What Does a Business Development Specialist Do?

A business development specialist is an expert who determines opportunities for marketing strategy optimization and business growth. The specialists perform business process and financial analysis, effective network creation, and business plan implementation. Being a good business development specialist requires knowledge and experience in managing a business. The skillset for the position includes a strong command in English, information technology, attention to detail, and written and verbal communication.

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Business Development Specialist Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real business development specialist resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

Utilize a number of sales tools such as SalesForce to manage pipeline.
Develop and manage all SEO, SEM, and all social media platforms and authore all content.
Manage and coordinate a successful implementation of a cloud-base ERP system.
Manage logistics, control engineering and design, order placement, vendor relationships, customer utilization and technology.
Take inbound and make some outbound calls as necessary to assist customers with billing, account information and troubleshoot technical issues.
Experience connecting databases in SQL with the software application.
Used SQL against the database to check data retrieve.
Launch a medical device subsidiary company (THCer LLC).
Create long-term value for Fairweather, LLC and its subsidiaries from customers, markets, and relationships
Resolve complex benefits issues for employees and assist in payroll, wire transfers and other accounting tasks.
Serve as primary back up to the hospital liaison in assessing patients and reviewing medical records to verify admission eligibility.
Develop new business using cold calling, client visits, past relationships and social networking via LinkedIn and group meetings.
Prospect for new customers by attending network events, social media, LinkedIn, tracking referrals, and cold calling.
Perform root cause analysis and troubleshoot regional issues impacting cost and service that arise at any regional or local DC.
Coordinate performance management systems, payroll and billing.

Business Development Specialist Job Description

Perhaps the hardest question to answer when deciding on a career as a business development specialist is "should I become a business development specialist?" You might find this info to be helpful. When compared to other jobs, business development specialist careers are projected to have a growth rate described as "faster than average" at 8% from 2018 through 2028. This is in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What's more, is that the projected number of opportunities that are predicted to become available for a business development specialist by 2028 is 21,800.

A business development specialist annual salary averages $57,410, which breaks down to $27.6 an hour. However, business development specialists can earn anywhere from upwards of $38,000 to $85,000 a year. This means that the top-earning business development specialists make $43,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

As is the case with most jobs, it takes work to become a business development specialist. Sometimes people change their minds about their career after working in the profession. That's why we looked into some other professions that might help you find your next opportunity. These professions include a specialist-small business, business advisor, product specialist, and brand specialist.

Learn More About Business Development Specialist Job Descriptions

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12 Business Development Specialist Resume Examples

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Richard Chavez Business Development Specialist Contact Information Atlanta, GA (760) 555-5658 rchavez@example.com Skills Relationship Building Spss Powerpoint Business Partners Product Knowledge Product Category Account Management Real Estate Contract Negotiations Consumer Behavior Employment History Business Development Specialist 2020 - Present The Coca-Cola Company Atlanta, GA Increased client database and maintaining major business accounts in a competitive environment using CRM Software. Surpassed quarterly goals, acquiring over 35 new accounts in the first 3 months. Promoted and launched new products to campus mass and local community venues. Established new accounts and developed existing accounts. Account Development Manager 2019 - 2020 The Coca-Cola Company Atlanta, GA Collaborate across the Coca-Cola system with cross functional partners, Category Advisory, Shopper Market, Revenue Growth Management and Finance. Served as Key Account Manager coordinating promotional athletic events for Lifetime Fitness in Minneapolis, MN. Increased sales and growth each month in territory, as well as adding new customers. Top selling Freestyle Key Account Manager in the East Region. Managed up to 50 accounts ranging from major grocery store retailers and local businesses. Business Development Internship 2018 - 2019 American Express Fort Lauderdale, FL Researched plus contacted leads of C-Level Executives to qualify and prime them to purchase American Express Business Travel Services. Provide operations support for healthcare payers, on the IT or Operations side through ticketing system (BMC Remedy). Utilized CRM system, Salesforce to gather client data and input records. Education Bachelor's Degree Business 2015 - 2018 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL


