Podcast: 4 business development strategies that will deliver success in 2025

This episode is typically among the most popular of the year with listeners. That's because so many people who follow Automatic Merchandiser & VendingMarketWatch's Vending and OCS Nation podcast — both operators and suppliers — are involved in business development.

These strategies are proven, so when podcast host Bob Tullio gives you a guarantee — that these four business development strategies will ensure your success in 2025 — it’s worth a listen.

Listen now

Tullio first looks back at what he suggested in 2023 and 2024. You be the judge. How did those strategies work for you? You will almost certainly agree that those strategies stood the test of time.

He also offers four new strategies you can put in place today.

Tune in and sell more in 2025.

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No time to listen? Prefer to read? Here is an edited podcast transcript:

Bob Tullio: When I was an operator, I would always ask myself in January, “What new business development tactics will I employ in the new year to reflect the changing business climate?” As a consultant and a content creator, I have the benefit of conducting about 100 interviews each year, which typically provide the answers to those questions.

I've done a version of this podcast before. Let's look back at the strategies that I recommended in 2023 and 2024. How did those work out for you? You might find that these strategies are still very relevant and applicable.

Here's what I suggested in 2023 in our debut podcast

“Instead of beating the bushes cold calling prospects, making as many calls in a day as you can, and knocking on doors which are almost always closed to you today, let the new business opportunities come to you. Be prepared to spend some money on business development and make a commitment to pay-per-click search engine advertising. Not the hocus-pocus keyword approach of SEO, search engine optimization, but pay-per-click advertising where you're buying the one, two or three position using a specific search term like coffee service, office coffee, vending and micro markets. And you will be at the very top of the search engine all the time, one, two or three on Google, Yahoo and Bing, with Google being the most important of all.”

And I'm still a believer in pay-per-click advertising.

Business development strategy number two requires a different perspective on the part of a sales rep or business owner. It's about putting the cart before the horse. When an exciting product comes along, it's very easy to say, “Let's give this to our existing clients and grow our business that way.” That's fine. But sometimes we overlook the fact that a tremendous piece of technology or something with an awesome design can be used as a conduit that connects you to a new opportunity.

What applies perfectly today to this 2023 strategy? How about smart markets. As an operator, do you bring that technology into an existing account? Or use it to land a new high-volume car dealership, for example.

That brings us to business development strategy number three: paid strategic partnerships, a business development solution that is being used commonly today by leading credit card companies and banks. It's a pay-to-play concept that has worked for years. It was perfect in 2023, and it certainly works today when you find motivated people — clients or other vendors who want to help you and help themselves.

Remember, here is how you lay out the offer:

“You introduce us to a colleague, and when we get the appointment, you get a $100 gift card. When we get the account, you get another $100 gift card.”

With inflation, I'd probably advise you to increase the size of the gift to $150 or $200 on each leg of the journey.

Why does it work so well? Well, it won't work for 90 to 95% of your clients. It's just not in their DNA. But that 5 to 10% who are motivated by this type of incentive can drive your business development program tremendously.

Now let's look at what was recommended in 2024

The first strategy was all about using LinkedIn the right way. Get serious about using content to connect with prospects.
Start by taking a good look at your LinkedIn connections and the LinkedIn connections of your sales team and customer service team. Ask yourself the following questions.

Have we reached out to connect with every viable prospect who we engaged with in 2023?
Have we studied our connections to see who has moved to a new company? A new opportunity for them is potentially a new opportunity for you.
Have we maintained the focus on posting for our prospects so they will be attracted, educated, and engaged by what we are doing as a company?

Why is quality content so important? Here is Brynne Tillman, a LinkedIn expert, the “LinkedIn Whisperer.”

Brynn Tillman: “74% of buyers chose the company or sales rep that was first to provide value and insights. Three-quarters of the people are working with the people that influenced them first, not that had the lowest price.”

That brings us to business development strategy number two. Renew your focus on the three Rs. Retention, referrals, and revenue.

Let's talk first about retention. According to the Harvard Business Review, Bain and Company working with Earl Saucer of Harvard Business School, analyzed the costs and revenues derived from serving customers over their entire purchasing lifecycle. It showed that in industry after industry, the high cost of acquiring customers renders many customer relationships unprofitable during their early years. Only in later years, when the cost of serving loyal customers falls, and the volume of their purchases rises, do relationships generate big returns.

The bottom line, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25 to 95%. It's a good reminder that trying to see every client in the first quarter is a great idea.
While you are spending time with your existing clients to ensure that they are happy, ask for the second R — referrals — but ask for referrals the right way.

