Getting your Business Development ready for 2026

A practical checklist before the holidays....

Business development is one of those areas everyone agrees is important, yet very few businesses structure properly or fully appreciate the time and skill it requires to do well. It requires consistency, discipline and a clear understanding of where time is best spent.

My advice is to read through this list with honesty. Consider what you can realistically manage internally, assess both time and capability, and recognise that business development is a skill in its own right. Not everyone enjoys it, and not everyone is good at it. That is simply the reality.

As the year comes to a close, now is the ideal time to step back and make sure the fundamentals are in place before you head into 2026.

This is the core checklist I work through with my clients as a starting point. It is not exhaustive, and it is not everything we cover, but it highlights some of the most important foundations that need to be in place to build a strong, practical and sustainable business development approach.

1. Clear target sectors and organisations - If your target market is “anyone who needs us”, that is just not going to cut it.

You should have two to four priority sectors, a defined list of target organisations within each, and clarity around the specific people you need to be building relationships with. You should also be clear on why these organisations are a good fit for your business.

If you cannot easily name your top 10 to 20 target organisations, depending on the size of your business, this is where the work starts.

2. A current list of key clients

Not all clients are equal.

Some are strategic, some are transactional, and some no longer align with where your business is heading. You should have a clear view of your key clients, where the real value sits, and how you will stay close to them in 2026. Retaining and growing existing clients is key part of your business development strategy and should never be an afterthought.

3. A revenue target for 2026

Business development without a revenue target is just activity.

You should be clear on your revenue goal for 2026, or at least the remainder of the financial year. From there, understand how much revenue is likely to come from existing clients and what gap needs to be filled with new work.

Once you understand that gap, you can start to estimate how many new clients or projects you realistically need.

4. Understanding what I call your percolating time

Percolating time is the period between your first interaction with someone and securing your first real opportunity.

For some businesses this might be three months. For others it can be twelve months or more. If your percolating time is longer, the work you do in early 2026 will directly impact results in the second half of the year and beyond.

5. A CRM that actually gets used

A CRM does not need to be complex, but it does need to be accurate and current. Clean data matters.

At a minimum, your CRM should clearly show key contacts, target organisations, current clients, follow ups required, meeting history and next actions.

If critical information lives in someone’s head or across multiple notebooks and spreadsheets, opportunities will be missed.

6. Consistent follow-up process

Good business development is rarely about the first meeting. It is about staying visible, relevant and engaged over time.

You should know who you are actively following up, who has gone quiet, who needs re-engaging, and who you you need to meet and when.

7. A simple Q1 meeting plan

January and February disappear quickly.

Before the year starts, you should already know who you want to meet, why you want to meet them, and what the outcome of those meetings should be.

An empty calendar in January is rarely accidental.

8. Clear ownership of business development

Everyone in the business can and should play a role in business development. That does not mean everyone owns it.

One person needs to be clearly responsible. Not necessarily doing everything or attending every meeting, but acting as the gatekeeper. They monitor activity, maintain oversight of the data, ensure follow ups happen and keep momentum moving.

When business development is described as “everyone’s responsibility”, it is often owned by no one. Clear accountability is what creates consistency.

9. Time, capacity and reality

All of this takes time. It is hours of work each week, and that is before you factor in meetings with clients and targets.

You need to be honest about capacity and whether business development is being squeezed around everything else. Assess what can be done effectively internally and what you may need to outsource.

10. The right support, intention, planning and investment

Very rarely have I seen a business grow without the right level of investment behind it. That investment might take the form of training, coaching, mentoring, outsourcing, or the right systems and tools.

Trying to do everything yourself is not a sustainable strategy. Growth comes from intention and planning, and it starts with getting your business development approach right.

This is the work I do through SmartVisory. Providing behind-the-scenes business development support, structure, follow-up and accountability so businesses can focus on what they do best.

If you would like a practical takeaway, you can subscribe here - https://www.smartvisory.com.au/blog and provide your email to receive a PDF version of the Business Development Readiness Checklist for 2026.

Putting these foundations in place now will make 2026 calmer, clearer and far more intentional.