Business Development Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Business Development Managers, Sales Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-S-058

Before you join: Participants should have at least one year of experience in a customer-facing commercial, sales, account management, partnership or advisory role.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Business development teams are expected to create qualified growth opportunities, open strategic accounts and turn market insight into revenue. This requires more than prospecting activity. Practitioners must identify attractive segments, understand buying groups, articulate commercial value, qualify opportunities rigorously and coordinate internal specialists through lengthy or complex sales cycles. Weak qualification, generic propositions and poorly managed pipelines waste selling time and reduce forecast reliability.

This five-day Business Development Training Course develops the methods used to build and progress high-value opportunities. Participants examine market and account prioritisation, customer research, stakeholder mapping, value proposition design, consultative discovery, prospecting, opportunity qualification, account planning, proposal development, negotiation and pipeline management. They apply recognised frameworks including PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces, Ansoff Matrix, SPIN Selling and MEDDICC to commercial situations such as public-sector tenders, banking solutions, technology services and B2B outsourcing contracts.

Instruction combines concise tutor briefings with case analysis, group work, sales conversations, account-planning simulations and structured peer feedback. Participants work with realistic customer information, commercial constraints and competitive scenarios rather than generic sales examples. They leave with a reusable business development toolkit containing target-account criteria, stakeholder maps, discovery questions, qualification records, an account plan and a 90-day business development action plan.

The course is suited to professionals who already work with customers, prospects or commercial partners and need a more disciplined approach to pursuing complex B2B opportunities. It is particularly relevant where buying decisions involve multiple stakeholders, formal procurement, long sales cycles or substantial contract values.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess market attractiveness using PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces and Ansoff Matrix
  • Prioritise target accounts using commercial fit, buying potential and access criteria
  • Map buying committees and create stakeholder engagement strategies
  • Conduct SPIN-based discovery conversations that uncover business needs and decision drivers
  • Construct quantified value propositions linked to customer outcomes and financial impact
  • Qualify opportunities using MEDDICC criteria and define realistic next actions
  • Prepare account plans, proposals and negotiation strategies for complex sales opportunities
  • Manage pipeline stages, sales forecasts and 90-day business development actions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build credible target-account plans for strategic prospects and existing customers
  • Conduct discovery meetings with clearer questions and stronger commercial purpose
  • Recognise weak opportunities before investing excessive time and internal resources
  • Present customer value in operational, financial and risk-management terms
  • Improve confidence when coordinating decision-makers, technical colleagues and procurement teams

For your organisation

  • Improves opportunity quality before costly proposal and specialist-resource commitments
  • Increases consistency in account selection, qualification and sales-stage definitions
  • Strengthens forecast accuracy through evidence-based pipeline reviews
  • Creates clearer customer value propositions against competitor and price pressure
  • Supports cross-functional pursuit teams working on strategic accounts and tenders

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify attractive markets and select target accounts using clear commercial criteria.

  • Business development remit, revenue model and commercial objectives aligned
  • Growth choices assessed through Ansoff Matrix and market attractiveness
  • PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces structure external market analysis
  • Stakeholder maps identify economic buyers, users, champions and blockers
  • Customer segments prioritised using needs, potential, access and strategic fit
  • Account selection criteria convert market analysis into target-account lists

Participants can research customers and form evidence-based hypotheses about their commercial priorities.

  • Annual reports, investor presentations and procurement notices reveal priorities
  • Customer business models mapped through revenue, cost, risk and capability
  • Trigger events identified from leadership changes, regulation and investment announcements
  • Competitive position assessed through customer alternatives and incumbent supplier relationships
  • Research hypotheses converted into focused discovery questions and contact messages
  • Account intelligence recorded with sources, assumptions, evidence and information gaps

Participants can create differentiated value propositions tied to measurable customer outcomes.

  • Customer pains, gains and jobs structured using Value Proposition Canvas
  • Features translated into operational, financial, strategic and risk outcomes
  • Value hypotheses quantified through cost reduction, revenue growth and risk avoidance
  • Proof points selected from case evidence, benchmarks and implementation experience
  • Competitor comparisons distinguish meaningful differentiation from generic product claims
  • Value proposition statements connect customer priorities with credible business outcomes

Participants can plan and initiate prospecting activity that earns relevant customer conversations.

  • Ideal customer profiles define firmographic, behavioural and commercial qualification signals
  • Contact strategies combine referrals, account research, events and direct outreach
  • Cold outreach messages frame a relevant issue, evidence and meeting purpose
  • Call openings establish credibility without premature product presentation
  • Objection responses acknowledge concern, test relevance and propose proportionate next steps
  • Prospecting cadence balances contact frequency, channel choice and customer responsiveness

Participants can lead structured discovery conversations that reveal needs, priorities and decision conditions.

  • SPIN Selling questions uncover situation, problem, implication and need-payoff evidence
  • Agenda setting establishes meeting purpose, time boundaries and mutual expectations
  • Open questions explore process failures, constraints, priorities and desired outcomes
  • Active listening techniques test meaning through paraphrasing, summarising and probing
  • Decision criteria explored across commercial, technical, operational and governance requirements
  • Meeting close confirms actions, owners, dates and information required

Participants can qualify complex opportunities and decide where to invest pursuit effort.

