Having been in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry for over 30 years, mostly in the capacity of business development and strategy, I continue to be fascinated with the number of companies that wonder why they are not growing and yet don’t have a strong sales infrastructure.  It simply baffles me.  Scenarios such as, “I don’t have a strong sales outlook and…”

• We usually win work due to our technical merit, so we don’t need a sales team, customers just call us.  Or,
• Our sales team answers the phone and manages the web site and advertising, we have not really stressed the importance of proactively engaging customers.  Or,
• For years we have been able to focus on a select few customers, but gosh, that business is drying up and we just don’t have broader relationships.  Or,
• The sales team is not incentivized financially to find new work, should they?  Or,
• All our sales data resides in people’s heads, we don’t need processes and CRM tools to be effective. 

The point being, there are a variety of reasons why a company may not be growing and it is often tied to a poor sales infrastructure.  I suppose like many high technology industries, those within A&D are of an engineering mindset and often believe “their mousetrap is the best and buyers will just show up.”  That is generally wrong!  In this hypercompetitive market, with technology advancing rapidly, it is critical to invest in a sales infrastructure if you want to grow and remain relevant. 

At Aerospace BD (www.aerospacebd.com), an A&D electronics consulting company, we help companies with their growth challenges.  The two principals, myself and David Markman, are technical by education and practice, have recently come from industry, and have had enormous success in positioning and growing companies.  We differentiate from the competition by offering “hands on” engagements, not just eloquent pontification and building pretty charts.  From setting up and assessing business development and sales teams, to instituting capture processes, to vetting pipelines and bids, to providing a comprehensive “rolodex” of customers and program insights, to lastly developing organic and inorganic strategies, we really dig in to bring value.

And there is a broader reason why I am interested in seeing growth within the A&D industry.  As a military veteran, a strong A&D industry translates into a more secure United States in an ever increasingly dangerous international environment.

For more information go to www.aerospacebd.com and tell them Andy sent you!

Written by Jeff Hassannia