Brynne Tillman and I talked about how to make it happen — how to get referrals the right way using LinkedIn.

To receive targeted introductions from your clients and centers of influence, go in there, bring in a list. Is there anything more effective than saying, can you please connect me to these people who you know very well?

Brynne Tillman: "We've moved slightly, to permission to name drop. We want volume, and it's really hard to ask a client for volume. But if we go through a client's list, and they have 30, 40 people we want to meet, what I want to say is, ‘Hey, I'm going to be reaching out to these folks in a couple of weeks, but before I do, can I run them by you really quickly and ask you who you think I should talk to?’ And then, 30 names become eight or 10. Of the eight or 10, I may say, ‘Is there anyone on this list you'd feel comfortable introducing me to?’ And it might be one or two. And then, of the other eight, [I ask], ‘Is it okay when I reach out that I mentioned you're my happy client and you thought I should talk to them?’

Then I reach out and I say, ‘Hey Bob, Sally Jo Lamont and I were chatting the other day, and your name came up in our conversation. I've been working with her for the last 10 years, and she thought I should reach out and introduce myself. If you're open, let's connect and we'll set up a quick introduction call.’

That's it. If you connect, [you say], ‘Thanks for connecting. Please share with me your preferred way to set up a call. If it happens to be via calendar link, here's mine.’"

Okay, so now you have the initial two parts of business development strategy number two, retention and referrals.

The third part is revenue. Here's the plan, and this is a no-brainer: When a sales rep or a client services rep is out there visiting clients during the retention and referral portion of the strategy, they need to open their eyes, with the goal of adding one revenue source at every existing location. Some examples:

Is the customer a candidate for point-of-use water? Maybe even a Bevi or a SmartSoda, or a Friia unit from Marco Beverage, or a stylish water system from Borg & Overström.
Do we have the first-aid business? Why not?
Can we add wellness teas? It is the flu season, after all.
How about kombucha?
Has the client considered cold brew?
Is this client now a candidate for single cup?
Why don't they have flavored creamers?

The list goes on and on. Look around: Opportunity that is just sitting there, waiting to be tapped.

So there you have it: Two years of recommendations. And as you can see, they do stand the test of time.

After many interviews and a great deal of contemplation, here is what I suggest for 2025.

Strategy #1: Do it by hand

I'm talking about typed or handwritten notes delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. It will work in 2025 because most of you will not follow my advice because we're all too busy. For those of you who are willing to try it, the benefits are significant.

According to Palm Desert marketing executive Ricky Potts, the power of handwritten notes lies in their rarity. According to the U.S. Postal Service, the average household receives just one personal letter every seven weeks — an astonishing decline from decades past. That means when you take the time to write a note, it stands out. It's an intentional break from the noise of inboxes and notifications.

It's easy to send an email or make a phone call, notes Potts. These tools are efficient, no doubt, but a handwritten note transcends efficiency. It conveys thoughtfulness, authenticity and care. Studies show that people remember handwritten messages better than digital ones. In fact, research from the Journal of Consumer Research found that handwritten communication feels more authentic and creates a stronger emotional connection than typed text.

Think about the small stack of holiday cards you received this year compared with 10 years ago. It used to be a time-consuming task to go through them. Now, the ones you receive have so much more impact because there are relatively few of them. So, instead of being one of 100 emails received in a day by your prospect, your note will be one of five items delivered to the prospect's physical mailbox. It will be read.

Here's what Gil Cargill of Cargill Consulting had to say. He's exploring an AI approach to handwritten notes based on his recent experience.

Gil Cargill: “The incident happened recently. I had been shut down by a prospect. They weren't answering the phone. I wanted to get an appointment, and they're over in Las Vegas. And I sent them a letter. The prospect agreed to meet because he read my letter.

When I got to his office — and this was about three weeks after I actually mailed the letter — my letter was on his desk in the inbox. It was still opened up. So, he saw my logo every time he looked at that corner of the desk. So, I have no evidence besides this one episode, but I suspect that were so inundated with email that a letter would be different and refreshing.”

Strategy #2: Focus on corporate social responsibility

Make CSR, corporate social responsibility, a front-and-center defining characteristic of your company — a key aspect of your business model. CSR can involve charitable giving, a major commitment to environmental sustainability, reducing your carbon footprint, and creating educational opportunities for your employees. According to a study and report by the cloud-based management platform Submittable, raising awareness, building trust, taking responsibility, and encouraging change are all central to CSR. Although usually seen in big companies, the recent booming of younger generations, combined with their commitment to social awareness, has made CSR a priority for businesses of all sizes. The Submittable Report points out that CSR has been something of a buzzword during the last few years, with increased discussion about whether implementing it can actually help a company increase its profit margins and enhance its reputation.

