Global perspectives on business development to help you prosper. "Business Development" is so much more than sales and marketing. This podcast is for motivated business leaders dealing with complexity, wanting to make changes happen. Brought to you weekly by Andy Baqone and Scott Snowden, you'll get validation that you're on the right track and you'll come away with new ideas to accelerate your plans. From the rocky shores of Lake Ontario and the dreary streets of London, this transatlantic duo opine about the things they wish they'd known long ago - most of which they've just figured out.
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August 12, 2026Episode 14321 min
RFPs: Win It, Reshape It, or Walk Away
RFP arrives. Cue excitement. Then, occasionally, several days of frantic proposal writing followed by the dawning realisation that perhaps we should have asked a few questions first. In this week’s episode, we talk about the three broad choices we think businesses have when an RFP lands: Try to win it. Reshape the process. Or walk away. The important bit is deciding which one before mobilising half the company, cancelling everyone’s weekend, and asking AI to produce 47 slightly different versions of the executive summary. We cover why even an RFP from an existing client should be treated as a fresh opportunity, why you still need to qualify the buyer, budget, stakeholders and competitive landscape, and why procurement’s process does not automatically have to become your entire sales process. We also touch on something we’re starting to notice more with AI: it can compress an extraordinary amount of work into a much shorter period… which is brilliant, until your brain sends you an invoice. Our main takeaway? Permission to participate is not probability of winning. If you’re responding to RFPs, that distinction can save an enormous amount of time, energy and disappointment.
August 5, 2026Episode 14226 min
Proof Before Promises: Building Proposals That Make “Yes” Easier
Most proposals explain the solution. The best proposals prove the decision. In our latest episode, we explore “proof architecture” — the combination of evidence, structure and story that helps a buyer feel confident saying yes. A strong proposal should show: • Why the problem matters • Why acting now makes sense • Why your approach is credible • Why you can actually deliver • What success looks like • How the decision can be defended internally That final point matters more than most sellers realise. The person you are speaking to may love the proposal, but finance, operations, sales and the rest of the buying committee will still have questions. Usually when you are not in the room, which is always convenient. We also talk about market expansion, ambitious plans, shiny new offices and the minor strategic detail of having a strategy before spending all the money. The big takeaway: your proposal should not just describe what you do. It should make the decision feel safer, clearer and easier to support.
July 29, 2026Episode 14124 min
Executive Visibility Without Becoming LinkedIn Wallpaper
Visibility without direction is just noise. That was one of the slightly uncomfortable conclusions we reached in our latest bonus episode. It is easy to assume that building an executive profile means posting more, speaking more and generally making sure our face appears everywhere short of the side of a bus. But being seen is not the same as being useful. A strong executive visibility plan needs: • A clear audience • Relevant content themes • A consistent publishing rhythm • Meaningful relationships • Commercial purpose • Enough flexibility to respond when the market changes We also discussed the importance of revisiting ideal customer profiles, collaborating with credible partners and grounding our opinions in actual experience rather than simply adding another inspirational paragraph to the internet. Our big takeaway: be consistently visible to the right people, with the right ideas, for the right reasons. Simple in theory. Slightly more awkward when we look at our own LinkedIn habits.
