sales strategy Archives • NYC Executive Coaching

From my associate, Dan Elliot

Did you know that 80% of new businesses fail within the first five years due to poor sales strategies?

Did you also know that 71.4% of all statistics like that are made up on the spot?

Regardless of the numbers, the underlying truth remains: sales drive business success. Without a solid sales strategy, businesses—at any stage—struggle to survive.

A successful sales strategy is two-pronged. On one side is business development, which focuses on long-term growth by identifying market opportunities, forming strategic partnerships, and building high-value relationships. On the other side is sales—the tactical engine that engages with prospects, addresses their needs, and converts them into paying customers.

Think of it this way: business development is the fisherman, casting the net and bringing in the catch. Sales is the chef, turning the catch into a satisfying, profitable meal. Both are essential to the experience.

Understanding Sales and Business Development

SALES

The primary goal of sales is to generate revenue by converting prospects into customers. Effective sales professionals build trust, uncover needs through thoughtful questions, and present compelling solutions—while also managing objections and guiding prospects toward commitment.

Key qualities include:

Persuasive communication
Active listening and emotional intelligence
Strong negotiation skills
Resilience and adaptability
Mastery of time management and product knowledge

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

The aim of business development is to identify growth opportunities, explore new markets, and ensure a steady sales pipeline. Business developers research industry trends, target prospects, and forge strategic relationships—often through networking, outreach, and partnerships.

Key traits include:

Strong communication and relationship-building skills
Strategic thinking and market analysis
Persistence and resilience
Ability to collaborate across departments

Strategies for Success

‍SALES

Know your customer. Research prospects thoroughly using digital tools and social media. Understanding their needs and interests enables stronger rapport and better positioning.
Consult, don’t push. Shift from selling to helping. Guide prospects to the right solution rather than pressing a sale.
Leverage technology. CRMs are vital for managing pipelines and follow-ups. A.I.-powered tools now boost productivity by capturing meeting notes, assigning tasks, and generating follow-up emails—all integrated seamlessly into the sales process.

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Expand your network. Attend industry events and use platforms like LinkedIn to connect with decision-makers. Referrals and strategic collaborations often begin with a simple introduction.
Be proactive. Stay alert to trends and new market needs. Innovation and timely execution open doors to growth.
Collaborate across functions. Business development professionals must work closely with sales, marketing, and product teams to keep messaging clear and consistent.

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Case Study: BladeCycle

Founded in 2022, BladeCycle tackles the challenge of wind turbine blade disposal with an eco-friendly recycling process that eliminates the use of heat and chemicals. Their innovation produces a high-performance fiber used in concrete and asphalt, improving durability and sustainability.

BladeCycle’s success story is rooted in its strategic sales and business development efforts. The business development team formed a partnership with a regional concrete producer, gaining access to construction firms eager for sustainable solutions. Concurrently, the sales team launched a targeted social media campaign emphasizing the environmental and performance benefits, showcasing real-world applications—from bike trails to neighborhood streets.

The results were powerful: the partnership generated a steady sales channel, while online efforts sparked interest from contractors and municipalities. Within a year, BladeCycle secured over 20 infrastructure projects. The alignment between business development and sales ensured consistent messaging around cost savings, performance, and sustainability.

BladeCycle exemplifies how strategic alignment between sales and business development accelerates growth.

When sales and business development work in concert, businesses enjoy a steady stream of opportunities, efficient execution, and lasting client relationships. In today’s competitive landscape, mastering both functions isn’t just an edge—it’s essential.

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Note: The company featured in this case study is a fictional entity created for illustrative purposes. It is not based on any real-world organization, and the scenario presented is a hypothetical example designed to demonstrate key concepts and provide a representative use case.

From my associate Grant Tate.

Understanding your clients/customers is the foundation of business development. Successful business development and sales depend on deeply understanding potential clients’ needs, preferences, and expectations. Integrating Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) can significantly enhance your ability to create precise and comprehensive client profiles, streamline sales strategies, and proactively address client requirements.

I agree. Deeply understanding are the key words. Years ago, one of my colleagues suggested that one should not “over research” a client because too much information would lead to confirmation bias, thus limiting your ability to ask open questions. Well, that’s one point of view. But going in naked without preparation was not my style. And, after all, wouldn’t a prospective client expect you to have done your homework?

‍That homework in the past included viewing the prospect’s website, public documents, investment reports, lists of products and services, news sources, LinkedIn profiles, and other sources. The process might have taken days to collect the information, copy it, and create a folder or binder.

‍Working with my trusty A.I. partner, that multi-hour process can now be accomplished in less than an hour.

‍Using ChatGPT, I set up a project that captures my uploads and facilitates multiple chats. Within this project, we will build a model of the prospective company.

‍We start a conversation. Not a “magical prompt.” A conversation.

‍Let’s start with the company’s website. Most of my clients are private companies with moderately-sized websites. We ask A.I. to download, extract, and analyze the website, describing the contents in detail. If my prospect is a division of the company, we could focus only on that portion of the site.

‍At this stage, A.I. and I discuss the market, the products and services, the company leaders, etc. That opens the door to ask A.I. to search its sources for more information about these topics, for instance, significant announcements, competitors, market outlook, significant issues, etc. From that, we can delineate significant challenges the business faces and its prospects for the future.

At this point, I usually ask for a preliminary SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

‍If I am scheduled for a meeting with the CEO, for instance, A.I. can develop a detailed profile of that person, using LinkedIn and other sources. A.I. can prepare an outline of the interview session, including questions, cautions, primary focus of the meeting.

‍We may have identified other documents from past work—our own work products, processes, or techniques. I can add these to the A.I. project to help AI further prepare its answers.

‍Now, suppose new information has arrived—an email from the prospective client that lists some objectives of our upcoming meeting and a paragraph of her main concerns about the company. We upload that document to the A.I. project along with any other information we gathered. From this and the analysis so far, in conjunction with A.I., we can derive goals for a possible project for the client.

‍As you can see, the sophistication of the “model” is growing as we add additional data. Also, my questions and interactions are helping A.I. learn about my views and objectives about the project.

‍Now we can ask A.I. to develop a detailed program description for the client’s program with a detailed step-by-step process, and a timeline for implementation. If you have added your schedule of service or product fees to the A.I. project space, then you can proceed to ask A.I. for a complete proposal package.

‍At its core, business development is about relationships. People want to work with businesses that understand them and bring real value to the table. A.I. doesn’t replace that human connection—it strengthens it by giving you the insights and tools to show up prepared, engaged, and ready to help. And in today’s competitive world, that’s what really makes the difference.

‍At the beginning, I mentioned this was a conversation. Treating your interaction with A.I. as a conversation will expand your thinking and yield amazing results. Give it a try.