Aaron Hawkins Business Development Specialist Contact Info Minneapolis, MN (210) 555-0580 ahawkins@example.com Skills Organizational DevelopmentProspective CustomersHuman ResourcesCloudEvent StaffBusiness DevelopmentMarket ResearchNew MarketsInstructional MaterialsCommunity Events Employment History Business Development Specialist 2016 - Present Wells Fargo Minneapolis, MN Used strategic marketing and business partnerships to maximize revenue, profitability and client retention. Delivered superb customer service to clients of various business backgrounds. Refer additional business to Business Partners. Collaborated with leadership to assess overall communication strategies and goals and provided a comprehensive training plan to meet business requirements. Key account acquisition and retention. Development Specialist 2014 - 2016 Gordon Food Service Brighton, MI Establish productive relationships and maintain high levels of communication with accounts. Maintained consistent communication with all customers, including stores and headquarter employees. Experience in Photoshop, In Design, Word, Excel, Publisher, and PowerPoint. Special Events Coordinator 2010 - 2014 American Red Cross Pomona, CA Help plan and attended 2 fundraising special events, including an Oscar NIght Party, and Fire and Ice Ball. Established the first special events department including event planning protocols and systems. Cultivated over 30 silent auction donations in 3 months. Staff & Volunteer Management Managed all programs and revenue goals of the Special Events Development Associate. Education Bachelor's Degree Business 2007 - 2010 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA


Edward Stewart Business Development Specialist Chicago, IL (250) 555-9870 estewart@example.com Experience Business Development Specialist2017 - Present JPMorgan Chase•Chicago, IL Maintained a steady referral pipeline of 5-7 weekly prospects for my business partners. Pulled data from multiple sources into reports using Excel pivot tables; created graphs/charts for PowerPoint presentation materials. Coordinate with small business owners to prospect and establish relationships to retain and increase premier business customers. Demonstrated superior customer service and sales. Marketing Specialist2016 - 2017 Follett•Oakbrook Terrace, IL Created and executed first online retail training program to facilitate product knowledge and enable sales with new retail partners. Developed content and language for specification sheets, sales collateral, and promotional materials. Managed a 12-member marketing/business development staff. Marketing Analyst2014 - 2015 Follett•Oakbrook Terrace, IL Managed email campaigns from conception to the final report. Developed optimized online apps for consumer & B2B segments, resulting in 6% increase in conversion rates. Managed customer loyalty program, and various email campaigns. Managed and optimized Paid Search account in Google AdWords. Coordinated online initiatives with offline marketing campaigns. Establish and implement policies regarding PC usage, internet access, virus control and service call escalation. Skills CommunicationPowerpointData WarehouseEmail CampaignsSales ProcessHealthcareCRMCo-OpProduct KnowledgeProduct Development Education Master's Degree Business2015 - 2016 DeVry University•Oakbrook Terrace, IL Bachelor's Degree Business2011 - 2014 DeVry University•Oakbrook Terrace, IL

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Business Development Specialist Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 10% of Business Development Specialists are proficient in Work Ethic, CRM, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.

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

Work Ethic, 10%
Maintain a positive work ethic and professional dress code.
CRM, 9%
Founded company providing automated CRM solution to help franchise owners overcome barriers to marketing communications.
Customer Service, 7%
Provided excellent customer service by building customer rapport through excellent communication with the customers and by asking customer needs questions.
Healthcare, 6%
Created strong working relationships within the Kansas City Hospital Community focusing on upper level medical professionals and HealthCare providers.
Sales Process, 4%
Implemented daily meetings utilizing WebEx to align sales efforts; maximize effectiveness of sales process by creating standard operating procedures.
Salesforce, 4%
Improved SalesForce database input procedure for business & eliminated dual data entry.

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Most business development specialists list "work ethic," "crm," and "customer service" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important business development specialist responsibilities here:

Analytical skills can be considered to be the most important personality trait for a business development specialist to have. According to a business development specialist resume, "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." Business development specialists are able to use analytical skills in the following example we gathered from a resume: "cultivated internal and external customer relationships, tracked and analyzed profit performance, and executed business reviews/customer needs analysis. "

Another commonly found skill for being able to perform business development specialist duties is the following: communication skills. According to a business development specialist resume, "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." Check out this example of how business development specialists use communication skills: "build new business relationships and maintain existing customer relationships using effective communication skills. "

Creativity is also an important skill for business development specialists to have. This example of how business development specialists use this skill comes from a business development specialist resume, "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "created inventory systems and ordering protocol for professional product lines. "

In order for certain business development specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "interpersonal skills." According to a business development specialist resume, "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "possessed strong customer goal orientation, and excellent interpersonal, communication and pc skills. "

Another common skill for a business development specialist to be able to utilize is "organizational skills." Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members. A business development specialist demonstrated the need for this skill by putting this on their resume: "utilized excellent organizational and planning skills to prioritize many tasks for multiple projects and events. "

See the full list of business development specialist skills.

