Business Development is Like a Foreign Language

As my wife and I are planning our 2-week trip to Spain this Fall, I regret not taking my high school Spanish teacher, Senior Gomez, more seriously when I was in his class. I often grew impatient and never bothered to practice what we learned. At the time, I didn’t appreciate how much learning a second language could help me today, especially Spanish in California.

For business professionals who are skilled at their craft, learning a “second language” such as business development could be immensely beneficial if they bothered to learn it and practice it. Yet like how I was in high school, if it didn’t produce immediate benefits, what was the point?

In today’s competitive market, professional services firms are now realizing how important it is for all their client-facing professionals to be proficient at business development. They are allocating more of the annual budget to BD training and coaching. Some are hiring internal trainers and coaches while others  bring in external trainers and coaches. Leadership sees the benefit, but do all the practitioners?

Sadly, no.

Why is this? Complacency? Arrogance? Ignorance? Fear? All the above? Whatever the reason, suffice it to say that if all the client-facing professionals learned even the basics of business development, not only would they grow as individuals, but their firm would grow exponentially.

So how does one learn a new language successfully?

Like with any foreign language, start with proper grammatical structure, vocabulary, and practice. Then give it enough time to settle in where you no longer need to think about it, rather it starts to roll off the tongue effortlessly.

The best learning environment for a foreign language is a fully immersive one where you live in a foreign country and speak the native tongue even outside of the classroom. I did this in my late 20s when living in Munich, Germany. It took me several years to become fluent, but with enough practice and humility, I became fluent at a business level. I was only able to succeed because I wanted to learn German and was willing to put in the hard and often humbling work to get there.

The good news with the business development language is that you do not need to travel to a foreign country to learn it. You are already where you need to be to learn it and practice it. It is a matter of asking for guidance from a mentor or coach. You then need to stick your neck out and push through the uncomfortable learning experiences that everyone goes through.

For those of you who have successfully learned a foreign language, you understand that it is not always logical nor easy to learn at first. However, over time, it starts to get easier. You develop a stronger vocabulary and you become more confident in speaking it. Business development is no different.

If you are struggling to find clients or realize that you will soon be in a position where it is required for you to find clients on your own, now is a good time to think about learning this new language of business development. You might already understand the basics, but how fluent are you at it?

As for our upcoming trip to Spain, I am scrambling to blow the dust off my high school Spanish. I am also kicking myself for not taking Senior Gomez seriously. Sure, many of the Spaniards can speak English, but I can confidently say that my trip would be so much more enjoyable if I could converse with the locals in their native language.