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Here’s my idea of a Business Development Dream…

• You’re working on major new business opportunities (industrial controls for process.)  And you need a competitive edge.

• Suddenly, you can represent one of the biggest construction companies in the world.

• The Texas division of that company is dedicated to your specialty.  And it’s the company’s first provider of controls and automation systems… invited to every construction project in this hemisphere.

• Money is never a problem.  Every project is funded.

• And the Texas division wants to grow revenue in a solid and serious way. (Construction included.) Right now.

• Texas is hiring.

• Oh, yeah.  And this is a management position, reporting directly to the Texas CEO.

I rarely see a combination of events come together so powerfully.  Here’s the situation…

First, let’s say you’re the real deal. OK, you are the real deal. You know the service you’re selling. (In this case, it’s design and installation of industrial controls systems for process. Oil and Gas, specialty chemical, industries like that.) Maybe you were a Senior Automations Engineer at one point, and then maybe a Project Manager. Possibly you’re a EE.

Anyway, you know your stuff – because you’ve designed, installed, repaired, lived and breathed industrial controls.

And, like so many engineers over the last five or ten years, your boss called you in one day and said times were hard, business was slow, and maybe you’d like to do something called Business Development. At the time, you thought Business Development meant “save your job,” and so you gave it a shot.

And much to your surprise, you were pretty good at this Business Development thing. You went out and made some friends, you made some dumb mistakes early on, and you kind of figured it out all on your own.

OOPS, TOO GOOD – (HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?)

In fact, you concentrated so hard to avoid screwing up this Business Development deal, that you actually got really, really good at it. You made serious connections, you realized that “getting a chance to bid” is just nuts, and you starting locking on to new business before regular sales guys could even get a whiff of it.

One day, you realized that nobody in your company understood how far along you had come. The head of the company was mystified about the business you were proposing. Nobody took you seriously. You had to go out and partner with the competition, just to be able to write a proposal.

Worse, when you had ready-to-go action, the president didn’t even understand it. Besides, the company didn’t have enough money or talent to accept the contract anyway.

(It’s OK. I’ve only heard this story fifty times or so…)

HERE COME’S THE ANSWER TO YOUR DREAMS

Now imagine some remarkable circumstances that started over twenty years ago. A company decides to get really good at the controls business. And they become the go-to guys in their niche. And they grow. Quietly. Business Development is done by the founders. No big sales effort. They just do a solid job of building their company.

They do such a good job that they can position the company for sale to one of the biggest construction outfits in the world. And it works.

Now, how’s this for beating the odds… The acquisition goes great. Everybody gets a little promotion, and nobody leaves! The buyer likes the seller. The seller likes the buyer. And they just keep right on going.

With one little difference.

Suddenly, there’s no project on the face of the earth that’s too big.

And the Business Development Dream begins.

JOINING THE BIG LEAGUES

So, when we started, I said let’s imagine you’re the real deal in Business Development. You know your stuff, you know who’s buying, and you’ve got monster orders stuck in your back pocket, ready to go. (Alright, I just added that part.)

So, you’ve still got to find somebody who wants you on board. Who appreciates what you’re doing. Someone dead serious about moving ahead with numbers most integrators never get to see.

That somebody had better be a rock solid outfit that does it all. Not just the controls installation, but the entire construction project. The whole thing. After all, that’s how you turn in killer numbers.

There better be a full team of professionals, too. We don’t want one of those engineering shells that’s all logo and no staff. We need the whole team – no recession scars. These guys have to be fully prepared to do the work you close.

And funding is never an issue. Never.

WIDE AWAKE

Come closer. I want to show you something.

This isn’t some pitch for a company that needs to build sales just to stay in business. We’ve seen those, you and I.

This is something different. I’ve watched this team build a powerhouse over the last decade. Now, they’re sitting with all these resources, saying, “Well, I guess we’d better do something with it.”

They’ve moved into the Big Time in a way that’s probably new to them. They’ve been on the edge of it for years. Now they’re on stage.

Time to step up to the action.

THE OPPORTUNITY

So, they ask me if I know a Business Development pro. Not somebody who knows how to make friends. Somebody who already has friends. Not somebody who knows how to develop opportunities. Somebody who can walk them right up to the table and start writing deals.

They have the credentials. It’s just that the world has never seen them this way before.

And we’re not just talking Business Development like you might be used to.

This is Business Development with an existing team of Business Development people who are also caught a little by surprise. They, too, would appreciate an assist, helping to lift them to the next level where you are.

Yeah, it’s a management position, as long as you don’t take your eye off the ball.

The group has to focus on writing $100 million of business a year.

Suddenly, you wake up to the idea that this can really happen.

You know the business is out there.

And so am I…

Ted Dieck
Recruiter
(954) 915-0000

careers@dieck.us