Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between business developers and consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a business developer has an average salary of $101,635, which is higher than the $78,912 average annual salary of a consultant.
The top three skills for a business developer include healthcare, CRM and customer service. The most important skills for a consultant are customer service, strong analytical, and project management.
| Business Developer | Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $101,635 | $78,912 |
| Hourly rate | $48.86 | $37.94 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 193,469 | 171,733 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A business developer specializes in conducting in-depth business analysis and crafting various strategies that would not just help a business grow, but also strengthen client base and brand awareness. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around identifying areas in need of improvement. They come up with new services that will boost customer satisfaction, examining the potential for revenue and figuring out new opportunities from trends or other pre-existing programs within the company. All of this is conducted according to the vision, mission, and policies of the organization.
Consultants are individuals who were tapped by a company or an organization to work on a specific activity, depending on their field of expertise. They act as guides for the organization in undertaking projects that are related to their field. Consultants would usually assist organizations in planning, often giving advice when the need arises. They would, at times, take the lead in activities that involve data gathering and interpretation of data gathering results so that they can provide solid recommendations on actions that the organization may undertake. They may also guide the organization in implementing any changes brought about by their consultancy and in evaluating the effectiveness of the changes.
Business developers and consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Developer | Consultant | |
| Average salary | $101,635 | $78,912 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $156,000 | Between $58,000 And $107,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | L.E.K. Consulting |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a business developer and a consultant in terms of educational background:
| Business Developer | Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between business developers' and consultants' demographics:
| Business Developer | Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2% | Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 13.8% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |