How to hire a business development consultant

How to hire a business development consultant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business development consultant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business development consultant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business development consultant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a business development consultant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your business development consultant job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a business development consultant for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A business development consultant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, business development consultants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of business development consultants.

   Type of Business Development Consultant	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Development Consultant	A Business Development Consultant, also known as a Management Analyst, creates strategic development plans to increase the profitability of a company. They are responsible for implementation of strategic plans, customer budgets, and ongoing forecasts.	$25-65
   Business Advisor	Business Advisors are consultants responsible for implementing business strategies to improve financial and operational efficiency. They are involved in preparing financial budgets, recommending a change in the operational process, identifying new business opportunities, evaluating a marketing strategy, and reviewing supplier and labor contracts... Show more	$32-66
   Strategy Consultant	A strategy consultant specializes in examining and analyzing business processes to identify areas needing improvement, ensuring to provide strategies for optimal performance. A strategy consultant may work as a member of a company or as a freelancer... Show more	$41-72

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Healthcare
   • CRM
   • Cloud
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Sales Training
   • Sales Pipeline
   • Data Warehousing
   • Customer Service
   • Product Development
   • Project Management
   • Strong Analytical
   • Business Development Strategies
   • Java
   • Lead Generation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and negotiate key vendor relationships including financial transaction processing, product marketing, advertising and collateral fulfillment to maximize ROI.
   • Improve customer retention and customer satisfaction by implementing a CRM system.
   • Work alongside CEO in developing and implementing a sales training program/protocols for new salespeople using a customize CRM
   • Connect business processes through its online payroll solution, integrate human resource information system and cloud computing services.
   • Conduct extensive research to identify healthcare provider clients and physician job candidates.
   • Arrange in-person meetings to referring primary care providers and other community healthcare organizations.

   More business development consultant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business development consultant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A business development consultant salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, business development consultants' average salary in hawaii is 50% less than in pennsylvania.
   • Seniority. Entry-level business development consultants earn 62% less than senior-level business development consultants.
   • Certifications. A business development consultant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a business development consultant's salary.

   Average business development consultant salary

   $85,153yearly

   $40.94 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business development consultant salary

   $52,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average business development consultant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Minnesota	$104,379	$50
   2	California	$103,845	$50
   3	Connecticut	$103,305	$50
   4	Massachusetts	$100,631	$48
   5	Virginia	$100,300	$48
   6	Illinois	$98,678	$47
   7	New York	$93,783	$45
   8	Texas	$89,252	$43
   9	New Jersey	$88,823	$43
   10	Ohio	$80,656	$39
   11	North Carolina	$80,036	$38
   12	Iowa	$79,325	$38
   13	Arizona	$75,522	$36
   14	Georgia	$70,069	$34
   15	Colorado	$67,453	$32
   16	Florida	$58,894	$28

   Average business development consultant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Veeva Systems	$128,122	$61.60	51
   2	Dell	$127,344	$61.22	21
   3	HP	$124,853	$60.03	3
   4	UBS	$114,832	$55.21	4
   5	United Nations Foundation	$113,836	$54.73
   6	Medtronic	$113,020	$54.34	42
   7	ARRIS	$111,963	$53.83
   8	Verizon Data Services Inc	$111,246	$53.48
   9	Cox Media Group	$110,841	$53.29	16
   10	GBS	$109,769	$52.77
   11	Cargill	$105,696	$50.82	17
   12	AssetMark	$104,548	$50.26	9
   13	Siemens	$101,800	$48.94	87
   14	Motorola Solutions	$101,513	$48.80	24
   15	Steelcase	$99,315	$47.75	2
   16	Verizon Communications	$99,276	$47.73	2
   17	Korn Ferry	$99,099	$47.64
   18	Adtalem Global Education	$96,405	$46.35	2
   19	Good Shepherd Hospice	$96,187	$46.24	1
   20	KBKG	$95,185	$45.76

4. Writing a business development consultant job description

   A good business development consultant job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a business development consultant job description:

   Business development consultant job description example

   Veeva is a mission-driven organization that aspires to help our customers in Life Sciences and Regulated industries bring their products to market, faster. We are shaped by our values: Do the Right Thing, Customer Success, Employee Success, and Speed. Our teams develop transformative cloud software, services, consulting, and data to make our customers more efficient and effective in everything they do. Veeva is a work anywhere company. You can work at home, at a customer site, or in an office on any given day. As a Public Benefit Corporation, you will also work for a company focused on making a positive impact on its customers, employees, and communities.
   The Role
   
   Veeva is dedicated to building careers for new, young professionals. Generation Veeva is a global organization that offers multiple development programs and career paths. Workshops, mentors, career path planning, and on-the-job learning are all things you can look forward to as you grow your career at Veeva.
   
   Join us as an Associate Business Consultant in our Business Consultant Development Program (BCDP) within the R&D Business Consulting practice. The role is specifically designed for those looking to jumpstart their professional careers who are interested in learning how to support Life Sciences (Pharma and Biotech) organizations by driving innovation and partnership in the industry. The R&D team supports the industry with time to market, operating models, business process engineering, or data strategy. If you have a passion for how strategy, data, and technology in the R&D space can improve industries that impact our everyday lives, this may be the job for you!
   
   Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the European Union. Veeva does not provide sponsorship for employment visa status for this employment position.
   
   The anticipated start date for this role is August 2023.
   
   While this role is Work from Anywhere, Associate Business Consultants are required to live within commuting distance from the Berlin or Frankfurt office.
   What You'll DoLearn how to create solutions, deliverables, and documentation Collaborate with Senior Business Consultants supporting key deliverables and timelines Gain an understanding of and contribute to the Veeva R&D Business Consulting team Demonstrate ability to assimilate new knowledge Support customers to realize the value of Veeva Commercial Cloud software
   RequirementsUniversity Degree (Bachelor's) with strong academic performance Don't have a university degree? That's OK if you have the equivalent skills gained through work experience or disciplined self-study0-2 years of professional experience Fluent in German and EnglishAbility to take business and technical concepts and express them as potential strategic solutions Excellent verbal and written communication skills Strong analytical and problem-solving skills Desire to work in an intense, fast-paced environment Ability to manage time in person and remotely, prioritize and meet deadlines Willingness to travel roughly 40-60% of the time - this can vary by engagement
   Nice to HaveDegree in Life Sciences, Engineering, or another similar degree/work experience/Master's degree Prior work or internship experience in Life Science, R&D, and/or consulting Experience in Tableau or data visualization
   Veeva's headquarters is located in the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in more than 15 countries around the world.
   
   Veeva is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and growing a diverse workforce. Diversity makes us stronger. It comes in many forms. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, politics, sexual orientation, age, disability and life experience shape us all into unique individuals. We value people for the individuals they are and the contributions they can bring to our teams.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find business development consultants for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any business development consultants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level business development consultants with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business development consultant job on Zippia to find and recruit business development consultant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit business development consultants, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business development consultant

   Once you have selected a candidate for the business development consultant position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new business development consultant. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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