nick Goff, Group Head of Business Development at VCCP

    • Kate Barker, Executive Director, Growth and Development EMEA at R/GA

  • Pitch Stories: Creature London x Jose Cuervo

    Pitch Stories: Creature London x Jose Cuervo

    Hear how Creature London's collaborative approach and building a creativity strategy helped them win the pitch for Jose Cuervo. It helped tell the story from shots to versatility and how the Creature London team worked closely with a kernel of an idea that the client Jose Cuervo gave them.

    This is a story of how the world’s biggest Tequila brand chose Creature to deliver a digital first new brand campaign to elevate the brand (and indeed tequila itself) from shots shots shots to being enjoyed as a much more refined cocktail.

    We interviewed:

    Hanisha Kotecha Chief Client Officer at Creature London

    Aileen Cotter Global Assistant Brand Manager at Jose Cuervo

  • LinkedIn vs Email - which packs a bigger punch?

    LinkedIn vs Email - which packs a bigger punch?

    Are you frustrated by low responses to your BD outreach and efforts? Are you struggling with ideas of how to get cut-through? We're noticing the industry-wide problem of too much content / lack of responses.

    Join us for the battle of best practice outreach!

    Who will win - Email Campaigns or LinkedIn Outreach and Content? Jamie Woodbridge (in the blue corner) is a well known email expert, he's across all major CRM platforms and knows how to craft the perfect email. Anthony (in the red corner) is quite the LinkedIn Influencer, he works to help build Founder and B2B brands via Linkedin.

    Let the battle commence!

    We interviewed:

    - Jamie Woodbridge, Co-Founder, The Inbox Club

    - Anthony Leung, LinkedIn Coach/Founder, Mean Write Hook

  • BD Matters - Meet-up // Sales Culture and Leadership

    BD Matters - Meet-up // Sales Culture and Leadership

    The speakers are: Chris Longfellow - Head of Business Development, Velocity Digital & Joel Cunnington - New Business Director, Reprise Digital

    * How do you define new business culture?

    * Can you provide examples of where you have been supported by leadership and peers?

    * But also examples of where you have felt let down?

    * From your experience, does the wider agency ‘get’ business development?

    * What more can be done to educate them and encourage them to get involved?

    * How do we avoid BD feeling like a lonely place and falling on the shoulders of one or two individuals?

    * What systems and processes have you put in place to avoid this?

    * What are your thoughts on company incentives for referrals?

  • FMCG to Finance: Powerful learnings from power brands

    FMCG to Finance: Powerful learnings from power brands

    What you'll see 👀

    Kimberley Burgess, Senior Global Marketing Sourcing Lead at Fidelity International talks about:

    ⭐Advice to agencies on dealing with procurement and pitching

    💼 Her time at Unilever, McLaren & Sky

    💪🏼Owning your space in male-dominated industries

    🌳Building policies on sustainability and diversity

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • Leveraging Community Marketing

    Leveraging Community Marketing

    Community is a word that is definitely banded around these days but as a sales or client-facing person of your business, if you make “Building a community” an initiative of your business, you will increase the leads and opportunities inward.

    This online event is a full download of what you need to do in order to create and maintain a community that helps build your business for 2024 and beyond.

    We interviewed:

    Jody Osman, BD100 / Group Director of Business Growth at The Propeller Group

    Tim Radhanauth-Ranger, Head of Up World

  • Get it Right: Hire & Nurture BD Talent

    Get it Right: Hire & Nurture BD Talent

    Getting the right people on board is crucial for any business owner. You need dedicated individuals with the right skills who share your vision to drive your business forward successfully. But let's be real, finding that perfect fit can be a real challenge, especially in today's competitive markets!

    BD Matters’s October Industry Interview talks about how to find the perfect fit for your team, and once you find them, how to retain and nurture them. We interviewed:

    Ali Wallace, Founder and CEO of DNA Recruit

    Rebecca Crook, Chief Growth Officer, EMEA at CI&T

    Bianca McLeish, Global Content Director at the Publicis Groupe

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • BizDev to Boardroom: The Path to Leadership

    BizDev to Boardroom: The Path to Leadership

    What you'll see 👀

    Are you a passionate BizDev professional looking to advance into a senior leadership position either now or in the near future? We interviewed fellow BizDev experts who have successfully navigated the demanding route to leadership.

    Watch to uncover the keys to their success around how they:

    💪Effectively utilised their prospecting skills

    👋Forged relationships across organisations

    🤓Gained an understanding of every role in the business

    ✨Showcased commercial acumen

    📞Connected with customers, from cold calling to cultivating profound relationships

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • Pitch Stories: How The Gate Won SMARTY

    Pitch Stories: How The Gate Won SMARTY

    What you'll see 👀

    We interviewed both the brand and the agency on:

    📃 The pitch process and what led to their successful collaboration

    ❓ MSQ’s interesting business model

    🤝🏼 How to build a strong agency-client partnership

    🔥 Their recently launched campaign ‘Less malarkey, more SMARTY’ which has smashed expected targets.

    🤨 Some of the challenges that arose and how they were dealt with

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • Adidas on how agencies can work with big player brands

    Adidas on how agencies can work with big player brands

    What you'll see 👀

    We interviewed Rachel Wentzel (Director of Global Marketing Procurement Creative & Production at adidas) on how agencies can attract and work with big player brands.

    Rachel talks about:

    📈 Industry trends

    🌍 Content at scale

    👋🏼 How agencies can better deal with procurement

    🎯 What it takes for agencies who want to be seen by big-league brands

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • Crossing the chasm: Client Services to BD

    Crossing the chasm: Client Services to BD

    Kyle and Ciara from Publicis (French multinational advertising and public relations company) and Sara Templeman from Distillery (a content studio with 3 offices, 25 awards in the last two years, 1 office dog and 0 egos 😉) will share their insight and learnings from moving to BD from non-sales and client services backgrounds.

