In business development, it's all about the timing.

A highlight of my walk home from my office is a shortcut through a small park for a little blast of nature.

 

Last week, as I walked into the park, a newly-walking toddler headed towards me with his tall dad trailing behind. 

 

The toddler lifted his arm, fingers aimed high, wrist rotating, and waved to me. It was awesome. Of course, I waved right back and said hello.

 

Then the dad said something interesting.

 

“Good wave, Buddy. Good timing on the wave.”

 

Realizing that this recognition was a little unusual, he looked over to me and said: “He usually waves after the person has walked by.”

 

Ah. Indeed. That was good timing on the wave. 👋

 

How’s your timing?

When you’re talking to a sponsor or other collaborator, do you know what to say and when to say it?

One blind spot that can really trip us up when we’re in business development is confusion about where we are in a conversation and where we’re trying to go.

 

Of course, no sales discussion is perfectly linear. However, we can generally point to certain markers that can tell us we’re heading in the right direction.

 

You don’t want to rush—akin to being asked to get married on a first date. And you don’t want to wander aimlessly either.

 

What’s going on in your process? What are your markers or guideposts? What do they tell you about what to say next? To where are you leading your potential collaborator?

Upcoming workshop

If you want to learn more about working with corporations and ways you can expand your corporate portfolio, join me for a webinar hosted by PANO on March 24, 2022, 1-2 p.m. EST, called Expand Your Corporate Portfolio: More Ways to Collaborate with Corporations. To learn more and register, click here.