What does integrity in business development mean?

No business can survive without new business. Period. You have to get out there and connect with new people to keep your business alive and the bigger your company is the more hands you need on deck to do it. But when there aren’t enough hands on deck, the hands you do have are in danger of making decisions just to make a sale. Decisions that could put your business on the wrong path if there isn’t a standard of integrity in business development, sales, and marketing.

Napoleon Hill said, “When you are able to maintain your own highest standards of integrity — regardless of what others may do –you are destined for greatness.”

If your LinkedIn feed is anything like mine, it’s bombarded with people like me just trying to be smart on the internet. The meta irony is not lost on me. The reason we do it is because content supports domain authority. There really isn’t a better way to accomplish this today. But what I believe separates the good stuff from the stuff I ignore is the level of authenticity coming from the author.

Authenticity and integrity go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. You cannot be authentic without having a line that you don’t cross.

With business development the goal is to find the people who have a reason to have a conversation with you. That reason doesn’t have to always be they are interested in your product. It should be more often than not. It would be great if every conversation was about discovery of your product but that’s just not the reality of so many interactions. For business development to be successful you have to have a network of people who can rely on you for value without the expectation of getting anything in return. If all you do is pitch pitch pitch that is the equivalent of take take take. You only get what you give. So give more! That’s integrity. Being resolute in your determination to give more than you take from this world.

Every now and then you’ll catch advise from someone that makes you uncomfortable and what they will tell you is get over it. That their method works and even though it’s uncomfortable and everybody hates doing it, you have to do it if you want to succeed.

That’s old sales talking. And if it makes you feel slimy then it IS slimy! Don’t just do something because it works. Do something because it’s right. Listen to yourself. There is a difference, however, in stepping outside of your comfort zone to try something new and ignoring your principles. Trying something new that feels morally right but makes you nervous to execute is ok. It makes you nervous because you think you’ll be awkward at it. And you will be until you get reps in. But if you are against a tactic because you think it’s wrong, don’t do it. Find a better way. That’s integrity.

Hi, my name is Torlando. I’m the author of this article. If you liked it please subscribe. I serve as the director of business development for Periodic.is. Our philosophy when it comes to business development surrounds the importance of having honest conversations. In fact, when we design conversion funnels for our clients the call to action is usually centered around booking a conversation if it’s not actually completing the sale. Conversation is king, and if you’re not ready to have an honest conversation, you’re not ready to sell or serve. If you feel like you’re having a hard time getting your sales team over the hurdle of getting to real conversations, let’s talk about it. You can get on my schedule at Torlando.Periodic.Site.