A business development method can help you be more effective in your job. Meet our student Martina and her search for an effective bd model.
In April 2020, in the middle of quarantine, we decided to offer our course in Italian. I am Italian…as you might have noticed and being away from my country and family during those days was challenging.
Reading the news and knowing the impact that the crisis was having on people, motivated us to do our part and do what we know best:
Sharing business development knowledge!
We quickly adjusted our course and translated it in Italian so talented professionals would have an easier access to our learning journey and get back on their feet quickly.
During those weeks we met so many interesting individuals, with big ambitions and so much talent. One of them is Martina Mantoan, a business development manager for Uqido, a software house based in Padova.
She is such an explosion of energy and motivation. Having her in the class gave us many insights into the Italian business development scene and we thought you had to meet her too.
So here we go with a new Student Story!
Related article: The Business Development Guide
Can you tell us a bit more about you?
Hi, I’m Martina and I’m a business development manager from Italy. During my teenage years, my biggest passion was volleyball. I’ve spent so many hours training and working very hard…until when, at the university, I discovered I had another passion: the digital world.
The opportunities that the internet and social media offer to companies, is really something I find fascinating.
So…with 23 kilos of luggage, I moved abroad to start my professional experience in an international startup. I immediately fell in love with the startup world, where everything changes fast and you can be part of the full process.
Your idea always counts.
A few years later, back in my hometown this “not techie at all girl” found out how exciting it could be to be part of a product development team. Being in the middle of designers, developers and the client’s expectation is something that I really love to do.
This was the main motivation to start working with software development companies. Something I try to bring also to my family local business, which is much more challenging because you fight against a traditional mindset.
In my free time I also play beachvolley (first love never dies), cuddle my cat and explore the world (when covid allows).
But I still need to figure out how to transform these passions in a proper job!
How did you start working in business development?
Since the beginning, my job title is “Business Development Manager”. The problem was:
Nobody really explained to me what the meaning was!
My tasks continuously change, so does my mission. But then I realized this is the exciting part of this role, you never get bored!
What’s the thing you love the most about your job?
I tend to get bored when I’ve to do repetitive jobs. As a business developer, this never happens: every project is different, and you can do so many activities, working with different people.
It’s not necessary to be a specialist, but you have to know a bit about everything. Studying and being informed of what is happening in your industry is a basic need.
You always have to have the full vision of what is going on, having in mind all the opportunities you could catch to solve a problem or a client’s request.
What are your main challenges as a Business Developer?
To me, the most challenging part is being able to build a trusted relationship with the leads/prospects.
In the last 4 years, I’ve been working as a business developer for software houses where all the digital projects are custom made for the client’s needs. The conversion from a lead to a client is a long way -more or less 2 months.
Before the prospect commits to start a project I really need to get into his needs. Most of the time even the prospect doesn’t really know what he needs so the challenge is also to help them to figure out what they need.
Another difficulty, to me, is to not get frustrated during the pre selling phase.
Why did you join The BD School?
The lockdown has been very stressful: I tried hardly to find a connection with leads.
I was struggling trying to understand why I wasn’t able to get the attention of my target. Was I making some mistakes? How could I improve my approach method?
So, when I found out about TBDS I thought it could be interesting to discover what other business developers were acting.
What’s the main outcome of your learning journey?
Surely the business development method. With the course I’ve learnt I need to have a strategy and after applying what I learned I was able to generate more leads for my company.
I learned that if you really want to achieve long term results, you need to have a plan. So, once again, I had the proof that the hard work always gives you back something.
It’s not easy to find a skilled business developer in Italy. Most people think it’s a sales role. However, business development is a totally different approach and I really appreciate having the chance to learn new strategies from other business developers.
The discussion with other professionals is really something I enjoyed. After the course I know there is a community I can share my doubts with.
What would you say to someone who is considering the course?
Even if you already are a business developer and even if you think you have a strategy, attending the course could be very helpful for several reasons.
First of all, sharing problems and frustrations is a good method to solve them. Then, you can test a different business development method and different tools. That was really enriching.
Last but not least, it helped me to push myself outside my comfort zone, trying new business experiments!
Would you like to have a solid business development method? Check our course and start your learning journey.
