Business development professionals may handle a wide range of activities from prospecting/qualifying early-stage sales leads to mid or end stage business planning. While junior level business development representatives focus on cold calling and converting a lead into a sales opportunity, senior level business level executives focus on strategy and planning in sales and marketing areas.
Business development professionals are involved in sales, marketing, partner development, strategic planning, business expansion, etc., but these are not the sole functions of business development professionals; they also work closely with various departments to achieve overall business objectives.
Education and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in business or sales/marketing
- Master’s degree in business or sales/marketing or an industry specific specialization
- People from sales, marketing, strategic management, technical side can transition into business development roles.
Responsibilities
- Gaining knowledge about business operations
- Researching skills to understand the market, potential customers, and competition
- Devising a business plan to define business objectives/goals, allocate cost, define ways to achieve them, etc.
- Coming up with create ideas to expand the business including new markets
- Partnership management
- Working with various internal departments including sales, marketing, finance, product development, etc.
- Negotiating and closing deals
- Strategic decision making along with other business leaders
- Tracking progress towards goals
A Day in the Life
- Meeting with internal teams to understand the current state of the business
- Cold calling/emailing prospective customers and business partners; send follow-up emails to existing leads
- Traveling to client and partner locations
- Meeting with clients or partners and building relationships
- Managing business developers (in senior roles)
- Overseeing all aspects of sales
- Learning about industry trends, competitors, partners, customer bases, etc.
Other Necessary Skills
- Analytical and quantitative skills
- Communication skills
- Negotiation skills
- Networking
- Leadership skills
Career Progression
Business Developer –>Â Business Development Manager –>Â Business Development Director/Vice President
Salary
Most business development roles are commission based; so, there is technically no upper ceiling in the pay scale.
Median salary for business development professional can range from $40K onwards. It significantly varies by years of experience, industry type, location, etc.
Job Growth
US Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track Business Development Manager role as a separate occupation; so, we need to go with the assumption that the growth will be similar to business and financial occupations, which is projected to grow at 8% from 2020 to 2030.
Summary
If you are a risk taker and people person, this could be a great choice for you. Business development personnel are usually self-motivated and ready to deal with rejection from the customer-end. There is also a bit of stress when trying to meet quarterly and yearly targets. This career involves frequent travel to meet with clients.
