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Business development/product manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted experts
Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.,
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical business development/product manager skills. We ranked the top skills for business development/product managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 8.8% of business development/product manager resumes contained product development as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a business development/product manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 business development/product manager skills for your resume and career

1. Product Development

Product development is the complete procedure of creating a product from concept until release of the final product. Product development has many stages after which a product is released into the market. Identifying the need, creating the opportunity, conceptualizing a product, and providing a solution, all are different stages of product development.

Here's how business development/product managers use product development:
  • Analyzed all concerns arising therein, provided inputs to the Product Development Director and other department managers and recommend solution.
  • Established standards for product development, quality assurance, and rapid design of customized solutions to meet customer requirements.

2. Product Management

Product management is a part of an organization's function that deals with product development, planning, pricing, forecasting, launching, and marketing the product.

Here's how business development/product managers use product management:
  • Spearheaded product management for highly strategic Cisco Intelligent Routing product to strengthen Cisco routing leadership position.
  • Full product management responsibility for two suites of products: Opportunity Pipeline Management & Knowledge Management.

3. Account Management

The process of strengthening the relationship between a company and client is called account management. Effective account management has two key objectives, one is to retain loyal customers and the second one is to help the company grow by creating connections with new customers.

Here's how business development/product managers use account management:
  • Provide account management services to current customers.
  • Account Management / Project Management - Oversaw Fortune 50 Dow Chemical account during installation of $2.6M system.

4. Business Growth

Here's how business development/product managers use business growth:
  • Manage all business growth operations, including strategic planning, marketing, sales and customer relations.
  • Conducted business development initiatives to assist in business growth and client retention.

5. R

R is a free software environment and a language used by programmers for statistical computing. The R programming language is famously used for data analysis by data scientists.

Here's how business development/product managers use r:
  • Directed the product launch of R Wrap(R) Air Weather Barrier (house wrap).
  • Star Trac, Keys Fitness, Control Product, Lyman and Toys R Us.

6. Business Plan

Here's how business development/product managers use business plan:
  • Evaluated potential strategic new businesses, conducted primary and secondary marketing research, and developed business plans.
  • Conducted market research in support of strategic business planning with co-developers and vendors.

7. Product Line

Product line is a collection of similar or related products that may be under a single brand manufactured by the same company. It may include different varieties of a specific product of a brand which comes in different categories. In other cases, the product line may differ in some characteristics despite being from the same manufacturer.

Here's how business development/product managers use product line:
  • Organized and delivered exhibitions worldwide to market product line and develop B2B relationships and sales opportunities.
  • Developed and implemented advertising and demand generation campaigns for Cisco Systems product lines.

8. Sales Strategies

Here's how business development/product managers use sales strategies:
  • Leverage technical and industry-specific knowledge to develop strategic business development plans, sales strategies and initiatives.
  • Collaborated with leasing reps on end-user account sales strategies and lease structuring.

9. Trade Shows

Here's how business development/product managers use trade shows:
  • Represented company at trade shows and acted as industry representative at technical conferences.
  • Attend trade shows annually to be educated on the market, obtain new vendor partners and learn about new industry trends.

10. Market Research

Market research is a collective effort to collect information related to a consumer's needs and wants. It is a systematic approach that involves recording and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Market research helps a business to identify a target market correctly and identify the gaps in potential consumer's expectations.

Here's how business development/product managers use market research:
  • Created sales/operations forecasts and budgets; performed market research and competitor analysis.
  • Conducted market research to identify customer needs and improve user experience.

11. Relationship Management

Relationship management refers to a tool that connects an organization or industry to a supply chain. Usually, this management type will build coordination, confidence, and mutual trust among all its members, employees, and employers. It will create a good partnership, determine the potentials barriers and problems, assess the strength, and measure the chain's effectiveness

Here's how business development/product managers use relationship management:
  • Navigated three successive company transitions/buyouts and successfully retained 95 percent of client base through active relationship management.
  • Leverage communication and relationship management skills to promote product adoption and user acquisition within all sales channels.

12. CRM

CRM stands for Customer relationship management and it is a complete process through which a business or organization monitors and administers its interactions with the customers. A process in which large amounts of data are collected through marketing via a company's website, polls, surveys, and other social media applications. The basic goal of CRM is to target the right audience for their product, and then fulfill their needs, to increase the sales and revenue of the company.

Here's how business development/product managers use crm:
  • Supported Business Development Department including assistance with internal and external events, research, CRM database support, and departmental correspondence.
  • Negotiated client contracts between studios and agencies by developing detail-oriented CRM practices resulting in positive brand recognition and revenue growth.

13. OEM

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and is a term for a company that produces and markets the parts of equipment for another company after having received the go-ahead to do so. The company can also produce devices from the combination of parts from different companies while in partnership with these companies. This is common in the computer hardware industry and is popular in the automobile and computer industries.

