Five separate worked examples / Business development
An introduction becomes value only through the next handoffs.
Eight of twelve released research hours are reused for partner follow-up. The example then follows assumed introductions and qualified opportunities into one delivered customer.
- More relevant follow-up
Eight hours at 30 minutes each supports 16 partner follow-ups.
- Two human gates
Assume eight introductions; Sales accepts four qualified opportunities.
- A further sales assumption
One $12,000 customer at a conditional 30% margin gives $3,600 before AI and extra BD costs.
One hypothetical month · the gates are assumptions
- 24 research briefs: 45 → 15 min each
- 18 h → 6 h; 12 h released
- Reused for follow-up / no financial credit
- 8 h / 4 h
- 16 follow-ups → 8 introductions
- 4 qualified opportunities
- Assumed close at 25%
- 1 customer × $12,000
- Delivered at 30% margin
- $3,600 before AI + extra BD costs
Introductions and qualified opportunities are not wins. The eight already-paid hours are neither a new expense nor a payroll saving in this chain.
Open the detail
Keep the setup, assumptions and checks in view.
Where did the 12 released hours come from?
Where did the 12 released hours come from?
Research became faster without removing review.
The team prepares 24 partner or account briefs each month. AI can organize approved information and prepare a research pack, so each brief falls from 45 minutes to 15. That frees 18 − 6 = 12 hours for the same workload.
The 15 minutes has to include the review. A responsible person still confirms what is worth using, and checks the four things below against what they know.
Research brief: reviewed before use
- Account
- Is this the right company to approach?
- Relationship
- Who can actually make the connection?
- Timing
- Is there a reason to reach out now?
- Context
- What is relevant to this partner and this account?
Owner decision: define a research brief that Sales trusts.
When a fast brief costs more later
If the brief is fast but inaccurate, the business has reduced preparation time while increasing downstream waste. Follow-ups go to the wrong partner, and Sales spends time on accounts it would have turned down. Count that rework against the 12 hours before treating them as released.
Why are only 8 of the 12 hours reused?
Why are only 8 of the 12 hours reused?
8 h × 60 min ÷ 30 min each = 16 prepared follow-ups
Redeployment creates the opportunity.
Released time earns nothing by itself. This example gives 8 hours one clear job and leaves the other 4 outside the money. They may support relationship maintenance, account planning, training or other work, but they do not automatically become revenue.
A follow-up counts only if it does the job. This is not a license to send generic automated messages.
- Built onThe reviewed account research
- Says whyA relevant reason to contact this partner
- Asks forThe specific introduction requested
Owner decision: assign the eight hours to a named BD owner and measure whether the follow-ups are relevant, completed and responded to.
What if nobody owns the eight hours?
Then they tend to dissolve into the rest of the month, and the 16 follow-ups never exist. The count in this example starts only when a named person has the hours and the list of partners.
How do follow-ups become qualified opportunities?
How do follow-ups become qualified opportunities?
- 16 follow-ups from BD
- 8 partners introduce an account
- 4 accepted by Sales
The relationship pathway matters.
A warm introduction is not revenue. It is an upstream event that may create access to a real buying conversation. Sales then decides whether the opportunity meets its qualification standard.
The context has to survive the handoff, or Sales starts again from nothing:
Handoff note: BD to Sales
- Who and whom
- Who introduced whom
- Why
- Why the connection is relevant
- Problem
- What problem may exist
- Next action
- Who owns it
Owner decision: inspect the step from introduction to qualified opportunity.
| Targeting | Are these the accounts Sales wants? |
|---|---|
| Partner selection | Can this partner reach real buyers? |
| Message relevance | Did the follow-up give a reason that fits? |
| Qualification definition | Do BD and Sales mean the same thing? |
How does one assumed win become $12,000 booked?
How does one assumed win become $12,000 booked?
4 qualified opportunities × 25% assumed close1 win
1 customer × $12,000$12,000 booked
A qualified opportunity still has to become a sale.
The 25% rate is an educational assumption, not a typical result or promise. The sale must be accepted by the customer and recorded under the company’s actual definition of booked business.
BD does not get credit for revenue merely because a partner made an introduction. Sales has to confirm five things first:
- Need
- Fit
- Scope
- Price
- Buying decision
Owner decision: compare partner source, qualification, accepted sale and eventual delivery. Keep introduction activity separate from sales performance.
One record, four separate columns
| Column | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Partner source | Which relationship started this? |
| Qualification | Did Sales accept it for active pursuit? |
| Accepted sale | Did the customer actually buy? |
| Delivery | Was the work completed? |
Read across a row to see which partners bring real customers, not just busy introductions.
Where does the conditional $3,600 fit?
Where does the conditional $3,600 fit?
Booked value is not profit yet.
The $3,600 depends on successful delivery at the assumed direct cost. It is before AI setup costs and any additional BD costs, and no amounts are supplied for either. Use your actual costs rather than a made-up figure.
Each step on the value path can fail. A strong partner network does not replace Sales, Delivery or Finance.
- Partner research
- Warm introduction
- Qualified opportunity
- Accepted sale
- Delivered work
- Gross profit
Owner decision: track whether the customer was delivered, what direct costs were incurred, and whether the margin matched the assumption.
Why the 8 follow-up hours are not a cost line here
The 8 hours were already being paid for, so moving them to follow-up does not add a new expense or a payroll saving to this chain. New spending is different: extra BD tools, travel or staff belong in the additional BD costs. Record them in the same period as the benefit.