How a Business Developer Landed Major Deals with a Top National Corporation and Elevated His Company's Success Business development is a concerted effort directed towards fostering and expanding a business, says Maxim Lukyanov

Maxim Lukyanov, a seasoned business developer, began his journey as a sales specialist in the high-tech realm. Over time, he played a pivotal role in aiding multiple companies to penetrate new markets, forging connections with prominent clients in the oil and gas industry, and securing their positions as suppliers to the nation's top-tier organizations. Notably, under his guidance, Huawei became a certified equipment supplier for Gazprom. Within six years, sales in the oil and gas sector skyrocketed to 100 million dollars.

With a robust 15-year track record in business development and sales, Maxim is adept at propelling company revenues. He crafts innovative sales strategies, pinpoints growth avenues, and uncovers fresh sales channels. His early affiliations with organizations linked to Gazprom provided him with a deep dive into the intricacies of the oil and gas market. This immersion equipped him with insights into its operational dynamics, business processes, and product preferences.

A significant chapter in Maxim's illustrious career was his tenure at Open Technologies, spanning six years. Climbing the ranks swiftly, he transitioned from a sales manager to the head of the energy department. Entrusted with spearheading business development in the oil, gas, and energy sectors, Maxim's leadership saw Open Technologies' market share soar from 0 to 30%. His adept team management, the confidence of shareholders, and his rich experience in the oil and gas sector enabled fruitful collaborations with industry giants like Gazprom, Rosneft, Rosseti, and Inter RAO. Under Maxim's visionary approach, Open Technologies clinched pivotal projects, including data center construction contracts. By 2014, buoyed by partnerships initiated during Maxim's leadership, the company's turnover touched an impressive RUB 2 bln.

Maxim Lukyanov's unparalleled success at Open Technologies caught the attention of a larger entity with equally ambitious market aspirations: Huawei. The tech giant was on the hunt for someone capable of spearheading their foray into the oil and gas sector. Maxim, with his proven expertise, was the perfect fit. He adeptly leveraged his skills to bolster Huawei's B2B client portfolio in the oil and gas domain, significantly enhancing the company's footprint and market share among the industry's elites. Despite Huawei's stature as a colossal corporation with intricate business processes and a pronounced bureaucratic structure, these characteristics didn't stifle Maxim's agility. He navigated through these complexities, revising customer engagement strategies as needed. One of his primary challenges was to dispel the skepticism surrounding Chinese equipment among Russian firms and to secure a deal for supplying telecommunication equipment to Gazprom.

Maxim's approach was methodical. He meticulously crafted a tailored strategy, delving deep into Gazprom's needs, ensuring that any collaboration would be mutually beneficial. He firmly believed in the "win-win" ethos: when a client's business thrives, the supplier's business flourishes in tandem. To achieve this, Maxim needed to understand Gazprom's engineers' mindset, articulate the merits of Huawei's products, highlight their unique features, and persuade them to consider Huawei's offerings over American counterparts.

To make this transition appealing, Maxim brokered a deal with Huawei's top brass. He proposed offering complimentary training sessions for Gazprom's staff, some even hosted in China, to acquaint them with Huawei's state-of-the-art equipment. Additionally, he offered a substantial amount of equipment for Gazprom to test, coupled with comprehensive technical support. This gesture resonated with Gazprom's engineers and subsidiary heads. They valued this collaborative approach, which culminated in their allegiance to Huawei and, consequently, lucrative contracts.

Maxim Lukyanov's prowess in business development was a game-changer for Huawei. Through his strategic efforts, the tech giant forged a lucrative partnership with Gazprom, positioning itself as a primary supplier of IT and telecommunication equipment. This collaboration led to the execution of projects worth billions of rubles. Maxim was instrumental in fostering these relationships, establishing horizontal liaisons with independent departments, while delegating vertical communications to a newly appointed manager. At the zenith of his role, he led a formidable team of 20 professionals.

His innovative approach to business was evident in the infrastructure of the iconic Lakhta Center skyscraper in St. Petersburg, a Gazprom property. The majority of the communications and a significant portion of the IT infrastructure in this architectural marvel are powered by Huawei equipment. Furthermore, under Maxim's guidance, five or six additional business centers owned by the Russian corporation were equipped with Huawei's network solutions. One of his crowning achievements was overseeing the project that modernized the data transmission network, transitioning from Cisco to Huawei equipment. During Maxim's tenure, Huawei's market share in IT equipment contracts surged from a modest 5% to an impressive 30%. His ability to swiftly strategize and expand Huawei's new business vertical was nothing short of remarkable. The company witnessed a sales boost of USD 20 million in the initial three years, which further ballooned to USD 100 million over six years. For each of the six years he dedicated to Huawei, Maxim's exceptional contributions were recognized. He was consistently honored with accolades such as "Best Salesman", "Best Sales Team", and "Best Project".

