ICT Business Development Managers
Identify and generate new ICT business opportunities to further improve market share and awareness by gaining an understanding of customers' ICT needs and promoting goods and services to these customers. May manage some key customer accounts.
A big deal and a bold promise
You are a business development manager at a software company, working on a large contract with a regional council. It is late in the quarter and the council could be your biggest client yet. The next two weeks will decide whether it signs, and several people want different things from you.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Your system looks great, but we need it to send automatic text alerts to residents. I assume that's coming soon? If you can say yes today, I'll push the contract through the committee.
Say yes, it is coming soon, because you will work out the details with the engineers later and the deal matters more
The contract is signed. Then the engineers tell you the feature is not planned, and the council holds you to your word. A promise you cannot keep is a debt that falls due later.
Say you will confirm with the product team and answer in writing within two days
Carmen appreciates your honesty, but the committee meets tomorrow and she cannot wait. A clear answer, even a no, would have helped her more than a delay.
Be clear the feature does not exist, explain what the system does today and offer a workaround she can judge
Carmen is disappointed but values the straight answer. The workaround covers most of what she needs, and she tells the committee exactly what they are buying.
The installation date I gave you is going to slip by two weeks. A problem turned up in testing. I know you promised the council the first of the month. Sorry, but I'd rather tell you now than lie later.
Tell the council the new date straight away, explain why, and offer a plan to keep them informed
The council is unhappy but not shocked, because they heard it from you first. A clear date and plan keep their trust. Bad news told early is far easier to carry.
Wait and see if the engineers can catch up, and say nothing yet
They do not catch up, and now you have less time to explain. The council hears the news late, and the delay looks worse than it is.
Push Priyanka to find a way to hit the date, even if it means testing less than you normally would before an install
The system goes in on time, with a fault that appears in the first week. A council office is left without its scheduling on a busy morning. Rushing the test cost you more than the delay would have.
A competitor has offered the council a much lower price. I need you to match it, even if it means losing money on the deal. We can't lose the biggest contract of the year. Make it happen.
Match it, because winning the contract is what matters most
You win the deal, but it costs the company more to deliver than it earns. You have taught the council that your price always bends, and next year they will ask for more.
Show Wendell what the company would lose and propose a fairer package that highlights your strengths
Wendell is not delighted but agrees to try. The council hears what your service includes that the competitor's does not. It is a harder conversation, but one the company can live with.
Refuse to discount and tell Wendell the council will just have to pay the full price
You protect the margin, but you have not given the council a reason to stay. Standing firm helps most when it comes with a clear story about value.
How it went
The council signs a deal that both sides understand, with no secrets. Business development in ICT is about listening closely, telling the truth about what a product can and cannot do and keeping promises in a fast moving field. Is that the kind of trust you could build?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The sale that got smaller
A fictional case set in a fictional software company that sells scheduling and records systems to schools and councils.
The situation
Rohan was a business development manager at Lumen Systems, which sells scheduling software. A small freight company asked him for the company's biggest package, because a competitor of theirs had bought it. Rohan spent a day at their depot and saw that they had five trucks, one dispatcher and a handful of drivers. The big package would have taken months to set up and most of it would never be used. His sales target for the quarter was close, and the larger sale would have helped.
What they did
Rohan told the owner what he had seen: the basic version would cover every need they had right now. He explained what would change if they grew, and how to upgrade later without starting over. He wrote this up in a short proposal and offered a short trial. His manager was disappointed, because the sale was smaller, but Rohan explained that a customer who stayed would be worth more.
How it turned out
The freight company took the smaller package and was up and running within a week. Two years later they had doubled their fleet and upgraded. They also recommended Lumen to a supplier in the same town, and Rohan's manager started asking for customer visits before quotes.
What would you do?
- Why might selling a customer less be a good business decision?
- What did Rohan learn by going to the depot instead of staying in the office?
- How would you feel telling your manager the sale was smaller than expected?