7 business development strategies for small businesses

When you’re running a startup or small business, growth is always top of mind.

The pressure to generate immediate revenue often pushes founders toward a relentless focus on sales, chasing the next customer, hitting this month’s targets, closing deals to keep the lights on.

But what about the opportunities beyond your direct sales pipeline?

The strategic partnerships that could open entirely new markets?

The ecosystem relationships that might transform your business model?

This is where business development comes in, not as a replacement for sales, but as a strategic complement that builds foundations for sustainable, long-term growth.

Frank Nawabi, co-Founder and general manager at Tenor (it was acquired by Google in 2018), leveraged this approach to secure partnerships with major platforms before the company’s successful acquisition.

In this article, you’ll discover his key insights for effective business development that creates value well beyond your next sale.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Business development vs sales: Understanding the difference

Before implementing any growth strategy, it’s essential to distinguish between these two critical but distinct functions:

• Business development operates as the strategic engine that fuels long-term growth. It focuses on identifying opportunities, building partnerships, exploring new markets, and driving innovation that expands your business’s reach and impact.
• Sales typically concentrates on transactional relationships and immediate revenue generation.

While both contribute to growth, they operate with different objectives, strategies, and metrics.

As Frank notes: “Business development is more than just sales and focuses on strategic long-term thinking and growth opportunities for the entire business operation.”

7 business development strategies to implement today

1. Embrace failure as a learning opportunity

Failure in business development comes in various forms, from losing a potential deal to inadequately researching customer needs.

Rather than avoiding failure, successful entrepreneurs recognise it as part of the journey and use it to refine their approach.

When you encounter setbacks, ask yourself:

• What specific factors contributed to this outcome?
• What information did I miss during my preparation?
• How can I integrate these lessons into future strategies?

Learning from these experiences enables you to make better decisions and move faster in subsequent business development efforts.

2. Build genuine relationships before pursuing deals

Strong relationships with customers, partners, and industry stakeholders form the backbone of effective business development.

Prioritise creating authentic connections based on mutual value rather than immediate gain.

“Friendship should come first, even before potential deals,” says Frank. “You should always be willing to help others when possible.”

This approach lays the groundwork for trust, which becomes invaluable when navigating complex partnership negotiations later.

3. Negotiate from a position of trust

When you’ve built genuine rapport with prospective partners, negotiation hurdles become significantly easier to overcome.

Trust-based negotiations tend to produce more favourable outcomes for both parties and create foundations for lasting partnerships.

Before entering any negotiation:

• Thoroughly understand your counterpart’s needs and motivations
• Clearly identify your non-negotiables and areas of flexibility
• Prepare to articulate mutual benefits beyond financial terms.

4. Gather diverse feedback to refine your strategy

Seeking input from various partners, even those outside your sector, helps identify what an ideal partnership looks like for your business and reveals valuable patterns that can shape your approach.

Create structured feedback loops to capture insights from:

• Current customers and partners
• Prospective clients who chose competitors
• Industry experts and advisors
• Team members with customer-facing roles.

Use this feedback to regularly refine your business development blueprint and adjust your targeting strategy.

5. Segment your audience for targeted outreach

Effective business development requires understanding your target audience at a granular level.

Leverage data analytics to segment your audience based on behaviours, needs, and preferences.

This segmentation enables you to:

• Tailor partnership proposals to specific partner requirements
• Identify underserved market segments with growth potential
• Allocate resources to the most promising opportunities
• Customise your value proposition for different stakeholder groups.

6. Focus on long-term strategic growth

While quarterly targets matter, sustainable business development requires a longer-term strategic roadmap that looks beyond immediate revenue.

Develop a comprehensive strategy that includes:

• Market expansion opportunities (new territories, segments, or verticals)
• Product diversification possibilities that complement your core offering
• Strategic partnership models that provide mutual growth opportunities
• Brand-building initiatives that strengthen your market position.

Remember that while sales can be part of your business development strategy, it shouldn’t be the sole focus.

7. Build your product with passion, not just for acquisition

“Avoid building a product solely with the intention of getting bought by a big company,” Frank cautions. “This mindset can lead to disappointment.”

Instead, create solutions that you and your customers genuinely care about.

This authentic approach not only produces better products but also creates more compelling partnership opportunities and potentially favourable acquisition scenarios when the timing is right.

Final thoughts

Successful business development is about adopting a mindset that balances strategic thinking with authentic relationship building.

By distinguishing between sales and business development functions, you can develop a more comprehensive approach to growth that positions your startup for long-term success.

When implemented thoughtfully, these strategies can help you build a resilient business capable of navigating challenges and capitalising on opportunities in today’s competitive marketplace.