BD Top Trumps – Card #5: Empathy
So, here we are. Five weeks, five cards, and five critical skills and behaviours that every BD & sales professional should possess.
We’ve covered Resilience, Curiosity, Knowledge, and Creativity. Now we land the series with the quiet killer: Empathy.
It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t need to. It’s the skill that turns conversations into relationships, and relationships into opportunities. And it might just be the most under-rated weapon in your BD kit. Enjoy.
#1. Read the room, not just the slides
Empathy isn’t about being soft. It’s about being switched on. The best BD professionals listen for what’s said, what’s unsaid, and what’s in between.
They pick up on:
- That shift in tone when the customer mentions budget
- The raised eyebrow when a colleague mentions restructuring
- The hesitation before someone answers “How’s the project going?”
Empathy helps you pivot mid-pitch, spot blockers early, and know when to push—or pause.
It’s not guesswork. It’s pattern recognition, emotional intelligence, and being present.
#2. Work with, not at – the power of co-creation
The best pitches don’t feel like pitches. They feel like working sessions. You’re not dropping in with a pre-packaged answer—you’re shaping the solution with the customer.
And in today’s world, with more decision-makers around the table than ever before, empathy means understanding each stakeholder’s concerns, pressure points and questions. What the CFO cares about might differ from the project lead. What legal worries about won’t be what the ops team is focused on.
Empathetic BD pros ask:
- “What would make this easier to sell internally?”
- “Who else needs to be comfortable with this approach?”
- “How can we shape this so it works for you, not just for us?”
The result? Less pushback. More buy-in. And a sense that you’re a partner, not a pusher.
#3. Empathy builds teams, too
It’s easy to focus empathy outward. But inward matters just as much—especially if you’re leading a team, running a pitch, or building a BD culture.
Empathy helps you:
- Spot burnout before it bites
- Read the silence in a team meeting
- Know when to challenge someone—and when they need backing
The best BD leaders use empathy to get the best from others. They listen. They adapt. And they make space for everyone to contribute.
Because in BD, like in sales, you win nothing alone.
Final thought
Thanks for joining us on the full BD Top Trumps series. We hope you’ve picked up a few ideas, and maybe even spotted some strengths you didn’t know you had.
We’re taking a short summer break from the newsletter while we dream up the next series. But don’t worry; we’ll be back in a couple of weeks, LEGO in hand.
P.S. Got someone in your team who just gets people? Whether customer, colleague or competitor? Share this with them. Chances are, they’ve already made a note of it.
We’re building a team of voice enabled AI assistants to support you with BD activities and allow you to spend more time being human. Interested? We’d love to chat.
