I agree with the article but would add that a lot of times sales people are hired under the "business development" umbrella simply to not call them "sales" people - most businesses don't want to be contacted by a sales person (except when you do know that you absolutely must acquire a certain widget).
At the same time, this isn't true for most startups: most startups by definition (given they do something new) don't sell existing must-have products but current nice-to-haves with a potential to become future must-haves if their transformative vision pans out.
yeah, that's absolutely true. Some people prefer to get the title of business development so they feel like they are doing something higher level and justify their education/credentials.
I've noticed also some startups don't call people sales people because then at conferences people aren't turned off by meeting a sales person. I'm not opposed to these tactics but just wanted to point out the functional/true differences.
Most startups are actually selling a better/different version of what does exist. Very few startups are truly category defining so as a result they are mostly doing sales. Business development as a result for most startups is really for getting distribution versus getting customers.
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I agree with the article but would add that a lot of times sales people are hired under the "business development" umbrella simply to not call them "sales" people - most businesses don't want to be contacted by a sales person (except when you do know that you absolutely must acquire a certain widget). At the same time, this isn't true for most startups: most startups by definition (given they do something new) don't sell existing must-have products but current nice-to-haves with a potential to become future must-haves if their transformative vision pans out.
yeah, that's absolutely true. Some people prefer to get the title of business development so they feel like they are doing something higher level and justify their education/credentials.
I've noticed also some startups don't call people sales people because then at conferences people aren't turned off by meeting a sales person. I'm not opposed to these tactics but just wanted to point out the functional/true differences.
Most startups are actually selling a better/different version of what does exist. Very few startups are truly category defining so as a result they are mostly doing sales. Business development as a result for most startups is really for getting distribution versus getting customers.