“Our expert BD team acts as FEI’s eyes and ears in the field – consistently on the hunt for new opportunities to bring innovative technology solutions to federal, state and local agencies serving vulnerable members of their communities.” – RJ Gilson

The FEI executive team has outlined aggressive goals for building new logo business this year – that is new contracts with federal, state and local agencies we have not worked with before. While many of us play an active role in bringing in new business, this a primary responsibility of a business development executive (BDE).  

As experts in the health and human services industry, they have extensive knowledge and understanding of our client’s pain points and needs in the delivery of health and human services to vulnerable populations. Their industry expertise and skills in forging new relationships and meaningful connections equip them to effectively introduce our solutions and services to new clients, bring in qualified leads and oversee the sales process.

Led by our Chief Growth Officer, RJ Gilson, each member of our BD team is assigned to a specific region of the country. The team includes:

• Corey Atanda

• Brenda Berry

• Stephanie Kuhnel

• Eric Northrop

• Frank Persinger 

 All of them regularly attend conferences, publicly held state legislature and Medicaid council meetings and spend a fair amount of their time analyzing competitive and client intel. While out in the field, they forge and nurture relationships with key stakeholders to discern how our solutions can best meet client needs. Ultimately, they lay the groundwork for opportunities for demos and product/name recognition ahead of the release of RFPs and identify potential areas for growth.

 From initial contact to contract signing, it can take as long as two years or more to close a deal – which is quite long as compared to other industries and business-to-business sales cycles. Our BDEs are involved from the very first meetings through capture, the proposal process and oral presentations. To round out the sale, they partner with account managers who take the lead on client relations following go-live.  

 It’s never a bad time to ask a business development executive about their latest adventure – if you can catch them.

A NOTE OF THANKS

After four years with FEI, Bill Kowalski has transitioned from his role as a full-time business development executive to a strategic advisor to the BD team. We are grateful for his expertise and council. Happy “retirement” Bill!