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What does a business development lead do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read

Business Development Leads oversee the continuous pursuit of growth opportunities for the company. They should be familiar with current industry trends and economic news. They should also be familiar with the business performance to identify areas for improvement and development. They should know the company's target market to help create marketing campaigns. Business development leads may also be asked to create product innovations that would cater to their target market's needs. They are expected to spearhead programs that aim to attract new clients and retain existing ones.

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Business development lead responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real business development lead resumes:

  • Research, correct, and contact leads in SalesForce when information is out of date.
  • Perform the tasks of managing and leading the technical proposal process from RFP release through client presentation.
  • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
  • Train AIC salespeople and recruiters on new LinkedIn search capabilities.
  • Schedule follow up calls and reminders in SalesForce to maintain contact with prospective clients.
  • Direct the development of global patient and caregiver identification standards, introducing the healthcare industry to the merits of global standards.
  • Educate internal resources about key healthcare initiatives
  • Contribute to company-wide implementation of CRM program.
  • Design and deliver CRM training documents to the end-user business community.
  • Create a comprehensive educational PowerPoint presentation utilize to train other team members and resellers about products and services.
  • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
  • Provide e-business development, requirement analysis, and gap strategy.

Business development lead skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Business Development Leads are proficient in Project Management, Cloud, and Emerging Technologies. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Business Development Leads that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Project Management, 10%

    Stabilized E2logy s Project Management System by effective project management, and stakeholder interactions.

  • Cloud, 9%

    Presented briefings to partners on BD&A portfolio, Watson, and Cloud.

  • Emerging Technologies, 5%

    Designed and managed internal process for identifying and analyzing new business opportunities and emerging technologies of strategic interest.

  • Technical Support, 5%

    Administered all aspects of proposal packages including pricing strategies, solutions configuration, long-term product and technical support programs.

  • Client Relationships, 5%

    Developed and maintained client relationships and ensured the quality of client manager database information through visits, follow-up calls and correspondence.

  • CRM, 5%

    Developed educational program with Northwestern University to educate retailers on fundamentals of CRM.

"project management," "cloud," and "emerging technologies" are among the most common skills that business development leads use at work. You can find even more business development lead responsibilities below, including:

Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a business development lead to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what business development leads do because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." Additionally, a business development lead resume shows how business development leads use creativity: "supported product development and present day creative solutions to aging aircraft component development and production. "

Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling business development lead duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." According to a business development lead resume, here's how business development leads can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "utilize strong interpersonal and organizational skills to provide outstanding customer service. "

Organizational skills. This is an important skill for business development leads to perform their duties. For an example of how business development lead responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a business development lead: "adjust strategic planning activities to reach p&l; organizational goals. ".

Analytical skills. business development lead responsibilities often require "analytical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." This resume example shows what business development leads do with analytical skills on a typical day: "conducted sales presentations to key decision makers (gap analysis). "

Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in business development lead job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what business development leads do. Business development lead responsibilities rely on this skill because "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." You can also see how business development lead duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "recruited to lead business development for this information and communications technology company. "

See the full list of business development lead skills

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Compare different business development leads

Business development lead vs. Business partner

A business partner is an individual who is involved in a legal business partnership with other individuals to manage a business as co-owners. Business partners invest their money into the business, and each partner benefits from any profits and sustains part of any losses. They must file with the state in which they do business and are governed mostly by state laws. Business partners can also be either liable or not for the actions taken by the company.

The annual salary of business partners is $22,544 lower than the average salary of business development leads.Even though business development leads and business partners are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require project management, emerging technologies, and client relationships in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, business development lead responsibilities require skills like "cloud," "technical support," "product development," and "cloud computing." Meanwhile a typical business partner has skills in areas such as "analytics," "customer service," "human resources," and "performance management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Business partners really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $94,676. Comparatively, business development leads tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $108,195.business partners tend to reach similar levels of education than business development leads. In fact, business partners are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Business development lead vs. Market development manager

A market development manager is in charge of overseeing marketing operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing existing projects and programs, identifying areas needing improvement, devising strategies to find new opportunities, and coordinating with different departments to ensure profitable growth and a strong client base. They are also in charge of creating training programs for new employees, managing the budget, and supervising marketing initiatives. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals and optimal performance, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

A career as a market development manager brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a business development lead. In fact, market development managers salary is $7,709 lower than the salary of business development leads per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Business development leads and market development managers both require similar skills like "project management," "crm," and "product development" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that business development lead responsibilities requires skills like "cloud," "emerging technologies," "technical support," and "client relationships." But a market development manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "market development," "marketing mix," "integrated marketing," and "customer service."

Market development managers may earn a lower salary than business development leads, but market development managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $115,767. On the other hand, business development leads receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $108,195.market development managers earn similar levels of education than business development leads in general. They're 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Business development lead vs. Development manager

A development manager is responsible for assisting existing clients or potential clients of the services they need. A development manager serves as the initial point of contact for the clients to answer their inquiries and concerns before proceeding with a contract. Development managers usually arrange meetings with clients, analyze business opportunities, improve marketing initiatives to attract clients, research the industry's latest trends, create proposals, and assist in training new staff members. A development manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle staff performance and build professional relationships with clients.

On average scale, development managers bring in lower salaries than business development leads. In fact, they earn a $8,190 lower salary per year.business development leads and development managers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "project management," "product development," and "market research," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from business development lead resumes include skills like "cloud," "emerging technologies," "technical support," and "client relationships," whereas a development manager is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "patients," "java," and "database. "

Development managers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $123,452. Comparatively, business development leads have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $108,195.When it comes to education, development managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to business development leads. In fact, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Business development lead vs. Director of sales & business development

A director of sales & business development is responsible for monitoring the business and project plans, ensuring that the sales targets are met, according to project requirements and specifications. Directors of sales & business development perform data analysis to track business performance and identify opportunities to grow revenues and profits. They also coordinate with the clients and maintain healthy business relationships by enhancing their brand image on various platforms and reach the target audience. A director of sales & business development works closely with the marketing and sales team for public relations and marketing campaigns placement.

Directors of sales & business development typically earn lower pay than business development leads. On average, directors of sales & business development earn a $36,283 lower salary per year.While both business development leads and directors of sales & business development complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like cloud, client relationships, and crm, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A business development lead uses "project management," "emerging technologies," "technical support," and "cloud computing." Directors of sales & business development are more likely to have duties that require skills in "value proposition," "sales cycle," "leveraged," and "growing revenue. "directors of sales & business development enjoy the best pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $127,443. For comparison, business development leads earn the highest salary in the technology industry.The average resume of directors of sales & business development showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to business development leads. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.7%.

Types of business development lead

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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