By Sydney Mabalayo, Director of Strategy and Business Development: SPM
In industrial work, the tender is often not where the relationship starts.
By the time a formal request goes out, the client has usually been watching the market for some time. They know who has been present. They know which companies understand their operating environment. They know who responds properly, who follows through, and who only arrives when there is work to chase.
That matters in our sector.
A factory, plant, mine or substation environment does not have room for guesswork. When work needs to happen, it is usually tied to production pressure, shutdown windows, safety requirements, procurement timelines and teams that are already carrying a lot. A client is not only looking for a company that can submit documents and meet the technical scope. They are looking for people they can trust inside a live operating environment.
That trust is built long before a tender document is issued.
It is built in the way a company handles early conversations. It is built when a client asks for input and the response is practical, not exaggerated. It is built when a contractor understands that every site has its own constraints, and that what works in one environment may not work in another. It is built when a company gives honest guidance, even when there is no immediate purchase order attached to the discussion.
This is where Business Development has a very specific role.
At SPM, Business Development is not Sales. Sales has its own place in the business. Business Development sits earlier in the process. It is about understanding the market, reading client needs, building long-term relationships and helping the business see where its capabilities can solve real operational problems.
That kind of work requires patience. You cannot build credibility in industrial sectors by arriving late with a brochure and hoping the relationship will catch up. Clients want to know that you understand their pressures before you ask for their work. They want to know that you understand what happens when a delay affects production, when a shutdown window becomes tight, or when one missed detail creates pressure for several teams on site.
These things stay in a client’s mind.
They remember the companies that listened properly. They remember the contractors who gave useful input before anything was awarded. They remember the people who were available when a problem needed thought, not only when a contract needed signing.
For me, that is one of the most important parts of strategy and business development in industrial environments. The work is not only about finding opportunities. It is about being close enough to the sector to understand where pressure is building, where clients need support, and where the business can add value without forcing a sales conversation.
When the tender eventually comes, the paperwork still matters. Pricing matters. Compliance matters. Technical capability matters. But the client’s confidence has often been shaped much earlier.
In industrial sectors, reputation is built in the months and years before the tender. By the time the opportunity becomes formal, the relationship has usually already told its own story.