Business Development is often referred to as Channel Sales, Account Management, Distributors or Alliance Partners. It has elements of both Marketing and Sales, uses a relationship approach to engage third parties to sell your products, and is an excellent way to grow a business without hiring additional sales staff.

These are the common issues you may be experiencing with Business Development:

	You sign an agreement with an alliance partner but nothing ever materializes.
	Your channel partners react to inquiries about your products from customers, rather than promoting your products alongside theirs.
	You sign a reciprocal agreement with a company but neither company is willing to make the first move in the market.
	Your alliance partner wants to market direct to your customers but you want to protect your list and the relationships with other partners.
	Now that your alliance program is having some success, you have channel conflict both inside and outside of your company.

These are the components of the Vantage Point Business Development Program that with help you deal with issues related to Business Development:

	Business Development Plan Writing a strategy to obtain one or more third parties to become sellers of your products.
	Channel Partner Program Creating a single or multi tiered program with guidelines for partners to follow and providing incentives for results.
	Channel Sales Training Training third party Sales staff to sell your products more effectively.
	Channel Sales Tools Providing valuable product information, software programs and sales support.
	Measurements Setting targets, compensation plans and reporting systems to ensure partners are producing favorable results.
	Interim Channel Management Filling management positions on an interim basis until alternatives become available.
	Business Development Assessment Conducting a full assessment of your current Business Development function and making recommendations for change.