Here's how business development/product managers use oem:
  • Created a product specification guide supporting a highly desirable Value Proposition to entice OEM shutter manufacturers.
  • Resolved OEM and wireless-carrier implementation issues.

14. Product Portfolio

A product portfolio is a collection of all services and products by an enterprise made available to customers and clients. It also features vital areas of the business operations and processes. The product portfolio is a detailed analysis of a company's risk management, leadership, growth, financial prospects, contributions, and income.

Here's how business development/product managers use product portfolio:
  • Team's make-buy-partner recommendations drove technology and product portfolio expansions.
  • Managed the region's Grocery Product portfolio of $134M in sales and $73M trade budget.

15. Lead Generation

Here's how business development/product managers use lead generation:
  • Manage sales through forecasting, lead generation, pipeline management, account strategy and planning.
  • Channel marketing, direct sales, lead generation, customer contract/RFP management.
top-skills

What skills help Business Development/Product Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on business development/product manager resumes?

Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor and Chair, Director, Human-Computer Interaction Program, Indiana University

In my experience, our most successful MS HCI graduates (https://soic.iupui.edu/hcc/graduate/hci/masters/) take the time to put together a compelling online portfolio that showcases their project experience and skill set in action, as applied to specific research opportunities they had with faculty or projects they worked on during their UX internships in the industry. The personal brand of UX junior professional can be greatly enriched when the portfolio includes not only what the student has done, but why and what was the design rationale behind the process and the results, what was the larger context and goal of the project (especially in large collaborative projects), and what was the specific role and contribution of the student. The discussion about the portfolio of a candidate has become a key ingredient of the interview for UX jobs, besides other important activities such as UX design exercises or remote assignments.

What soft skills should all business development/product managers possess?

James Wilkerson Ph.D.

Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program Coordinator, The Pennsylvania State University

Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.

What hard/technical skills are most important for business development/product managers?

James Wilkerson Ph.D.

Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program Coordinator, The Pennsylvania State University

Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.

What business development/product manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Matthew LoprestiMatthew Lopresti LinkedIn profile

Associate professor of Philosophy and humanities, Hawaii Pacific University

Captains of industry are often asked about the traits they look for in new hires. Critical thinking is always a must, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills.

These are the core competencies of the discipline of philosophy. Top-notch communication abilities begin with a depth of ability to understand nuanced, complex details, and then turn around and clearly communicate these complex ideas in easily digestible bits of information. It is no coincidence that students who graduate with philosophy degrees repeatedly dominate graduate and law-school entrance exams like the GRE and LSAT; they are often the sharpest thinkers with the quickest minds

What technical skills for a business development/product manager stand out to employers?

Todd Lee GoenTodd Lee Goen LinkedIn profile

Instructor & Internship Director, Christopher Newport University

Technical skills are often industry and/or position specific. Applicants should highlight any technical skills related to the position advertisement and those that add value to the position/organization. Most importantly, requirements for technical skills change with time and technological advances. This means employers value workers capable of adapting to change and continually improving and acquiring new technical skills. Thus, it's usually more important to demonstrate you are capable of learning and developing technical skills than it is to have a specific skill set upon hire (although this is not true for some positions/industries).
That said, technical skills related to online presentations, virtual meetings, virtual networking, remote working and the like are hot commodities right now. While most organizations were in the process of adopting many of these technologies and ways of doing business pre-pandemic, the pandemic accelerated the process. Organizations are making it work, but they often don't know best practices or the most efficient means of working in the largely virtual, pandemic environment. Post-pandemic, many of the remote/virtual changes the pandemic brought will stay in some form. Technical skills that support this type of workplace will make applicants stand out to many employers because they need/want to do virtual/remote business better.

List of business development/product manager skills to add to your resume

Business development/product manager skills

The most important skills for a business development/product manager resume and required skills for a business development/product manager to have include:

  • Product Development
  • Product Management
  • Account Management
  • Business Growth
  • R
  • Business Plan
  • Product Line
  • Sales Strategies
  • Trade Shows
  • Market Research
  • Relationship Management
  • CRM
  • OEM
  • Product Portfolio
  • Lead Generation
  • Business Development
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Market Trends
  • Americas
  • Market Strategies
  • Product Sales
  • Business Relationships
  • Sales Training
  • Strategic Partnerships
  • Customer Relationships
  • Product Launches
  • Product Roadmap
  • Business Strategy
  • Business Cases
  • Executive Management
  • RFP
  • Contract Negotiations
  • ISO
  • Product Strategy
  • Value Proposition
  • ROI
  • Customer Support
  • Market Analysis
  • Sales Growth
  • Saas
  • Pricing Strategy
  • Service Offerings
  • Content Marketing
  • C-Level
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Product Specifications
  • Financial Analysis
  • Sales Revenue

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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