A business development method can help you be more effective in your job. Meet our student Martina and her search for an effective bd model.
In April 2020, in the middle of quarantine, we decided to offer our course in Italian. I am Italian…as you might have noticed and being away from my country and family during those days was challenging.
Reading the news and knowing the impact that the crisis was having on people, motivated us to do our part and do what we know best:
Sharing business development knowledge!
We quickly adjusted our course and translated it in Italian so talented professionals would have an easier access to our learning journey and get back on their feet quickly.
During those weeks we met so many interesting individuals, with big ambitions and so much talent. One of them is Martina Mantoan, a business development manager for Uqido, a software house based in Padova.
She is such an explosion of energy and motivation. Having her in the class gave us many insights into the Italian business development scene and we thought you had to meet her too.
So here we go with a new Student Story!
Related article: The Business Development Guide
Can you tell us a bit more about you?
Hi, I’m Martina and I’m a business development manager from Italy. During my teenage years, my biggest passion was volleyball. I’ve spent so many hours training and working very hard…until when, at the university, I discovered I had another passion: the digital world.
The opportunities that the internet and social media offer to companies, is really something I find fascinating.
So…with 23 kilos of luggage, I moved abroad to start my professional experience in an international startup. I immediately fell in love with the startup world, where everything changes fast and you can be part of the full process.
Your idea always counts.
A few years later, back in my hometown this “not techie at all girl” found out how exciting it could be to be part of a product development team. Being in the middle of designers, developers and the client’s expectation is something that I really love to do.
This was the main motivation to start working with software development companies. Something I try to bring also to my family local business, which is much more challenging because you fight against a traditional mindset.
In my free time I also play beachvolley (first love never dies), cuddle my cat and explore the world (when covid allows).
But I still need to figure out how to transform these passions in a proper job!
How did you start working in business development?
Since the beginning, my job title is “Business Development Manager”. The problem was:
Nobody really explained to me what the meaning was!
My tasks continuously change, so does my mission. But then I realized this is the exciting part of this role, you never get bored!
What’s the thing you love the most about your job?
I tend to get bored when I’ve to do repetitive jobs. As a business developer, this never happens: every project is different, and you can do so many activities, working with different people.
It’s not necessary to be a specialist, but you have to know a bit about everything. Studying and being informed of what is happening in your industry is a basic need.
You always have to have the full vision of what is going on, having in mind all the opportunities you could catch to solve a problem or a client’s request.
What are your main challenges as a Business Developer?
To me, the most challenging part is being able to build a trusted relationship with the leads/prospects.
In the last 4 years, I’ve been working as a business developer for software houses where all the digital projects are custom made for the client’s needs. The conversion from a lead to a client is a long way -more or less 2 months.
Before the prospect commits to start a project I really need to get into his needs. Most of the time even the prospect doesn’t really know what he needs so the challenge is also to help them to figure out what they need.
Another difficulty, to me, is to not get frustrated during the pre selling phase.
Why did you join The BD School?
The lockdown has been very stressful: I tried hardly to find a connection with leads.
I was struggling trying to understand why I wasn’t able to get the attention of my target. Was I making some mistakes? How could I improve my approach method?
So, when I found out about TBDS I thought it could be interesting to discover what other business developers were acting.
What’s the main outcome of your learning journey?
Surely the business development method. With the course I’ve learnt I need to have a strategy and after applying what I learned I was able to generate more leads for my company.
I learned that if you really want to achieve long term results, you need to have a plan. So, once again, I had the proof that the hard work always gives you back something.
It’s not easy to find a skilled business developer in Italy. Most people think it’s a sales role. However, business development is a totally different approach and I really appreciate having the chance to learn new strategies from other business developers.
The discussion with other professionals is really something I enjoyed. After the course I know there is a community I can share my doubts with.
What would you say to someone who is considering the course?
Even if you already are a business developer and even if you think you have a strategy, attending the course could be very helpful for several reasons.
First of all, sharing problems and frustrations is a good method to solve them. Then, you can test a different business development method and different tools. That was really enriching.
Last but not least, it helped me to push myself outside my comfort zone, trying new business experiments!
Would you like to have a solid business development method? Check our course and start your learning journey.
