With a tradition of organizing design and development-heavy talks and meetups, we turned our attention to the often-overlooked field of business development. Leading industry professionals joined us for a panel discussion that resonated deeply with the community.
Last week, Infinum’s headquarters in Zagreb buzzed with a somewhat unusual jargon of pipelines, benches, ICPs, MQLs, SQLs, cold outreach, scraping. While we’re practically veterans in holding talks about design, development, and QA, our latest event marked a shift in focus – it was a session dedicated to professionals in the field of business development.
This new initiative, organized by Infinum’s business development team, brought together leading professionals from local agencies for an insightful panel discussion on the intricacies of lead generation.
Expanding on lead generation
The initiative to dive into business development topics was met with enthusiasm and success, as evidenced by the turnout and engagement at the event.
“There are different events that gather (mostly SaaS) salespeople, but as far as I know, there isn’t one relevant enough for an agency salesman. So it made sense for us to be pioneers of sorts and organize the first meetup to assemble industry-like-minded people dealing with the same problems,” shared Infinum’s panelist Marko Knežević, who was also involved in organizing the event.
In the panel moderated by Infinum’s Nikola Vrabec, Marko was joined by Taja Kuzmić, VP of product growth at Endava, Martin Morava, the CEO and founder of Devōt, and Nikša Demović, business development manager at Notch.
The discussion dove deep into various aspects of lead generation, giving attention to each stage of the process. The panelists spoke openly about the challenges encountered at different stages and shared their personal experiences in navigating these obstacles.
“The initial plan was to discuss different outbound activities that are gaining momentum in the current market conditions and share some real-life examples. However, we added a few other lead-gen-related topics, like defining ICPs, communicating the value proposition, and including and collaborating with other in-house teams,” Marko explained.
MARKO KNEŽEVIć, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, INFINUM
With their different backgrounds and experiences, each panelist was able to offer a unique perspective. Whichever specific topic was discussed at the moment, the audience received practical insights from the front lines of business development.
Initiative welcomed by the community
The atmosphere at the event was what every organizer could wish for. With few, if any, events of this nature available, attendees were eager to exchange experiences and insights, showing a real thirst for knowledge and connection. After all, it was a business development event – networking is a given.
The audience engagement was exceptional; questions flowed freely, proving that the topics discussed resonated with those in attendance.
“It was fantastic hearing stories from other agencies, and I think we all learned a lot,” remarked Martin Morava from Devōt, encapsulating the sentiment shared by many in the room.
MARTIN MORAVA, CEO & FOUNDER, Devōt
Overall, the initiative provided ample value for the community. As Nikša Demović from Notch put it, “What stood out for me the most was hearing how other people in the industry are dealing with the challenges posed by the global crisis in the past two years when business came to a standstill for everyone.”
NIKŠA DEMOVIĆ, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, NOTCH
The event wasn’t just about acquiring knowledge; it was about fostering a sense of camaraderie and solidarity within the community.
As Taja Kuzmić remarked, “The most important thing is that everyone was open in sharing their experiences and not hiding their mistakes. Admitting that we’re all experimenting to an extent makes others feel more comfortable about it too.”
TAJA KUZMIĆ, VP OF PRODUCT GROWTH, ENDAVA
Continuing the warm outreach
The resounding success of the event proves that there is a serious demand for such gatherings within the business development community.
“I’m thrilled almost 80% of signups (and we had 90+) showed up! This gives us confidence we should repeat this event and make it a regular thing once every few months,” exclaimed Marko Knežević.
Overall, the event was more than a platform for knowledge exchange – it demonstrated the power of community-building within the business development sphere. Fostering connections, sharing experiences, and collectively addressing the challenges faced in day-to-day work both strengthens the community and helps each individual navigate the landscape with more confidence.