What Business Development REALLY Means, According to Mark Harris

Mo asks Mark Harris: What is your personal definition of business development?

• Business development means something different to everybody. For Mark, it’s all about helping people understand what their needs are (teaching) and then once you find that out it’s helping them find the solution they need.
• Mark focuses on one phrase when going into the first meeting with someone, specifically being “humbly curious”. He’s simply looking to understand what motivates someone and where they are coming from, and what’s going to help them.
• Nobody wants to be sold, but everybody likes to buy, especially from people they like. Focusing on the sale is a short-term strategy.
• Sometimes the right thing is to not sell something. If things aren’t a good fit now but might be later, being upfront and telling the prospect the truth is how you can build trust and empathy and secure a valuable long-term relationship.
• Ask as many questions as you can. When you can train your mind to ask questions and be humbly curious, the world is your oyster and you can bring value to that organization at all times.

Mentioned in this Episode:

GrowBIGPlaybook.com

Mark_C_Harris@glic.com

linkedin.com/in/mark-harris-9ba1b53