What Does a Business Development Consultant Do? Development Management Consultants Job Description
Starting a new business can be an incredibly exciting venture. The possibilities that are open to you are virtually endless, and that can be a tremendously encouraging prospect. However, as exciting as this may be, there are many, many factors that need to be taken into consideration.
While anyone can theoretically start and run a company, the seemingly endless list of tasks and requirements that need to be filled can become overwhelming rather quickly. For extra help during this initial setup process, many business owners turn towards the use of a business development consultant.
The world of development consulting is actually quite expansive and can be extremely beneficial to new and upcoming owners of a company. Business development consultancy is a field that covers a pretty wide array of various tasks, and we’re going to try and break down everything there is to know about business development consultants.
The field itself is rather expansive, and there just might be more to it than you initially thought. No matter how much existing knowledge you have on development consulting, we’ve got everything that you could possibly want to know about the job, what it entails, and more.
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What Exactly Does a Business Development Consultant Do?
We mentioned in the introduction to this article that business development consultants are frequently hired by new and small businesses when things are just starting to get up off of the ground. The process of creating your own business may be one of the most daunting challenges of your professional career.
While the payout is most definitely worth it if you end up successful, that’s not to say that there isn’t a great deal of work involved to get there.
So, oftentimes, to ensure that operations run smoothly and effectively, new business owners will contact a business development consultancy firm to enlist the help of a business professional.
According to Business News Daily, business development consultants are trained professionals who strategically analyze the business world and then use that gathered information to establish effective plans of action for their clients to take.
Some of the various development consulting duties that take place include:
- Seeking out problems that currently exist within a company
- Providing clear and precise instructions to employees on how to handle certain things
- Providing an expert opinion/outlook on the market that the business is involved in
- Take charge of any tasks that are undesirable (such as firing staff members that are not necessary for the success of the company)
- Breathing new life and energy into a new or struggling company; acting as a sort of catalyst to get the ball rolling in the direction of a positive outlook
Although a business development consultant’s duties are not strictly limited to the ones that are mentioned above, these are some of the most common ones that are frequently needed from these types of business professionals.
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The First Step Every Business Development Consultant Must Take
Image Source: Business Development Consultant
When you bake a cake, you can’t start things out by adding sprinkles. You first need to create a firm and bountiful batter. Just like with a tasty cake, development management consultants have a series of steps they must take in a specific order to make things work.
The very first step in this process is what many people call “the discovery phase.” The discovery phase is essentially the process is which a business development consultant learns everything that there is to know about the company that he/she is working for. Good development consulting can’t take place if the consultant has little knowledge about the business he/she is working with, so a great deal of emphasis is often placed on this step.
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Just what kind of information does a business development consultant absorb during this process?
- He/she creates a deep and healthy understanding of not only the owner/manager behind the company but also all of the employees that work there. This helps form a better understanding of what kind of people are behind the company – something that can often affect the entire business as a whole.
- Another key factor for a business development consultant during this process is to look over the company’s financial history and current finance system that is in place. This can be especially beneficial for not only up-and-coming businesses but also for those that are experiencing financial woes.
- To take this step to the next level, many consultants will go as far as to read any available company manuals/marketing materials as well as take an initial tour of the office or factory that the business is being run out of. Development consulting is all about raking a fine comb through as much information as possible. So the more data a consultant is able to grab, the better.
Making Changes Where Necessary
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” While that can be a good rule to live by, you also need to think of the opposite meaning for it as well. If something is broke or not working the way it should, you should fix it as soon as possible!
This may seem like an obvious point when you’re reading about it, but it can oftentimes be difficult to notice things that go astray in your company if you’re the owner behind it.
This is another reason as to why businesses often enlist the work and talents of business development consultancy professionals. A new set of eyes that are trained to look for ineffective processes and management styles can often be the key to breathing new and positive life into your company, and this is another area where a business development consultant may be able to provide a great deal to a new or struggling company.
After the discovery phase has been completed, a business development consultant is able to move on to the next part of the consulting plan. This next phase is all about seeking out any wrongdoings that are going on in a company and fixing them by whatever means necessary.
In fact, there are two main types of problems that development management consultants typically keep an eye out for during this process:
- Problems that have already been observed and noted by the company. These are issues the company is currently aware of and is more than likely part of the reason as to why it hired a business development consultant in the first place.
- New and potential problems that the company is not yet aware of. While new business owners certainly have a knowledge of how a business works, it’s nothing compared to the expertise that development management consultants possess. These potential problems are ones that are not currently affecting the company but could cause serious trouble if not dealt with right away.
