8 Key Questions to Help You Discover Your Strengths in Business Development

By Lou Sokolovskiy

Have you ever dreamed of possessing a superpower? What if I were to tell you that you already wield one that can elevate your success and happiness in your career and life—even if you are unaware of it?

Business development is essential for revenue generation and career advancement, but it can pose challenges for many professionals. Amid long hours and other critical work responsibilities, it can seem downright daunting.

Luckily, each of us harbors a distinctive talent, a superpower, that can be utilized to help us succeed. Some radiate positive energy that lights up a room upon entry, while others are astute analysts who can solve critical problems for their contacts, thus providing value. My own superpower is matchmaking—I’m like a modern-day yenta in the mergers and acquisitions world. The ripple effect of making connections has resulted in multiple returns for my own business.

To discover your own unique business development strength or superpower, here are eight questions to ask yourself.

Uncovering your unique talents in business development

1. What are your strengths?

What are you good at? Do you have any talents or special abilities? For instance, if you are a great public speaker, can you find opportunities to speak at conferences or serve on an expert panel? If you are a great writer, perhaps you can create a monthly newsletter with valuable tips and updates. Make a list of your unique strengths and think about how you can use them to your advantage.

2. What are your weaknesses?

Acknowledge your limitations by making a list of your weaknesses and then think about ways that you can transform them into advantages. At age 18, I immigrated from the former USSR to the United States, leaving behind my established network. To make up for this deficit, during business school, I tirelessly formed connections, amassing business cards at events and digitizing them, leading to my now extensive and robust network.

3. What opportunities are available to you?

Leverage available resources for maximum impact. If your business has a budget for business development, use it. Think about your existing connections and how you can provide mutual value. For example, imagine your cousin owns a winery. You could set up a semiannual, exclusive, private wine tasting event for key clients, investors, and contacts.

4. What are you passionate about?

What are your interests, your passions, the things that bring you joy? What feels easy and fun? When you engage in activities that you genuinely enjoy, you tend to perform better and are more resilient when your efforts do not lead to an immediate return.

For example, I started a book club last year because I wanted to read more books and needed some accountability. Whether or not the people in the club end up referring me business (which several of them have) doesn’t matter to me, because I am having fun and doing something enjoy.

5. How can you add value to people’s lives?

Do you have any special knowledge, skills, or expertise that can add value to people’s lives? This does not necessarily have to be related to your job or your company. I have a friend who is a serious foodie. He emails his contacts a newsletter with reviews, critiques, and suggestions, thus becoming the go-to guy for restaurant recommendations within his network. By providing this value, he creates exposure, maintains connections, and generates goodwill.

6. What do your contacts need most?

When someone introduces me to a connection that leads to a deal or a sale, I am definitely going to remember it and try to return the favor. On the other hand, if someone were to send me an article, I may have already read it or I'm not interested in reading it. Your job is to assess your contacts, figure out what they need and value most, and then provide that. Do they need another forwarded article about market trends? Or will they be more likely to remember you if you help their college-age daughter get an internship?

7. How can you maximize your exposure?

Speaking of college, when I was an undergraduate there was a party I wanted to attend that I didn’t get invited to. So...I threw my own party! Turns out, I was pretty good at it, so I kept it up throughout college and business school. Now I run a professional networking organization where my job is to organize events and bring people together.

Broader exposure enhances your impact and fosters meaningful connections. When you attend an event, your exposure is limited to the people you meet or talk to during the event. When you speak at an event, you broaden your exposure to your audience. And when you organize an event, you get exposure to every single attendee. Think about ways that you can use your own superpower to increase or broaden your exposure.

8. What do you have time for?

Doing more when it comes to business development isn’t always a good thing. The key to succeeding at business development is finding the sweet spot to maximize results while minimizing costs, such as your time and energy, money, and opportunity costs.

Over time, you can strategize ways to reduce the cost of your superpower even further by delegating or automating certain aspects. Eventually, your superpower can become so valuable that you can start to charge for it. In my case, what started out as a college party is now a seven-figure business.

Unleash your business development superpower

Unleashing your business development strengths can revolutionize your career. I recommend that you delve into these questions by brainstorming, looking for patterns and themes, and thinking about how to translate that information into an actionable strategy. Finally, don’t hesitate to ask for feedback, assistance and coaching if it isn’t readily apparent.

FAQs on how to uncover your business development strengths

About the Author

Post by: Lou Sokolovskiy

Lou Sokolovskiy is a serial entrepreneur with extensive private equity transaction experience. He is the founder of multiple entrepreneurial ventures in the technology arena, and has unique expertise in operations management, strategic partnerships, and new business development. He is a former consultant who has advised many companies in the healthcare management, finance, and technology industries on improving operations and corporate strategy. Lou is the founder of professional networking organization Opus Connect, and is an active member in numerous nonprofit organizations. Lou holds a BS from USC and an MBA from UCLA.

Company: Opus Connect
Website: www.opusconnect.com
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