July 22, 2026Episode 14025 min
The Marketing Tool Shed: Build the Engine Before Buying More Spanners
We have discovered the fastest way to waste money in marketing: Buy a shiny new tool before deciding what problem it is meant to solve. In this episode of Tea and Timbits, we talk about the marketing tools we actually use—and, more importantly, the thinking that should come before them. We cover: • Turning recorded conversations into blogs, posts and short-form video • Using StreamYard, Opus Pro, YouTube and AI in a practical content workflow • Choosing between Campaign Monitor and Mailchimp • Where HubSpot and Salesforce fit • Why a spreadsheet, a pen or a sensible process may still beat an expensive platform • Why AI should accelerate judgment rather than replace it We also compare marketing prioritization to planning a music festival. You cannot see every band, just as you cannot pursue every customer with equal intensity. Sometimes the better opportunity is not the biggest stage—it is the one where you can actually get close enough to make an impact. Our conclusion: build the engine first. Then buy the tools. Otherwise, you are simply collecting very expensive digital spanners. #BusinessDevelopment #MarketingTools #ContentMarketing #SalesStrategy #AIForBusiness #CRM #TeaAndTimbits
July 22, 2026Episode 13922 min
Build Your Own Marketing Engine: Turning Visibility into Sales
What happens when your marketing department is missing, disconnected or simply not giving sales what it needs? You build your own marketing engine. In this episode, we explore how salespeople, business development professionals and commercial leaders can create the content, systems and momentum needed to move prospects from visibility to trust — and from trust to an actual commercial conversation. We look at the difference between sales and marketing, why a clearly defined sales process matters, and how useful content, proof points and follow-up systems can support every stage of the buyer journey. We also discuss the danger of generating plenty of attention without having a sensible next step for the people who are ready to work with you. Along the way, we somehow turn an aggressively talkative, expiring smoke detector into a lesson about customer experience. Because apparently even household safety equipment can teach us something about poor communication. Whether you have a brilliant marketing team, no marketing team or one that feels several postal codes away, this episode will help you think more intentionally about building a marketing engine that actually supports growth.
July 8, 2026Episode 13824 min
Marketing Departments: Helpful Engine or Fancy Lead Confetti?
This week, we’re talking about what happens when sales and marketing either work beautifully together… or stare at each other across the office wondering who dropped the lead-shaped ball. We dig into the classic sales-versus-marketing tension: marketing says sales ignores the resources and leads, sales says marketing sends things that look suspiciously like “busy work with a logo on it,” and somewhere in the middle sits the customer, quietly wondering what problem we actually solve. We also look at what to do when there isn’t a marketing department. Spoiler: marketing still has to happen. Whether it’s building a clear narrative, answering customer questions publicly, or turning everyday sales conversations into useful content, we make the case that marketing is a function, not just a department with branded pens. Naturally, we also find time for a maple-syrup old fashioned, a life lesson from the CN Tower, and the shocking revelation that “more leads” is not always the same as “more sales.” Who knew? Well… apparently we should have. Sales says marketing doesn’t send good leads. Marketing says sales doesn’t follow up properly. Customers say, “Sorry, what do you actually do again?” In this episode, we talk about working with — or without — a marketing department, and why the real issue is usually alignment, not effort. A few things we unpacked: Marketing is not just logos, events, giveaways, or “making things look nice.” It’s the function that helps the market understand who you help, what problems you solve, why those problems matter, and why anyone should trust you. Sales is not just waiting for perfect leads to arrive in a neatly wrapped bow. If the marketing function disappeared tomorrow, someone still has to build credibility, create conversations, and help customers move from “vaguely interested” to “yes, this might actually solve my problem.” The big takeaway for us: sales and marketing need to align not just on the big commercial outcome, but on the journey. What counts as a good lead? What happens next? Who owns each step? What metrics tell us whether the system is working, rather than just keeping everyone impressively busy? And for smaller teams without a marketing department, we shared a simple cheat code: when a customer asks a good question, don’t just answer it privately. Turn that answer into a post, article, or reusable piece of content. Then send the answer. Congratulations, you’ve just done marketing without needing a committee, a lanyard, or a suspiciously expensive booth backdrop. As ever, we remain humble, mostly aligned, and only mildly distracted by maple syrup cocktails.