Research indicates that the answer is yes. A company implementing CSR can make its market environmental, social and corporate areas while also increasing margins and establishing a strong position in any industry. We know from research that implementing solid CSR programs will benefit your business in a lot of ways. But there are three major ones.

CSR creates happier employees who stick around.
Giving back to the community doesn't just help the community. It helps your team internally. The data shows that a successful CSR program can increase productivity, reduce turnover and increase happiness among employees.

Giving back is easier than ever. Look what 365 Retail Markets is now offering: a rounded off for charity program right, from the kiosk. As a micro market operator, you can easily implement a charity drive driven by a simple and popular concept of rounding off purchases.
Your customers are expecting you to step up and will reward you with appreciation and loyalty.
Per the Submittable report of all current generations, millennials are the most active when it comes to giving back.
CSR will inspire and energize your workforce.
I saw it firsthand at my own company when we rolled out Brew for a Cure, a private-label coffee that donated a portion of profits to breast cancer research. Our employees loved it and were proud to be associated with the effort. The Submittable report indicates that the impact of such programs has only grown.

Strategy #3: Try AI for business development

That brings us to business development strategy number three for 2025: Give AI for business development a test drive. Gil Cargill is an industry consultant who I've talked about before. He's developed programs specifically for vending, OCS and micro market operators, and he's offered our listeners a very favorable program that allows an operator to dip their toe in the water and give AI for business development a serious shot.

Ask yourself this question: How often do you happily engage with bots now, like Siri or Alexa? Using AI for business development will become so common in the future that businesses who are not on board will be at a significant competitive disadvantage. The early adopters will cash in. Remember, a bot is nothing more than a trained computer.

Gil Cargill: “Operators are using AI voice to answer the phones after hours because much more than a voicemail system, AI answers specific questions about products, micro markets, availability, and many operators are using AI to deal with customer service issues. We've also created a 14-day free trial of a customized system, whether an operator would like an AI receptionist and/or an AI insight salesperson and/or an AI prospector, we can build and will build for any operator a customized system free of charge without obligation.”

Cargill wants operators to experience the power of AI for business development firsthand, and he's confident that once they see how much his AI program can do, setting appointments with dead leads, resurrecting lost accounts and creating new opportunities. Put it this way, once they get started, businesses do not cancel this very reasonably priced service. While Salesforce and other companies are jumping on board, Gil Cargill has put together an operator-centric program with no obligation. You can see why I think this is an avenue to pursue in 2025 before the field gets crowded, and it will.

Strategy #4: Educate your team, then sit back

Educate your team, then sit back and enjoy the results. Operators often ask me to give them advice on how to move their businesses forward. While I am always happy to assist, it is important to note that there are so many resources available to operators through NAMA, especially when it comes to business development. Here's my best advice:

Check out "Selling Convenience Services," an online training program that I developed a few years ago for NAMA. It is perfect for any operator who seeks to have elite performers on their sales team. Use the code B2B10 and you will enjoy a nice discount on a program that is already a bargain. A number of major operators have utilized this resource.
Listen to Automatic Merchandiser's Vending &OCS Nation podcast, especially interviews with experienced and successful operators. I have interviewed superstars like Jennifer Fox of Fox Vending Inc., Jon Holden of All Star Services Inc., Matthew Marsh of First Class Vending and Coffee, Barry Rosenberg from Vending One Inc., Linda Saldana from Seventh Wave Refreshments, Kimberly Lenz from Associated Services, Dan Welch from World Cup Coffee & Tea, Dean Prather from Quality Vending & Coffee Co., James Evans from Evans Refreshment Solutions, Kim Miros of DAC Total Refreshments and Judson Kleinman of Corporate Essentials. In addition to operators, hear from people like Orrin Huebner of Orrin Huebner LLC, a respected consultant, and Mike Kelner of Vending Biz Broker, the industry’s leading business broker. Both operators and suppliers can learn something from people who've achieved their level of success.
Read Automatic Merchandiser magazine and Vending Today [newsletter]. You will learn so much about the products and technology that drive the industry. Watch the webinars available live and free on demand.
Of course, attend the industry conventions, the NAMA education sessions, and engage at those sessions.

It is important to point out that beyond the costly trip to an industry convention that not everyone can afford to attend, there is so much ongoing information. So much valuable knowledge —available at no cost whatsoever. Tap into these underutilized resources, and your business will be more successful in 2025 and beyond.