  • MEDDICC evaluates metrics, economic buyer, decision process and competition
  • Qualification evidence separates confirmed facts from assumptions and seller optimism
  • Opportunity stages defined by customer commitments rather than seller activities
  • Mutual action plans assign responsibilities, milestones, dependencies and review points
  • Deal risks assessed through access gaps, incumbency, budget and timing
  • No-bid decisions protect resources when strategic fit or win probability is weak

Participants can build account plans that coordinate relationship development and revenue growth.

  • Account plans link customer strategy, relationship goals and revenue objectives
  • Power-interest grids prioritise engagement across formal and informal influencers
  • White-space analysis identifies service gaps, expansion options and cross-sell potential
  • Relationship maps show reporting lines, alliances, influence and access routes
  • Account objectives converted into quarterly actions, measures and internal responsibilities
  • Executive sponsorship planned around customer priorities, value and meeting purpose

Participants can develop persuasive proposals that address customer criteria and differentiate the offer.

  • Proposal structures mirror customer requirements, evaluation criteria and decision sequence
  • Executive summaries state customer issue, recommended approach and expected outcomes
  • Win themes connect differentiated capabilities with customer priorities and evidence
  • Solution descriptions balance technical detail, implementation realism and commercial value
  • Pricing narratives explain scope, assumptions, options and value rationale
  • Proposal reviews test compliance, clarity, evidence, risk and customer relevance

Participants can prepare and conduct negotiations while protecting value and commercial terms.

  • BATNA analysis defines alternatives, walk-away points and negotiating power
  • Negotiation preparation identifies interests, positions, concessions and traded variables
  • Concession strategies exchange value rather than reduce price without return
  • Procurement tactics handled through questions, criteria clarification and conditional proposals
  • Commercial terms assessed for payment, scope, liability, delivery and renewal implications
  • Closing language confirms agreement, remaining conditions and implementation ownership

Participants can manage a disciplined pipeline and implement a focused business development action plan.

  • Pipeline dashboards track opportunity value, stage, probability and next actions
  • Weighted forecasts distinguish committed revenue from early-stage potential
  • CRM hygiene standards maintain accurate contacts, activity records and close dates
  • Pipeline reviews challenge stalled deals, unsupported probabilities and missing stakeholders
  • Key performance indicators measure conversion, cycle time, coverage and win rate
  • Ninety-day action plans prioritise accounts, pursuits, relationships and review routines

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Target-account selection scorecard
  2. Customer research and insight template
  3. Stakeholder mapping worksheet
  4. SPIN discovery question bank
  5. MEDDICC opportunity qualification record
  6. 90-day business development action plan

Who should attend

  • Business Development Managers — need structured methods for creating and progressing strategic opportunities
  • Sales Managers — need stronger qualification, account planning and forecast discipline across teams
  • Key Account Managers — need to grow revenue within complex customer relationships
  • Sales Executives — need consultative techniques for longer and higher-value sales cycles
  • Commercial Managers — need to connect market strategy with practical customer acquisition plans
  • Client Relationship Managers — need to identify cross-sell and partnership opportunities credibly

Skills and tools covered

Market opportunity analysisStrategic account planningConsultative sellingOpportunity qualificationCommercial proposal writingSales pipeline management

Tools and standards

Ansoff Matrix, PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces, MEDDICC

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce frameworks, followed by sector-relevant cases, group analysis and practical sales simulations. Participants analyse customer situations, prepare account priorities, conduct discovery conversations, qualify opportunities and respond to commercial objections. Facilitated peer feedback focuses on evidence, questioning quality, commercial logic and next-step discipline. Application planning connects the methods to live accounts, target sectors and current pipeline opportunities. The instructor adapts examples for the cohort's markets, sales cycle and customer types.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least one year of experience in a customer-facing commercial, sales, account management, partnership or advisory role. They should be familiar with their organisation's products or services, typical customers and basic sales terminology such as prospects, proposals, pipeline and targets. Experience of B2B selling is helpful, particularly where multiple decision-makers are involved. No prior qualification in sales, marketing or business development is required. Participants do not need advanced financial modelling, formal negotiation training or experience with a particular CRM system.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have some experience in a customer-facing commercial role and familiarity with basic sales terminology. No formal sales qualification, advanced finance knowledge or prior experience of MEDDICC is required.

Bring details of one live or recent account, prospect or commercial opportunity if confidentiality permits. You may use anonymised customer information, and all templates can be completed with a realistic case instead.

It suits business development managers, sales executives, account managers, commercial managers and client relationship managers. It is designed chiefly for B2B and institutional selling where several stakeholders influence the purchase.

This course concentrates on creating and progressing strategically important opportunities from market selection through account planning and pipeline control. Negotiation is included as one part of the pursuit process, rather than being the sole focus.

Participants can apply the account-selection scorecard, stakeholder map, discovery questions and qualification record to active opportunities. The final action plan identifies specific accounts, contacts, milestones and review routines for the following 90 days.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days cover ten connected modules, using briefings, cases, group work, simulations and individual application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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