MatchCraft is a global provider of best-in-class marketing technology. Our clients & their advertisers are spread across the map. So it is only fitting that the team responsible for spreading the word about MatchCraft and bringing in new clients is spread across the globe as well. Meet our Business Development team!
What Does The Business Development Team Do?
The Business Development team is in charge of generating new business for MatchCraft. But their role does not end there. Even after a new client has been on-boarded and handed off to one of our very efficient Client Engagement managers, members of the Business Development team continue to serve as points of contact and stay invested in the progress of the client and their advertisers. The Business Development team’s job is not just to introduce a prospective client to MatchCraft’s offerings but also to ensure continued success and build long-term relationships.
Getting To Know Them
- Matthew, who is a keen amateur cook, is afraid of snakes and other things that slither. Can’t blame him for that! He has also lived, worked and traveled all over the world.
- Tom is the father of two wonderful daughters, Meredith (17) and Devon (13) and a true sports enthusiast. He enjoys golfing, playing softball (with the head coach of the Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues, Craig Berube) and coaching his daughters’ soccer, basketball & softball teams!
- Born in Namibia and raised in South Africa, Brad has a degree in Fine Art (BFA) as a painter/sculptor and printmaker.
- Jeff, who was born on a Pacific Island, has lived in 4 US states and 4 European countries. And he firmly believes that tacos are the best food.
- Marc, who has seven children and one granddaughter, once rode the Cyclone in Coney Island 18 times in a row.
What They Love About Their Roles
- Helping Clients – Members of the team truly love being able to help agencies and media companies around the world grow and scale. Working with clients and internal teams to provide solutions that are optimal for both parties is always the goal.
“The satisfaction of bringing all the pieces of a deal together and getting it across the finishing line,” said Matthew.
- Problem Solving – The team supports MatchCraft’s clients by providing solutions to suit their ad-tech needs while also helping them ideate strategies paramount to their success and that of MatchCraft’s.
- Good People – As a member of the Business Development team, meeting new people is constantly the order of the day – something our team is very thankful for. They enjoy meeting new people and learning about new businesses & industries. Team members also greatly enjoy working with each other.
“I am fortunate enough to have a really wonderful group of people to work with,” said Jeff.
Top Challenges
- Dynamic Market – Ad Tech is an ever evolving industry and as such keeping up with the market can be challenging – a challenge our team takes in its stride and excels at! They continue to identify upcoming trends in digital, finding ways to make MatchCraft stand out from the competition and making sure that our team always stays ahead of the curve.
“The fluidity of the marketplace and the speed at which Google, Bing and Facebook move the marketplace,” said Brad.
- Customer Fit – There are companies that would like to work with MatchCraft and utilize our proprietary technology, but there may not be a mutual fit. In such a case, it can be challenging to cease the conversation and turn away new business. But our goal has always been to be 100% transparent with our clients – prospective or current.
- COVID – Working with a fully remote team comes with its own set of challenges, but the entire MatchCraft team has done a commendable job of making the best of the worst.
If Not In Business Development Then What
- Marc would be playing the stock market.
- Brad would probably spend more time in his studio or go sailing & fishing.
- Jeff, who loves creating & reorganizing teams to make them as efficient as possible, would be working in business operations. He says he is a business operator at heart.
- Tom’s grandmother used to say that he could sell air conditioners to Eskimos, so he knows that he is in the right role. But, despite his lack of baseball skills, as a college student, he dreamt of covering the Philadelphia Phillies for his hometown newspaper, The Inquirer.
- Matthew who worked in Finance before foraying into the Business Development field would most likely just go back to banking. His second choice, however, would be to write a novel – although probably not a very good one.
Why Business Development?
Members of our Business Development team come from varied professional backgrounds. From finance to art and from starting off as business analysts to being seasoned sales gurus, they’ve done and seen it all.
But what makes Business Development the field they choose to stay in, is the ample opportunities it offers for traveling, meeting new people, building long-lasting relationships, constant problem solving and helping agencies/resellers & their advertisers leverage MatchCraft’s technology as a part of the solution.
“It’s the most rewarding and overall enjoyable position in a company,” said Marc.
Evolution of Business Development
Decades ago Business Development was much more transactional in nature. If you were to reference an old piece of Business Development/Sales training literature, you would see that it was focused mainly on closing techniques and the psychology of the buying process.
However, over the years, the role has become more consultative in nature and relationship building has become a key aspect of it.
It’s no longer just about selling a product or a service, but also about understanding the issues being faced by the client and how to sustainably solve them by offering transparent advice & long-term solutions.
So, it can be said that despite all this evolution, at its core, Business Development remains unchanged – it continues to be about problem-solving. Whether the problems may be our clients’ or our own (business model, pricing etc.).