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Time to Take Action
Once the current and potential issues have been established, it is time for the next course of action to take place. And, coincidentally, that course of action is for action to be taken!
After identifying any and all problems that a company is facing, a business development consultant will then set out to remedy these issues. This is most commonly accomplished by creating a plan of action that has the main focus on solving these issues in the best way possible. These plans will vary and differ between every single company, and that’s one of the biggest reasons as to why development consulting is such a wide and expansive field in the business world.
No two companies are ever alike, and no two problems that a company faces are ever similar as well. Each client that a business development consultant works for comes with his/her own unique set of problems, priorities, goals, and characteristics. Due to this, a business consultant needs to be able to draft up a plan that is created and adapted specifically for the client that he/she is working for at that time.
Being Critical for the Benefit of the Company
Image Source: Business Consultant
No matter where you are in your life, chances are you’ve received your fair share of criticism here and there throughout your days. That criticism might have been constructive, and it could have been negative with no good intentions behind it at all. Additionally, it could have come from a sibling of yours or been received from a past boss.
Whatever the case may be, everyone has had to deal with criticism on some level throughout some point in their lives. And, thanks to human nature, people don’t always respond well to criticism when it is delivered. However, constructive criticism is huge part of a business development consultant’s job.
The perspective of a business development consultant and the perspective of the owner of a business are two of the most drastically different things out there. A business consultant will have a new and fresh point of view of the company that it probably hasn’t gotten in quite some time. The consultant will be able to see things from a more professional point of view, and this allows him/her to identify problems that are often overlooked by people currently involved with said company.
On the other hand, the owner or manager behind a new or small business will see things from a very personal perspective. The owner has poured blood, sweat, and tears into the company, so accepting the fact that extra, outside help is needed doesn’t always come easy.
One of the biggest duties of a business development consultant is to seek out issues that the company is facing and correct them immediately. These problems often occur due to poor management or implementations of certain processes, and it is the job of the consultant to bring these issues to light for the owner of the company that he/she is doing consulting work for.
What’s important to remember here is that a business development consultant will only deliver criticism with good intentions for the company. Great business consultants should want to see their clients’ businesses soar with tremendous amounts of success, so if something needs to be corrected or fixed, they’ll make sure that the owner/manager is well aware of it.
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Bringing Solid Business Practices to Fresh Startups
It’s no secret at all that starting a business from the ground up can be one of the most exciting and rewarding paths to choose when looking to take that next step in your professional career. And, thanks to the advancements that technology has made, creating and starting your own business is easier than it has ever been. However, that doesn’t mean that running and maintaining a business has gotten any easier.
Many of these new and fresh startups come from people who are extremely knowledgeable in the field that their business is involved with but don’t have a lick of expertise or experience when it comes to the world of business. That may sound a bit harsh, but it’s the cold, hard truth. And, unfortunately, it often means that these new and upcoming companies face serious issues the second they start picking up steam.
Due to this, consulting business development professionals is often the one and only saving grace for these kinds of companies. While these new business owners may be experts when it comes to their latest product or service, development management consultants are the real experts when it comes to managing and running an effective and successful company.
Since these consultants are labeled as such successful professionals, what are some of the specific types of practices that they bring to the table? Here are some of the most popular examples:
- One of the most critical parts of any business is knowing how to create and maintain leads. If a business development consultant is dealing with a company that is involved with sales in any way, shape or form, this can be the deciding factor as to whether or not a company will ever see any real form of success.
- While leads are definitely important when looking at sales, something that’s just as critical is knowing how to close a deal. If necessary, development management consultants will show companies exactly how to wrap up and close a deal once a business has made contact with a fresh client.
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Summary
So, after all that is said and done, it’s quite apparent that a business development consultant has a lot more on his/her plate than you may have initially thought! While it can be easy to simply describe the job as someone who helps new and struggling businesses, it’s visible through this article that there’s a lot more to it than just that. Some of the key points of a business consultant’s job are the following:
- Develop a deep and clear understanding of the company, who’s behind it, and what it stands for.
- Seek out any problems the company is facing – both current and potential ones.
- Help young companies become aware of tried-and-true business practices that are critical to running a successful company.
The role of a business development consultant may not be the flashiest one out there, but there is simply no denying its importance in the business world. These individuals can be key factors to whether or not a new company fails or succeeds, and we think that’s pretty amazing.
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