I was asked last night over a bottle of wine to explain in a nutshell what I understood by Business development.

My basic idea is that a business is like the process of a seed becoming a seedling , to getting its head above ground , to growing and to expanding with all the sun , water and air it can take in…. A business is exactly the same when it comes to its development!

From WikiPedia - they say:

"Business development includes a number of techniques designed to create and grow an economic enterprise. Such techniques include, but are not limited to, concept and brand development, assessments of marketing opportunities and target markets, intelligence gathering on customers and competitors, generating leads for possible sales, followup sales activity, formal proposal writing and business model design. Business development involves evaluating a business and then realizing its full potential, using such tools as marketing, sales, information management and customer service. For a sound company able to withstand competitors, business development never stops but is an ongoing process."