Services — Business Development
Business Development Specialist
Partnerships, alliances, and new markets — including the US/Latin America corridor I’ve worked for 15 years.
Sales closes deals. Business development opens doors that didn’t exist before — partnerships, alliances, channels, and markets. It’s the difference between hunting one deal at a time and building relationships that produce deals for years.
I’ve done this at every level: VP of Business Development at SEIDOR, running a region at Vision33, Head of Sales at Quaint Business Solutions, and — before any of that — 15 years in Mexico, where I served as a binational advisor to Baja California’s Secretary of Tourism, helping American companies bring products into Latin America. I’m a member of the Forbes Business Development Council and the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council.
That’s an unusual combination: the enterprise BD playbook and the cross-border, cross-culture reality of actually doing business between two countries. Most BD advisors have one or the other. I bring both.
Does this sound familiar?
Your partnerships are handshakes that go nowhere. A flurry of “let’s partner!” meetings, a logo swap on a slide, and then… nothing. No pipeline, no revenue, just a contact you haven’t spoken to in eight months. I structure alliances with real economics — who brings what, who gets what, how you’ll know it’s working — because partnerships without economics are just networking with extra steps.
Your channel program is all cost, no revenue. You recruited resellers, built the partner portal, ran the enablement webinars — and the channel has produced roughly zero. Channels take 6 to 12 months to produce, and most companies either quit at month four or never designed the economics right in the first place. I’ll tell you which one you are, fix the design, and set expectations your CFO can live with.
Latin America looks like opportunity and a minefield at the same time. The market is real, the growth is real — and so are the cultural landmines, the relationship-first reality, and the operational gotchas around currency, logistics, and legal structure. I’ve watched well-funded companies burn seven figures learning lessons I can hand you in an afternoon. Fifteen years in Mexico, fluent Spanish, and actual advisory work south of the border: talk to me before you sign anything.
Growth has plateaued and selling harder isn’t fixing it. Your direct sales motion is maxed out — the team is working hard and the number isn’t moving. That’s the classic signal that the next stage of growth comes through others: partners, channels, alliances, new markets. I map where those doors actually are for your business instead of letting you keep pushing on a rope.
You’re unknown to the twenty people who matter most. Every industry has a short list of relationships that change trajectories — the partner, the analyst, the customer, the connector. You’re not on their radar and cold outreach isn’t getting you there. I build the systematic, no-shortcut plan for becoming known by the right people: real value first, relationships second, asks last.
What I do
Partnership and alliance strategy. Not “let’s partner!” handshakes that go nowhere — structured alliances with clear economics: who brings what, who gets what, and how you’ll know it’s working. Referral partnerships, co-selling, technology alliances, channel relationships. I’ve built them from the vendor side and the partner side, so I know where they break.
Channel development. If your product should be sold through others — resellers, integrators, consultants — I help you design the program: partner profiles, economics, enablement, and the uncomfortable truth about how long channels take to produce.
US / Latin America market entry. This is the rare one. Fifteen years living in Mexico, fluent Spanish, and real advisory work helping American companies enter Latin American markets. I know the cultural landmines, the relationship-first reality of LatAm business, and the operational gotchas — currency, logistics, legal structure — that sink well-funded market entries. If you’re looking south, talk to me before you sign anything.
Strategic relationship building. The long game: identifying the 20 relationships that would change your company’s trajectory and systematically building them. No shortcuts, no spam — the real work of becoming known by the right people.
What’s included
- BD audit: current partnerships, channels, and relationships — what’s producing, what’s theater
- Partnership strategy: target partner profiles and the economics that make alliances work
- Channel program design: structure, enablement, and realistic timelines
- LatAm market-entry assessment: opportunity, risks, and the real cost of entry
- Relationship roadmap: the key relationships to build and the plan to build them
- Ongoing advisory or fractional BD leadership for companies that need the function, not just the plan
Who it’s for
Companies ready to grow through others — not just by selling harder themselves. Software and services firms looking for channel partners. US companies eyeing Latin America (or LatAm companies eyeing the US). Any SMB whose next stage of growth needs relationships, not just leads.
Pairs naturally with Sales Expert when the internal sales machine needs building at the same time.
FAQ
What’s the difference between business development and sales?
Sales converts existing opportunities into revenue. Business development creates new opportunities that didn’t exist — partnerships, channels, markets, strategic relationships. Sales is this quarter; BD is the next eight quarters. You need both, and they’re different muscles. I’ve built both.
How long do partnerships take to produce revenue?
Longer than anyone wants to hear — typically 6 to 12 months before a new alliance produces meaningful pipeline. The companies that win at partnerships are the ones that invest before they need the results. If you need revenue next month, that’s a sales problem, not a BD problem.
We want to expand into Latin America. Where do we start?
With an honest assessment, not a launch plan. Market opportunity, competitive landscape, regulatory and currency realities, and whether your product actually fits how business gets done there. I’ve watched well-funded companies burn seven figures learning lessons I can hand you in an afternoon. Start with the call.
Do you make introductions?
When it’s a genuine fit, yes — my network across ERP, tech, and the US/Mexico business community is part of what you’re buying. But I don’t do introduction theater. If the fit isn’t real, I’ll tell you that instead of burning someone’s goodwill.
What does a BD engagement look like in the first 90 days?
Diagnosis first: your current partnerships, channels, and relationships — what’s producing, what’s theater. Then the strategy: target partner profiles, the economics that make alliances work, and a sequenced plan with realistic timelines. By day 90 you have a working BD function taking shape — outreach underway, early conversations happening, and honest expectations about when revenue follows. No hundred-page strategy deck that sits in a drawer.
Your next stage of growth is through other people.
Thirty minutes. I’ll map where your BD opportunities actually are.
Book a free consult