What does a business development sales manager do?

A business development sales manager is in charge of securing sales by reaching out to clients through calls, correspondence, or appointments. Their responsibilities often revolve around performing research and analysis to identify new leads and sales opportunities, offering different products and services, and creating proposals and price quotes for potential clients. A business development sales manager may also tailor payment plans, process billing, participate in various marketing initiatives, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and build positive relationships to strengthen the company's client base.
Business development sales manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real business development sales manager resumes:
- Sell and educate software/SaaS companies and F1000 companies on managing, protecting their software and SaaS application platforms.
- Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
- Conduct market analysis and execute expenditures in order to maximize ROI.
- Analyze and evaluate current and propose federal technology services and long distance programs/embed systems and CRM strategies.
- Introduce CRM opportunity management sales pipeline tracking to identify, qualify, and record ongoing revenue opportunities.
- Deliver focused sales messaging and salient product demos for specific technology environments to prove maximum ROI to prospective customers.
- Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
- Create an innovative program utilizing social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn to raise company awareness and increase sales.
- Create largest video content database in K12 market and launch SaaS base recurring revenue apps.
- Launch Geo-targeted advertising campaign for company on Facebook.
- Provide e-business development, requirement analysis, and gap strategy.
Business development sales manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Business Development Sales Managers are proficient in Business Development, Customer Service, and CRM. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Business Development Sales Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Business Development, 16%
Managed an international team of engineers and business development managers to partner with high-tech manufacturing companies: http://www.iongeo.com/News_and_Events/Press_Releases/Press_Release/.
- Customer Service, 8%
Improved customer service by advising the Customer Service Department on company policies and implementing operational changes in response to customer feedback.
- CRM, 6%
Analyzed and evaluated current and proposed federal technology services and long distance programs/embedded systems and CRM strategies.
- Healthcare, 5%
Developed the company healthcare IT and integrated solutions projects division.
- Business Relationships, 4%
Established and maintained customer/business relationships with commanders/operators/instructors in US
- Salesforce, 4%
Administered sales orders, bids, contract renewals and forecasting in SalesForce and internal proprietary business systems.
"business development," "customer service," and "crm" are among the most common skills that business development sales managers use at work. You can find even more business development sales manager responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a business development sales manager to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." Business development sales managers often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "ensured top six customers of central region had individual customer plans created and executed to achieve sales objectives. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform business development sales manager duties is leadership skills. Business development sales managers responsibilities require that "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." Business development sales managers also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provided leadership necessary to create and foster a team culture across all functional, industry and product lines. "
Analytical skills. This is an important skill for business development sales managers to perform their duties. For an example of how business development sales manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a business development sales manager: "maintain client tracking database research new products and determine eligibility in product lineup".
Communication skills. business development sales manager responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." This resume example shows what business development sales managers do with communication skills on a typical day: "pursue and manage customer relationships and projects for telecommunications industry. "
The three companies that hire the most business development sales managers are:
Choose from 10+ customizable business development sales manager resume templates
Build a professional business development sales manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your business development sales manager resume.Compare different business development sales managers
Business development sales manager vs. Sales account manager
The account sales manager is in charge of the retention of their customer relationship. They have to supervise the portfolio of existing clients, develop new business with them, and seek new sales opportunities. Account sales managers act as liaisons between the company and customer as well as build strong, long-lasting relationships by providing an improved customer experience. It is their responsibility to negotiate contracts and close deals to maximize sales profits. Also, they forecast track sales results and prepare reports on account status.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a business development sales manager are more likely to require skills like "healthcare," "customer relationships," "strong analytical," and "business plan." On the other hand, a job as a sales account manager requires skills like "customer satisfaction," "powerpoint," "work ethic," and "sales territory." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Sales account managers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $68,777. On the other hand, business development sales managers are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $130,807.sales account managers tend to reach similar levels of education than business development sales managers. In fact, sales account managers are 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Business development sales manager vs. International sales manager
An International Sales Manager is responsible for coordinating the sales department's global operations through sales volume monitoring and establishing goals. International Sales Managers maintain the company's global sales for services and commodities, and create methodical procedures and ideas to attract and persuade international clients to buy. In addition, it is their duty to plan, inspire, and motivate the sales workforce, and prepare and create daily, monthly, and annual sales reports. They also design and enforce a variety of assessment programs and plans.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that business development sales manager responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "crm," "healthcare," and "business relationships." But an international sales manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "distribution channels," "international business," "international travel," and "international markets."
International sales managers may earn a lower salary than business development sales managers, but international sales managers earn the most pay in the transportation industry with an average salary of $81,240. On the other hand, business development sales managers receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $130,807.Average education levels between the two professions vary. International sales managers tend to reach similar levels of education than business development sales managers. In fact, they're 4.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for business development sales managers in the next 3-5 years?
Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation
Business development sales 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.
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 sales manager resumes include skills like "customer service," "salesforce," "cold calls," and "relationship building," whereas a director of sales & business development is more likely to list skills in "value proposition," "leveraged," "oil gas," and "sales operations. "
Directors of sales & business development earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $127,443. Business development sales managers earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $130,807.Most directors of sales & business development achieve a similar degree level compared to business development sales managers. For example, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Business development sales manager vs. Sales manager
Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.
Types of business development sales manager
Updated January 8, 2025











