Many people seem to struggle with what business development entails. Mostly, because the business itself has so many different operational activities. But what it relates to is actually the act of acquiring new business to increase sales. Within the sales team, there are generally three important roles. The business development executive is responsible for generating leads and closing new accounts. An account manager is responsible for managing the relationship of these existing accounts. Last, but not least, a business development director is responsible for setting strategic plans to effectively chase, maintain, and deliver for new and existing business accounts.
A business development director is involved in tasks such as conducting market research, developing account management strategies, identifing business opportunities, and liaising between the sales team, vendor, and customers. Besides that, they track performance targets, handle requests for proposals, and facilitate the hiring and training of sales staff.
Employers require business development directors to have a bachelor's degree related to business. In addition, three to five years of relevant work experience need to be demonstrated. This role earns, on average, $57 per hour and suits individuals who have a passion for sales and management.
What is a Business Development Director?
What Does a Business Development Director Do
There are certain skills that many business development directors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed creativity, interpersonal skills and organizational skills.
How To Become a Business Development Director
If you're interested in becoming a business development director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 74.0% of business development directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.5% of business development directors have master's degrees. Even though most business development directors have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Business Development Director Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a business development director can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as vice president, progress to a title such as sales vice president and then eventually end up with the title sales vice president.
Average Salary for a Business Development Director
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Business Development Director Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active business development director jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where business development directors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Business Development Director Jobs By State
Top Colleges for Business Development Directors
1. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
2. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Private
3. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
4. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
5. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
6. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
7. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
9. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
10. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
Top Skills For a Business Development Director
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.8% of business development directors listed healthcare on their resume, but soft skills such as creativity and interpersonal skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Business Development Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Business Development Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Business Development Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Business Development Director Demographics
Business Development Director Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among business development directors, 27.7% of them are women, while 72.3% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among business development directors is White, which makes up 72.0% of all business development directors.
- The most common foreign language among business development directors is Spanish at 38.3%.
Work Experience Programs For Business Development Directors
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4.5-5.5 hours
Company: NSW Government Virtual Program
Cost: Free
Duration: 1-2 hours
Company: Clifford Chance
Cost: Free
Duration: 7.5-8.5 hours
Company: Accenture Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Accenture North America
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Sydney School of Entrepreneurship
Cost: Free
Duration: 7-9 hours
Company: JPMorgan Chase
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-5 hours
Online Courses For Business Development Director That You May Like
The Ultimate Sales Methodology for Business Development & B2B Sales to Learn Sales Strategy, Sales Skills & Deal Closing...
The Complete Startup Playbook for Business Development & B2B Sales to learn Lead Generation, Pitching, & Closing Deals...
Learn 3 key business strategy tools. Improve your business innovation skills and drive profitable business development...
Best States For a Business Development Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a business development director. The best states for people in this position are New Mexico, California, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. Business development directors make the most in New Mexico with an average salary of $133,693. Whereas in California and Massachusetts, they would average $132,585 and $126,285, respectively. While business development directors would only make an average of $126,078 in Tennessee, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New Mexico
$133,693
Avg. Salary
2. Tennessee
$126,078
Avg. Salary
3. Nevada
$120,204
Avg. Salary
How Do Business Development Director Rate Their Jobs?
Top Business Development Director Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ business development directors and discovered their number of business development director opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that KPMG was the best, especially with an average salary of $116,646. Northrop Grumman follows up with an average salary of $136,109, and then comes American Express with an average of $139,784. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a business development director. The employers include Nationwide, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and QuintilesIMS
Most Common Employers For Business Development Director
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | $150,617 | $72.41 | 32 |
| 2 | Salesforce | $150,118 | $72.17 | 22 |
| 3 | Accenture | $148,957 | $71.61 | 30 |
| 4 | IBM | $147,434 | $70.88 | 24 |
| 5 | AT&T | $147,066 | $70.70 | 22 |
| 6 | Raytheon Technologies | $142,853 | $68.68 | 22 |
| 7 | American Express | $139,784 | $67.20 | 47 |
| 8 | Northrop Grumman | $136,109 | $65.44 | 47 |
| 9 | Motorola Solutions | $134,677 | $64.75 | 32 |
| 10 | Aramark | $133,889 | $64.37 | 24 |
Business Development Director Videos
Becoming a Business Development Director FAQs
How Do I Become A Successful Business Development Director?
You can become a successful business development director by understanding your employer's goals, utilizing proven business strategies, and developing intricate interpersonal skills, such as negotiations and communications. They also have a thirst for curiosity and heavily utilize research methodologies.
How Do You Become A Head Of Business Development?
You can become a head of business development by securing a bachelor's degree in business administration or a similar field, gaining practical experience, and creating a proven portfolio or record of accomplishments and successful projects.
How Much Do Directors Of Business Development Make?
Directors of business development make around $194,300 per year on average, with the possibility for bonuses ranging from $20,000 to $30,000 depending on employer and industry.
Some directors of business development may find they make more than others in their professional sphere. These differences tend to appear based on client demographics, industry saturation and demand, and the specific employer.
How Much Does A Business Development Director Earn?
A business development director earns between $156,000 to $194,300 per year, on average. Some have reported salaries as low as $55,000 a year, but they tend to work for smaller companies, start-ups, or non-profit organizations. Most business development directors also earn bonuses based on performance.