Maxim Lukyanov firmly believes in the indispensable role of business development for a company's growth, a sentiment he feels is often undervalued in the corporate world. Business development, in his view, is a multifaceted domain encompassing marketing, project management, sales, networking, and more. It equips companies with strategies to cut costs, pinpoint lucrative markets, identify potential clientele, and streamline sales channels to bolster profits.

"Business development is a concerted effort directed towards fostering and expanding a business. It revolves around forging and nurturing relationships with other enterprises, cementing mutually advantageous partnerships, and catalyzing business growth and revenue enhancement," Maxim elucidates. He emphasizes that the crux of business development lies in the relentless pursuit of growth avenues across three dimensions: customers, markets, and relationships.

While innate skills and instincts play a role, formal education is pivotal to grasp the nuances of business processes and the multifarious responsibilities of a business developer. Wearing multiple hats, a business developer functions as an analyst, project manager, salesperson, partner liaison, and team leader, overseeing team cohesion and evolution. Recognizing the importance of a solid educational foundation, Maxim pursued an EMBA in Global Leadership from the renowned IMD Business School in Switzerland. His academic journey also led him to Oxford, where he undertook a year-long Global Management course, and to Skolkovo Business School for further studies.

While formal education lays the groundwork for understanding business processes, there are certain skills that aren't typically taught in classrooms but are crucial for a business developer. Maxim Lukyanov emphasizes the importance of these skills, which often stem from experience, intuition, and a keen understanding of the business landscape.

"A business developer should possess the acumen to discern client needs, comprehend the company's internal business processes, and craft strategies to engage decision-makers," Maxim opines. He underscores the value of sourcing information from unconventional avenues, such as corporate reports, media publications, or insights from industry-specific exhibitions. Drawing from his own experience, Maxim recalls how he gleaned information about Gazprom's plans to construct a new pipeline from a report. This knowledge enabled him to proactively approach Gazprom with a tailored proposal for equipment supply, rather than a generic pitch for collaboration. In his view, presenting potential clients with solutions tailored to their immediate needs is far more impactful than approaching them with a vague proposition.

Networking, according to Maxim, is another cornerstone for a business developer. "Effective communication and a genuine sense of empathy are the hallmarks of a proficient business development manager. These traits are indispensable for cultivating a robust network," he asserts. Furthermore, negotiation skills, typically honed by sales representatives, are equally vital for a business developer.

In Maxim's experience, the most successful business developers serve as a singular communication conduit for their clients, addressing all concerns and queries. This "one-window" approach simplifies interactions and fosters trust. Beyond professional engagements, Maxim believes in the power of personal connections. Whether it's recommending a restaurant during a client's travels or suggesting a specialist for a particular need, these gestures, though seemingly small, can significantly strengthen the bond between a business developer and a client.

After a fulfilling seven-year tenure at Huawei, Maxim Lukyanov felt the itch for a new challenge. He sensed that he had peaked in terms of personal growth within the company and yearned for a fresh landscape of non-standard business challenges. Transitioning from a corporate role to entrepreneurship, Maxim co-founded Nemax Capital, a venture in the real estate and development sector. The company's mission is to provide affordable housing solutions in South Florida for families unable to purchase their own homes. Their innovative model involves acquiring 100-hectare land parcels in smaller towns and developing them into residential communities. The vision is for residents to enjoy affordable suburban living while having access to job opportunities in nearby cities.

While Maxim's partner, with two decades of real estate experience, oversees construction-related matters, Maxim's role is pivotal in shaping the company's strategy, networking, and investor relations. Reflecting on his transition, Maxim says, "I'm driven to demonstrate that success can be replicated across different markets and industries. For a business developer, adapting to industry shifts isn't a hurdle. The essence lies in staying attuned to market demands, discerning the value proposition for consumers, and packaging the product accordingly."

Discussing their foray into the fiercely competitive U.S. real estate market, Maxim underscores the allure of competition. He believes that while carving out a unique niche (a "blue ocean") has its merits, there's a distinct advantage in entering an established market and introducing innovative offerings. In such a "blood ocean", the rules are clear, business processes are streamlined, and competition serves as a motivating force. The challenge then is to outperform competitors by delivering superior, faster, or more cost-effective solutions.

Maxim is a staunch advocate for the role of business developers in shaping the future of businesses. He envisions them as catalysts who can unveil new horizons, identify growth vectors, refine value propositions, bolster reputations, and amplify profits. Drawing parallels, he cites examples like Swarovski, a family-run business that rejuvenated under the leadership of external managers, and Birkenstock, a German company that ventured beyond its traditional product line to capture new markets. For Maxim, these instances underscore the transformative potential of fresh perspectives and innovative strategies in business.