July 1, 2026Episode 13727 min
Showing Up Before People Look You Up
We kick off our July marketing theme by tackling personal branding — which, despite sounding like something you’d find printed on a suspiciously expensive notebook, is actually quite useful. We talk about why personal branding isn’t really about vanity, self-promotion, or becoming a LinkedIn superstar — thankfully, because that sounds exhausting. It’s about being deliberate with how people understand who we are, what we stand for, and why we might be useful before that first proper conversation even happens. We also get into the awkward early days of posting online, why AI can help shape a narrative without replacing the actual thinking, and why deleting your professional history when changing industries might create more work than it solves. Along the way, there’s Canada Day, Paris, old-fashions with maple syrup, and the usual amount of self-inflicted microphone-related anxiety. Personal branding may not close deals on its own, but it can make the next conversation a lot easier. And honestly, we’ll take all the help we can get. In this episode, we make the case that personal branding doesn’t have to be cringe. It’s not about pretending to be a guru. It’s not about posting for the sake of posting. And it’s definitely not about outsourcing your entire personality to AI and hoping nobody notices. It’s about being intentional. Because whether we like it or not, people already form an opinion of us before we’re in the room. They search. They scroll. They ask around. And if we haven’t shaped that narrative at all, someone — or something — else will do it for us. We talked about: why personal branding helps before the first conversation, not magically at the end of the sales process why showing up consistently feels awkward before it feels useful how AI can support the thinking without replacing the thinker why your career history still has value, even when you change industries and why “nobody liked my post” is not the same as “nobody noticed” Also, there’s Canada Day, Paris, and a suggestion involving maple syrup in an old-fashioned. So, you know, serious business thinking as always.
June 26, 2026Episode 13728 min
Sales Methodologies: Less Theory, More Toolbox
This week, we wrap up our month on sales methodologies by getting practical: what tools actually help teams turn clever frameworks into real commercial outcomes? We start, naturally, with a highly professional sports briefing involving Blue Jays baseball, Canadian hockey confusion, and cricket formats that may or may not require a week off work. Then we get into the useful stuff: training, coaching, playbooks, process diagrams, call-planning cards, stakeholder maps, opportunity strategy documents, scorecards, and the slightly awkward truth that none of these matter unless you actually use them. We also get an accidental live demonstration of contingency planning when the UK internet/power situation decides to contribute to the episode. Very on-brand. Very educational. Slightly stressful. If you’ve ever wondered how to make sales methodologies less like a poster on the wall and more like something your team can apply every day, this one’s for you.
June 17, 2026Episode 13524 min
Sandler Sales: When to Stop Chasing and Start Qualifying
This week, we continue our sales methodology mini-series with Sandler, the one that politely asks: “Is this actually a real opportunity, or are we just getting excited because someone said the word ‘proposal’?” We look at how Sandler fits alongside Challenger and SPIN, especially in complex B2B sales where enthusiasm, budget, authority, and commitment are definitely not the same thing. We also get into the importance of uncovering the real pain—or ambition—behind a buying conversation, mapping who else is affected, and knowing when to protect your time by walking away from a deal that was never really a deal. There’s also a very modern detour into AI-written briefs, AI tropes, and the uncomfortable moment when something sounds brilliant because a robot made it sound brilliant. As ever, we learn lessons the easy way, by admitting the slightly awkward bits out loud.
June 10, 2026Episode 13421 min
SPIN Selling: Asking Better Questions Without Sounding Like a Sales Robot
We’ve all had that moment when a prospect says, “We need you to build X.” And the tempting response is: “Brilliant. Where do we send the invoice?” But this week’s episode reminded us that the better response is probably: “Interesting — how did you get to X?” That’s where SPIN Selling comes in. Situation.Problem.Implication.Need-Payoff. It’s a simple framework, but a useful one. Not because it magically closes deals while we sit back looking smug — sadly, no methodology has managed that yet — but because it helps structure better conversations. We talked about how SPIN can be used in discovery, prospecting, account management, customer service, and even those moments when someone arrives already convinced they know the solution. It gives us a way to slow down, understand the real issue, and reflect the customer’s world back to them before leaping into advice mode. We also compared it with Challenger Selling and landed on something that feels pretty important: these frameworks work best when they’re combined thoughtfully, not treated like sacred tablets from Mount Sales. Because, as usual, the answer is: “It depends.” Deeply annoying. Often true.
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