Here's a complete, actionable Business Development (BD) Plan template with concrete examples. You can copy this structure and fill in your specifics, or adapt the example scenario (B2B SaaS company) to your industry.

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN TEMPLATE

1. Executive Snapshot

One-page overview for stakeholders

Company: [Your Company Name]
Planning Period: Q1 2024 – Q4 2024
Primary Objective: Increase revenue by $1M through enterprise client acquisition and strategic partnerships
Key Markets: [Geographic/Vertical focus]
Budget: $XXX,XXX

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2. Market Position & Opportunity

Where you play and why you'll win

Industry Landscape:

• Market size: $X billion (growing X% annually)
• Key trends: [e.g., "Remote work tools adoption up 40%"]
• Competitive gaps: [e.g., "Competitors lack industry-specific compliance features"]

Your Competitive Advantage:

• Unique capability: [e.g., "Only platform with real-time API integration for healthcare"]
• Proof points: [Customer logos, case studies, patents]

Example (B2B SaaS):

"The mid-market HR tech space ($10M-$100M companies) is underserved by enterprise solutions that are too complex and SMB tools that lack compliance features. Our AI-driven platform reduces onboarding time by 60% while maintaining SOC 2 compliance—something neither Workday nor Gusto offers for this segment."

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3. Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Get laser-focused to avoid wasted effort

Target Account Criteria:

• Firmographic: Industry, revenue ($10M-$100M), employee count (100-1000), geography
• Technographic: Currently using [competitor/legacy system], cloud-native infrastructure
• Psychographic: Growth-oriented, pain point urgency (e.g., "Just raised Series B, scaling fast")

Decision-Making Unit (DMU):

• Primary: VP of Operations (budget owner)
• Influencer: IT Director (security concerns)
• Blocker: CFO (ROI requirements)

Action Step: Create a list of 50 "Dream Accounts" matching this profile.

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4. Revenue Targets & Goals

Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)

Leading Indicators (Weekly tracking):

• 20 new conversations/week
• 5 qualified demos/week
• 10 partnership outreach emails/week

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5. Growth Strategies & Tactics

How you'll hit those numbers

Strategy A: Direct Sales (60% of revenue goal)

• Outbound: ABM (Account-Based Marketing) campaign targeting the 50 Dream Accounts
  • Tactic: Personalized video outreach to VPs
  • Tactic: LinkedIn thought leadership content + direct messaging sequence
  • Tactic: Direct mail (physical gifts) to break through noise
• Inbound: SEO content around "[Industry] compliance automation"
  • Tactic: Monthly webinar with existing clients as speakers

Strategy B: Strategic Partnerships (30% of revenue goal)

• Channel Partners: Partner with 3 management consulting firms who serve mid-market
  • Action: Create co-branded "Digital Transformation" assessment tool
• Technology Integrations: Build connector for Salesforce/HubSpot marketplace
  • Action: Joint marketing campaign with integration partner

Strategy C: Upsell/Expansion (10% of revenue goal)

• Tactic: Quarterly business reviews focusing on usage analytics
• Tactic: "Feature adoption" campaigns for existing accounts

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6. Sales Process & Pipeline Stages

Standardize to scale

Stage Definitions:

1. Prospecting (0%): ICP match, initial contact made
2. Qualification (10%): BANT confirmed (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)
3. Discovery (25%): Pain points mapped, technical requirements gathered
4. Demo/Proposal (50%): Solution presented, proposal sent
5. Negotiation (75%): Legal/security review, pricing discussion
6. Closed Won (100%) / Closed Lost (0%)

Sales Cadence (Outbound):

• Day 1: Personalized LinkedIn connection + email
• Day 3: Follow-up email with industry insight
• Day 7: Phone call + voicemail
• Day 10: Video message (Loom)
• Day 14: "Breakup" email
• Then: Move to long-term nurture (monthly newsletter)

Tools Needed:

• CRM: HubSpot/Salesforce
• Sales engagement: Outreach/Salesloft
• Proposal software: PandaDoc/Proposify

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7. 90-Day Quick-Start Action Plan

Start here if you're building this from scratch

Days 1-30: Foundation

• Finalize ICP document and build list of 200 prospects
• Create sales collateral (one-pager, case study, demo script)
• Set up CRM pipeline stages
• Write 5 email templates for each persona
• Schedule 20 discovery calls with existing customers to refine messaging

Days 31-60: Activation

• Launch outbound sequence (target: 50 contacts/week)
• Publish 4 LinkedIn articles targeting ICP pain points
• Identify and contact 10 potential strategic partners
• Host first webinar or virtual event
• Refine pitch based on first 10 prospect meetings

Days 61-90: Optimization

• Analyze conversion rates by channel; double down on what's working
• Close first 2 deals (learn from these!)
• Establish 1 formal partnership agreement
• Build referral program for existing clients
• Plan Q2 initiatives based on Q1 data

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8. Budget & Resource Allocation

Example for $1M revenue target

Rule of thumb: CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) should be <30% of first-year revenue for B2B.

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9. Risk Mitigation

What could derail this?

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10. Weekly Scorecard

Track these metrics every Monday

• Pipeline: New opportunities created vs. goal (target: 5/week)
• Activity: Conversations held (target: 20/week)
• Conversion: Demo-to-proposal rate (target: 40%)
• Partnerships: New partner conversations (target: 2/week)
• Content: Inbound leads generated (target: 10/week)

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IMMEDIATE NEXT STEPS

1. This Week: Define your ICP with specific company names (create a "Top 50" list)
2. This Week: Map your current network—who can introduce you to those 50?
3. Next 30 Days: Build your "Minimum Viable Pipeline" (10 qualified opportunities)

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What aspect would you like me to expand on? For example:

• Are you in B2B services, SaaS, or something else? (I can tailor the tactics)
• Do you need help with the outbound messaging/scripts specifically?
• Are you focused on partnerships or direct sales as your primary channel?
• What's your current team size? (I can adjust the 90-day plan for solo founders vs. teams)

Or if you'd like, share your industry and target customer, and I'll customize this template specifically for your situation.

