A conversation with BD100 winner, Sam Jones

Why hunger is the bit you can’t teach

A conversation with BD100 winner, Sam Jones 

It was so great to bump into Sam Jones a few weeks after handing him The BD100 Business Developer of the Year trophy. A very well-deserved win after five years of entering the competition, proving again that resilience is what takes BD from good to great. 

Why he didn’t see it coming 

When he got called in weeks before the awards evening, Sam assumed it was because ticket sales were low, not because he'd won. Winning caught him off guard. It also gave him a moment to share with his mum, who's never quite understood what he does for a living!

Working in business development, recognition isn’t all that common because results are expected; hence it’s not celebrated. When agencies win pitches, it’s people like Sam who drive those wins. As the New Business and Marketing Director at Joint, he puts in the late nights and the travel that nobody sees. 

That’s exactly why I wanted DNA to sponsor The BD100 eight years ago, and why we’re still sponsoring it today. Working so directly with talent, we want to show up when good effort and hard work get the recognition it deserves. 

What actually won it for him

It wasn't about a single pitch or a clever line in his application; this time he focussed on the human touch. It was about building something sustainable: a way of doing new business that doesn't quietly burn you out over a few years.

That's where AI comes in, but not the way most people assume.

AI speeds up the process, but it can't replace the relationship 

AI is what makes that sustainable version possible. It strips out the tedious parts of the job, and hands back the time and energy that used to go on grinding out the basics.

What it doesn't do is stand in a queue in 32° heat, comparing notes with someone about the same brand. No tool can read a room or clock a hesitation before someone says yes. Business development is a relationship game before it's anything else, and that part is still built by people who understand people.

Hunger is the one thing you can't teach

Sam and I agree on what we look for in our teams. We want self-starters, people who've gone and built something off their own back, a side hustle, a blog, a hobby they took further than it needed to go. A learning mindset and pitching skills can be developed. Hunger can't. We want people who match our instinct to go again when stopping would be so much easier.

Get that right and everything else is learnable.

If you want to be successful in business development, the lessons from The BD100 Business Developer of the Year winner are: 

• Play the long game. A pipeline that burns you out along the way isn't one that lasts.
• Let the tools take the grind. Learn how to outsource admin and research that steal your time to tech.
• Keep the human touch. Because you won’t win the pitch by being the most efficient person in the room.
• Stay hungry. Keep learning and keep hustling because there’s no room for stagnation in business development. 

 

Ali Wallace
CEO, DNA Recruit