There's a moment in business development that doesn't get talked about enough. You've built the relationship, earned the meeting, and found your way into conversations before anything is formal. You're hearing about projects early, sometimes before they're even defined.
That's where most teams want to be.
And yet, a lot of those opportunities still end the same way. The RFP comes out, multiple firms are invited to bid, and suddenly you're competing on the same terms as everyone else.
That gap is the problem. It's not access. It's what happens after access.
Early in my career, I worked in medical device sales and spent a lot of time in operating rooms. I was close to the action, often just a few feet away from surgeons during procedures. I understood the equipment, knew the sequence, and could anticipate what was coming next. But I wasn't the one performing the surgery.
There's a clear line between being present and being responsible for the outcome. My role wasn't to take over. It was to support, guide when appropriate, and make sure the surgeon had what they needed to succeed.
Business development works the same way. You're in the room early. You have access that others don't. But being there isn't the advantage. Using that time well is.
Getting in early isn't the issue
Most BD professionals don't struggle with access. They're already having the right conversations and staying connected to the right people.
The issue is what those conversations look like. Too often, they stay safe. General updates. Light check-ins. Broad discussions about "what's coming."
That maintains the relationship, but it doesn't create an advantage. By the time the project becomes formal, key decisions have already been shaped. Scope, criteria, and expectations are already in motion. If you weren't part of that, you're reacting to it.
What early conversations are actually for
The goal isn't visibility. It's clarity. Most RFPs describe a solution. They don't explain the thinking behind it.
They don't tell you:
- What went wrong last time
- What the buyer is trying to avoid
- What will actually make this successful
That's what drives decisions, and it rarely shows up in the document. Those insights only come out in early conversations. If you're not using that time to uncover them, you're missing the point of being there.
What to do once you're in the room
This is where most teams need to adjust. Early access only matters if you use it intentionally.
Start by understanding what has gone wrong before. Almost every project is shaped by past frustration, even if no one says it directly. A simple question about previous experience can shift the entire conversation.
From there, get clear on what success actually looks like. It's rarely just budget and timeline. More often, it's about how the process feels: Fewer surprises. Better communication. Less friction between teams.
You also need to understand how decisions will really be made. Not just the formal process, but the informal one. Who has influence, what matters to them, and how alignment happens internally.
At the same time, part of your role is recognizing when an opportunity isn't strong. If timelines are unclear, ownership is vague, or priorities keep shifting, those issues won't fix themselves later. They just become someone else's problem.
And when the sales team gets involved, what you pass along matters. "Good relationship" isn't useful. Context is. What the buyer cares about, where the risks are, and how decisions will be made should all be clear before the next step.
Where this creates an advantage
When business development works this way, the rest of the process changes. Sales isn't walking in blind. The team isn't trying to differentiate with generic messaging. And pricing isn't the only thing being evaluated.
You're not just responding to a bid. You're responding with context others don't have. That doesn't guarantee a win, but it puts you in a very different position.
Where most teams go wrong
It's easy to assume the solution is more access. More meetings. More conversations. But access without direction doesn't create leverage.
You can be in the room early, have strong relationships, and still end up competing on price if those conversations never move beyond the surface.
Timing helps. Execution is what matters.
Use the room or lose the advantage
Business development is often described as relationship-driven, and that's true. Relationships create access. But access only matters if it leads to understanding.
The real value comes from using those early conversations to uncover what matters, qualify what's real, and bring that clarity back to your team. Because most deals aren't decided when the proposal is submitted, they're shaped much earlier, in conversations that most teams don't fully use.
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