    We'll talk about their journeys, their approach to BD, and the key skills they brought from previous roles vs the skills unique to BD that they had to pick up.

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! Add them to your calendar: https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • BD Matters - Meet-up // Pursuing a career in business development and recruitment
    • 18/10/2021

    BD Matters - Meet-up // Pursuing a career in business development and recruitment

    We hosted our second BD Matters monthly meet-up last week, which centred on the topic of pursuing a career in business development. This month, we invited th...
  • BD Matters - Meet-up // Prospecting

    BD Matters - Meet-up // Prospecting

    This month the speakers are: - Alex Coates - Director of New Business & Account DevelopmentCDS- Caroline Sparkes - Growth Director, freeturnIntroduce yoursel...
  • BD Matters - Meet-up // Connecting Sales & Marketing

    BD Matters - Meet-up // Connecting Sales & Marketing

    This month the business development speakers are: - Alex Waite - Independent Consultant- Brad Smith - Founder Succeed DigitalAnswering...* In your experience...
  • BD Matters - Meet-up // How to win larger accounts

    BD Matters - Meet-up // How to win larger accounts

    This month we're talking to:⁣- Robert Craven - Founder, Grow Your Digital Agency Initiative- Alex Kirkpatrick - Managing Partner, Incite New BusinessToday we...
  • BD Matters - Meet-up // What does a career in BD look like?

    BD Matters - Meet-up // What does a career in BD look like?

    This month we're talking to:⁣- Camilla Honey - Managing Director at jfdi- Zoe Mitchell- Marketing & Growth Director at VaynerMedia London- Brad Smith - Direc...
  • BD Matters - Meet-up // Repositioning & Branding

    BD Matters - Meet-up // Repositioning & Branding

    This month we're talking to: - Jack Thompson, Founder @ Gingko Business DevelopmentJack's business development career started in media sales and has since wo...
  • BD Matters Monthly Meet up Katy Howell
    • 17/11/2021

    BD Matters Monthly Meet up Katy Howell

    Katy Howell - CEO, Immediate Future

  • How to tackle Big Pharma, Insider Tips!

    How to tackle Big Pharma, Insider Tips!

    What you'll see 👀

    Malik and Philipp from Bayer, a Global Pharma giant will cover:

    - Getting cold agency approaches right with procurement

    - How agencies can stand out and deliver a better service?

    - Procurement’s role in the buying process, and how to leverage it.

    - What are the major trends in the Pharma industry?

    Chris Jones, CEO at Space & Time facilitates.

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for our next Industry Interview. They're free! https://bit.ly/3WXDqcN

  • Kickstart your year with an agency and procurement bang

    Kickstart your year with an agency and procurement bang

    Besides the jokes, book recommendations and friendly debate between agency and procurement, we’re asking the following questions and a lot more!

    What's your biggest learning from 2022?

    What have you seen other people do that you've always wanted to try?

    What advice would you give to someone starting an agency now?

    Why is procurement so misunderstood?

    How can agencies better demonstrate DEI and sustainability?

    How can agencies form a better relationship with procurement?

    Have a watch and make sure you tune in for the next one.

  • BD Matters Industry Interview Marcus Elliot Brown

    BD Matters Industry Interview Marcus Elliot Brown

    Championing and improving perceptions of

    business development and sales. Join our monthly

    meet-ups to improve your skills.

    Our monthly industry influencer series features Marcus Elliot Brown, CEO, The Great Pitch Company.

    Since 2018, The Great Pitch Company purpose is to help businesses achieve profitable business growth through the power of a great pitch.

    Our Zoom meetup was Wednesday 4th May at 12pm.

  • BD Matters Industry Interview series features Léon Milns,

    BD Matters Industry Interview series features Léon Milns,

    Championing and improving perceptions of business development and sales. Join our monthly meet-ups to improve your skills.

    Our monthly industry influencer series features Léon Milns, co-founder and director at Adam Recruitment.

    Since 2005, Adam Recruitment have created a niche for themselves in the recruitment industry and built honest, transparent and valued relationships with their clients.

    Our Zoom meetup was Wednesday 6th April at 10am.!

  • Kabillan Navaratnarasa
  • BD Matters Industry Interview // Kathryn Strachan

    BD Matters Industry Interview // Kathryn Strachan

    Our October 2022 speaker was Kathryn Strachan, Founder and CEO of Copyhouse, a technology content marketing agency working with some of the largest tech brands in the world on copy and content.

    We chatted about Kathryn’s ‘accidental’ journey going from a freelance copywriter to growing an agency to 25 employees in 3 years and being valued at over £1 million. She shared her experience of niching hard post-pandemic after losing half their clients, as well as trialling a 4-day work week (spoiler alert: all is good!).

    We also discussed ghosting by prospects, personal branding, and much more.

  • BD Matters - Meet up // James Mulrennan

    BD Matters - Meet up // James Mulrennan

    Adam is joined by James Mulrennan, who is the Head of Social Media at LNER. James shared his knowledge of how agencies can get on the radar of bigger brands. We chatted about the power of social media and the best way to create strong client relationships.

  • BD Matters - Meet-up // New Biz Challenges in 2021

    BD Matters - Meet-up // New Biz Challenges in 2021

    This month we're talking to: - Brad Smith, Director & Founder @ Succeed Digital ConsultingBrad runs a digital consulting agency helping other agencies identi...