Business Development Plan Example: EcoEats Delivery Service

A business development plan (BDP) is a strategic roadmap focused on growth, outlining how your business will acquire new customers, enter markets, boost revenue, and scale operations. Unlike a full business plan, it emphasizes actionable tactics for expansion. Below is a complete, filled-in example for a fictional small business: EcoEats, a sustainable meal delivery service targeting busy professionals in urban areas. This draws from proven templates (e.g., SBA, Shopify, Craft.do) updated for 2026 trends like AI personalization and eco-conscious consumers.

Use this as a template—copy it into Google Docs or Notion, customize, and track progress quarterly.

Sample BDP Structure with Example

1. Executive Summary

Overview: EcoEats delivers ready-to-eat, plant-based meals sourced from local farms, using electric vehicles for zero-emission delivery. Goal: Achieve $100K revenue in Year 1 (2026) by expanding to 3 new cities. Key strategies: Digital marketing, partnerships with gyms, and AI-driven personalization. Seeking $150K funding for marketing and fleet expansion.

Your Action Step: Write this last (1 page max). Summarize goals, strategies, and projected ROI.

2. Market Analysis

• Target Market: Health-conscious professionals aged 25-45 in mid-sized U.S. cities (e.g., Austin, TX). Market size: $10B meal kit industry (growing 12% YoY per 2026 Statista data). Pain points: Time scarcity, sustainability concerns—80% willing to pay 20% premium for eco-friendly options.
• Competitor Analysis: HelloFresh (mass-market, less sustainable); Factor (premium but high waste). EcoEats differentiates with 100% compostable packaging and farm-to-door in <24 hours.
• SWOT:

  Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
  Local sourcing, low carbon footprint	Limited initial scale	Rise of remote work, green regulations	Supply chain disruptions, economic downturns

Your Action Step: Use free tools like Google Trends, Statista, or Ahrefs. Survey 50 potential customers via Typeform.

3. Growth Strategies

• Customer Acquisition: Launch in 1 city (Q1 2026), expand to 2 more (Q3). Tactics: Referral program (20% off per friend), B2B partnerships with 10 co-working spaces.
• Market Expansion: Pilot AI app for personalized meal recs (e.g., "vegan keto" via ChatGPT integration).
• Product Diversification: Add corporate catering (20% revenue target).

Your Action Step: Prioritize 3-5 strategies with timelines. Assign owners (e.g., "Marketing lead: Secure 5 partnerships by March").

4. Sales and Marketing Plans

• Marketing Mix:

  Channel	Budget (Year 1)	Tactics	KPIs
  Social Media (Instagram/TikTok)	$10K	User-generated content, influencer collabs (micro-influencers, 10K+ followers)	50K impressions, 5% engagement
  Google/FB Ads	$10K	Retargeting for cart abandoners	$15 CAC, 3% conversion
  Email/SEO	$10K	Weekly newsletters, blog on sustainability	25% open rate, 10K subscribers
  Partnerships	$10K	Gym tie-ins, pop-up events	1K new subs

• Sales Process: Free trial week → Subscription ($12/meal, 80% retention goal) → Upsell bundles.

Your Action Step: Set up free accounts on Meta Ads, Mailchimp. Test $100 ad spend first week.

5. Financial Projections and Budget

• Year 1 Projections (conservative):

  Metric	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
  Revenue	$10K	$100K	$150K	$100K	$100K
  Expenses (COGS 40%, Marketing 25%, Ops 20%)	$10K	$10K	$100K	$130K	$140K
  Net Profit	$10K	$10K	$10K	$10K	$160K

• Break-even: Month 4 at 1,000 weekly orders. Funding: $100K loans, $10K bootstrapped.
• Budget Allocation: 40% marketing, 30% ops, 20% product dev, 10% contingency.

Your Action Step: Use Excel or LivePlan template. Input your costs; project 3 scenarios (best/worst/base).

6. Milestones and Timelines

Your Action Step: Add to Google Calendar or Asana. Review weekly.

7. Team and Resource Management

• Team: CEO (you), Marketing Specialist (hire Q1, $10K/yr), 2 Delivery Drivers (contractors), Dev Freelancer ($10K project).
• Resources Needed: $10K electric bikes, kitchen lease ($1K/mo), CRM software (HubSpot free tier).

Your Action Step: List gaps; post jobs on Indeed/Upwork.

Step-by-Step Action Plan to Create and Implement Yours (Start Today)

1. Gather Data (1-2 days): Research your market/competitors using free tools (Google, SimilarWeb).
2. Set SMART Goals (1 day): Specific, Measurable (e.g., "20% revenue growth"), Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
3. Fill Template (3-5 days): Use this example; adapt sections above.
4. Get Feedback (1 day): Share with mentor/partner via SBA SCORE (free counseling).
5. Launch & Track (Ongoing): Assign tasks, monitor KPIs monthly, pivot as needed (e.g., if ads underperform, shift to SEO).
6. Review Quarterly: Adjust for 2026 trends like AI tools or sustainability mandates.

This plan positions EcoEats for 3x growth in Year 1. Download free templates from SBA.gov or Canva for visuals.

What industry is your business in? What are your top 3 growth goals for 2026? Share details so I can customize this further!