What does a business development manager do?
A business development manager's duties include identifying business opportunities, developing effective models and strategies to improve business performance, searching for potential clients to generate income and attract partnerships. A business development manager must have extensive knowledge of the market trends and adjust strategies as needed to meet the needs of the client. Excellent communication, decision-making, critical thinking, and leadership skills are just some of the key factors that business development managers should possess to communicate and negotiate with the clients.
Business development manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real business development manager resumes:
- Manage Seo of websites and campaigns.
- Manage the provisioning and implementation of the cloud solutions for different customers.
- Lead worldwide development for high traffic facilities; markets include Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific.
- Manage the global support team and are responsible for cost reduction for the UK ready meals facility.
- Assist in leading a team of BDM's to achieve revenue, attrition, and value add service goals.
- Leverage in-depth knowledge of complex manage security solutions as well as extensive technical knowledge of security hardware and software.
- Plan outreach programs, create PowerPoint business plan for beta soft launch presentations.
- Restructure solutions with new marketing strategy and elements, highlighting competitive advantages and value proposition for collaborators and patients.
- Direct all large merchant sales and business development activities for FinTech startup.
- Develop PowerPoint base stories, training bulletins, and articles for internal and external publication.
- Envision various cloud base solutions in areas such as mobility, collaboration, operations, delivery, etc.
- Act as SBA specialist for retail banking footprint, primarily interacting with branch managers and business development officers.
- Partner with the field BDM where applicable, and participate in strategic planning and prioritizing of each other's sales activities.
- Experience in selling to the industrial, lawn and garden, automotive, aerospace, medical, distribution and electronics industries.
- Develop, customize and implement new customer relationship management database (CRM).
Business development manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Business Development Managers are proficient in Customer Service, CRM, and Healthcare. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Analytical skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Business Development Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 8%
Defined customer service vision by establishing and maintaining excellent client relationships to ensure client referrals and existing customer service upgrades.
- CRM, 7%
Developed and conducted a MicroStrategy CRM application to replace an in-house CRM application for Coca- Cola national distribution in Atlanta.
- Healthcare, 5%
Develop strategic alliances with local banks, HealthCare Agencies, CPA and LLC firms.
- Business Relationships, 4%
Developed and maintained FAA customer business relationships in domestic and/or international markets; identified and developed opportunities for CACI business expansion.
- Customer Relationships, 3%
Cultivate valuable customer relationships while providing all potential options regarding financing, design, permits strategy, construction and operation guidelines.
- Project Management, 3%
Supervised project management and information technology infrastructure projects implementation.
Common skills that a business development manager uses to do their job include "customer service," "crm," and "healthcare." You can find details on the most important business development manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling business development manager duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." According to a business development manager resume, here's how business development managers can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "analyzed monthly sales to identify product lines that needed additional promotion to maximize profits. "
Creativity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of business development managers is creativity. This skill is critical to many everyday business development manager duties, as "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "managed inventory of multiple product lines, with 14 sku's, including 4 nationally branded products. "
Interpersonal skills. business development manager responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." This resume example shows what business development managers do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "leveraged stellar interpersonal skills and persistent work ethic to connect with key decision makers and influence staffing choices. "
Organizational skills. Another common skill required for business development manager responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of business development managers all the time, as "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." An excerpt from a real business development manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a business development manager does: "determined long-term organizational strategic goals and built key customer relationships while identifying business opportunities. "
Communication skills. While "communication skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to business development manager responsibilities. Much of what a business development manager does relies on this skill, seeing as "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." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of business development managers: "developed marketing communications mix and activities for product lines. "
The three companies that hire the most business development managers are:
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Compare different business development managers
Business development manager 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between business development managers and director of sales & business development. For instance, business development manager responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "project management," "bdm," and "excellent interpersonal." Whereas a director of sales & business development is skilled in "value proposition," "leveraged," "oil gas," and "cloud." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Directors of sales & business development tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $127,443. In contrast, business development managers make the biggest average salary, $103,515, in the finance industry.The education levels that directors of sales & business development earn slightly differ from business development managers. In particular, directors of sales & business development are 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a business development manager. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Business development manager vs. Business to business sales manager
A business to business sales manager is responsible for monitoring the company's business transactions and ensuring that the team meets sales goals and targets. Business to business sales managers review business accounts and perform adjustments to sales plans as needed to adhere to clients' requests and customer demands. They also conduct data and statistical analysis through the evaluation of market trends to identify opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the business and increase the brand's image in the market.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real business development manager resumes. While business development manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "healthcare," "customer relationships," "project management," and "bdm," business to business sales managers use skills like "business sales," "sales professionals," "business travel," and "site inspections."
Business to business sales managers earn a lower average salary than business development managers. But business to business sales managers earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $83,440. Additionally, business development managers earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $103,515 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Business to business sales managers tend to reach lower levels of education than business development managers. In fact, they're 5.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Business development manager vs. Vice president, business development
A vice president of business development is an individual who leads in the execution of business plans and provides new business strategies for an organization. Vice presidents of business development closely work with a team of salespeople, management, and lower-level employees to secure contracts with new customers and manage ongoing agreements. They often travel to participate in business conferences and meetings with vendors and suppliers. Vice presidents of business development must also possess a bachelor's degree in business administration or marketing.
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 manager resumes include skills like "customer service," "customer relationships," "bdm," and "excellent interpersonal," whereas a vice president, business development is more likely to list skills in "business strategy," "financial services," "due diligence," and "sales strategy. "
Vice presidents, business development make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $164,511. On the other hand, business development managers are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $103,515.When it comes to education, vice presidents, business development tend to earn similar degree levels compared to business development managers. In fact, they're 4.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Business development manager vs. Director new business development
A director of new business development is in charge of spearheading new programs and procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set goals and objectives in adherence to the company's vision and mission, establishing guidelines, allocating budgets, and overseeing the progress of all efforts. Furthermore, as a director of new business development, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between business development managers and directors new business development, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a business development manager might have more use for skills like "customer service," "customer relationships," "bdm," and "excellent interpersonal." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors new business development require skills like "business strategies," "treasury," "corporate clients," and "business model. "
Directors new business development enjoy the best pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $126,576. For comparison, business development managers earn the highest salary in the finance industry.The average resume of directors new business development showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to business development managers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.8%.Types of business development manager
Updated January 8, 2025
