{"id":5855,"date":"2013-12-12T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=3818"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:09:43","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:09:43","slug":"things-dont-scale-business-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/things-dont-scale-business-development","title":{"rendered":"Do things that don’t scale in business development"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day, someone named Jordan left a\u00a0comment on my post<\/a>\u00a0about the\u00a0Value Hypothesis<\/a>\u00a0that got me thinking. \u00a0Jordan wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a world of highly automated marketing and business development efforts to hundreds of prospects, how do you suggest we target each prospect individually while maintaining a high level of touches to reach a closed deal? Are there any best practices or tools we can use in both identifying an efficient value prop and do it on a large scale?<\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jordan\u2019s comment raises a great question:\u00a0Is it possible to automate the process of establishing genuine relationships based on a mutual exchange of value?<\/strong>
\nI say \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m an efficiency geek to the core, and I love to find ways to automate and eliminate as many of life\u2019s little tasks as possible. \u00a0But with the relationship-building necessary in business development, I find myself coming back to Paul Graham\u2019s famous dictum: \u201cDo things that don\u2019t scale.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking the time to craft a strong\u00a0Value Hypothesis\u00a0<\/a>is an investment. \u00a0Getting someone to care is the first step in getting them to listen, to buy, or to partner. \u00a0It is usually neither quick nor easy to research and digest the motivations of a\u00a0company and an individual<\/a>\u00a0to the point where you can clearly articulate why\u00a0they should care<\/a>\u00a0to spend their time on you. \u00a0But that investment is time well spent when you\u2019re able to cut right to the core of how your relationship can bring value to both sides.<\/p>\n

Of course, if you ask a dozen BD people what is their favorite CRM tool, you\u2019ll get a dozen different answers. \u00a0Tools make our lives easier, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with getting help to do our jobs. \u00a0What we must remember, however, is that a tool is just an extension of the person using it. Salesforce.com cannot tell you how to get someone\u2019s attention. \u00a0Yesware cannot turn someone into an advocate. \u00a0Those tools can help you track your progress as you navigate through a company\u2019s hallways, but it\u2019s up to you craft the message that\u00a0gets you in the door<\/a>\u00a0to begin with.<\/p>\n

There is only one way to streamline the processes of business development: invest your time wisely in uncovering the value that a deal brings to both sides, and free yourself from wasting breath on deals that don\u2019t truly matter. \u00a0Then you\u2019ll see how \u201cdoing things that don\u2019t scale\u201d can ultimately be the most efficient path after all.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The other day, someone named Jordan left a\u00a0comment on my post\u00a0about the\u00a0Value Hypothesis\u00a0that got me thinking. \u00a0Jordan wrote: \u201cIn a world of highly automated marketing and business development efforts to hundreds of prospects, how do you suggest we target each prospect individually while maintaining a high level of touches to reach a closed deal? Are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":925,"featured_media":34061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo things that don't scale in business development \u2014 Scott Pollack<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The other day, someone named Jordan left a\u00a0comment on my post\u00a0a\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/things-dont-scale-business-development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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