My first full-time job was at a well-known high street chemist. I was in one of the larger stores selling records and stereos (if you’re under 25, please ask an adult what ‘records’ and ‘stereos’ are or you’ll have no context).

I was told that a management role was definitely a possibility, as long as I was prepared to work there for the next 55 years and wait while everyone above me retired or died. It was at that point I thought it might be better to find a more meritocratic company to work for.

Being rewarded and progressing based entirely upon your merit has always worked out well for me, but anyone moving into business development might have a tough time initially. The interesting thing about new biz is that the only way to go about it and expect results is full steam. Being ‘part-time’ or ‘when I have time’ about cold channel prospecting will most certainly fail.

The challenging part of new business (both to companies and individuals) is that you can be doing an absolutely top job on paper and yet see nothing in the bank for your efforts. It’s demoralising and forces you to constantly wonder ‘am I doing this right?’. Until you start converting cold channel outreach into wins you’ll ALWAYS doubt yourself (and even once you trust your methods, it only takes one dry patch to send you spiralling back down into self-doubt again).

So, if you plan to attack new business, then do exactly that - ATTACK. Don’t ‘have a go’ or ‘spend a little time on it’. All you’ll do is have a bad experience and give yourself a thin reason to believe that cold new business doesn’t work. It does work - it just takes a lot of sustained effort.

Good luck.