After discovering the most helpful skills, we moved onto what kind of education might be helpful in becoming a business development specialist. We found that 72.7% of business development specialists have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 11.1% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most business development specialists have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every eight business development specialists were not college graduates.

Those business development specialists who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or marketing degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for business development specialists include communication degrees or finance degrees.

Once you're ready to become a business development specialist, you should explore the companies that typically hire business development specialists. According to business development specialist resumes that we searched through, business development specialists are hired the most by Oracle, Randstad North America, Inc., and Deloitte. Currently, Oracle has 187 business development specialist job openings, while there are 128 at Randstad North America, Inc. and 34 at Deloitte.

But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, business development specialists tend to earn the biggest salaries at Corsair, SeaChange International, and Cisco. Take Corsair for example. The median business development specialist salary is $104,377. At SeaChange International, business development specialists earn an average of $101,426, while the average at Cisco is $98,530. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.

View more details on business development specialist salaries across the United States.

If you earned a degree from the top 100 educational institutions in the United States, you might want to take a look at IBM, Oracle, and Staples. These three companies have hired a significant number of business development specialists from these institutions.

In general, business development specialists fulfill roles in the technology and professional industries. While employment numbers are high in those industries, the business development specialist annual salary is the highest in the finance industry with $63,094 as the average salary. Meanwhile, the technology and telecommunication industries pay $61,024 and $59,852 respectively. This means that business development specialists who are employed in the finance industry make 16.0% more than business development specialists who work in the construction Industry.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious business development specialists are:

Oracle187 Business Development Specialists Jobs
Randstad North America, Inc.128 Business Development Specialists Jobs
Deloitte34 Business Development Specialists Jobs

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What Specialist-Small Businesss Do

A small business specialist develops new business programs to meet changing customer demands. They are responsible for ensuring integrity and consistency in the domain of business. They analyze causes of a business issue, obtain business data, and make enquiries. They are responsible for making purchase agreements, confidentiality arrangements, and joint venture arrangement.

In this section, we compare the average business development specialist annual salary with that of a specialist-small business. Typically, specialist-small businesses earn a $14,908 higher salary than business development specialists earn annually.

While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both business development specialists and specialist-small businesses positions are skilled in customer service, customer relationships, and product knowledge.

There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a business development specialist responsibilities require skills like "work ethic," "crm," "strong work ethic," and "healthcare." Meanwhile a typical specialist-small business has skills in areas such as "business portfolio," "business accounts," "financial statements," and "cash flow." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

The education levels that specialist-small businesses earn is a bit different than that of business development specialists. In particular, specialist-small businesses are 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a business development specialist. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Business Advisor?

Business Advisors are consultants responsible for implementing business strategies to improve financial and operational efficiency. They are involved in preparing financial budgets, recommending a change in the operational process, identifying new business opportunities, evaluating a marketing strategy, and reviewing supplier and labor contracts. Business advisors also help to manage risk by performing risk analysis and consumer behavioral analysis. They are involved in report preparation and work to maintain open communication with different departments to implement change.

Next up, we have the business advisor profession to look over. This career brings along a higher average salary when compared to a business development specialist annual salary. In fact, business advisors salary difference is $39,059 higher than the salary of business development specialists per year.

Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Business development specialists and business advisors both include similar skills like "customer service," "healthcare," and "sales process" on their resumes.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, several resumes showed us that business development specialist responsibilities requires skills like "work ethic," "crm," "strong work ethic," and "salesforce." But a business advisor might use skills, such as, "business operations," "strong analytical," "human resources," and "real estate."

Business advisors may earn a higher salary than business development specialists, but business advisors earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $92,206. On the other side of things, business development specialists receive higher paychecks in the finance industry where they earn an average of $63,094.

In general, business advisors study at higher levels of education than business development specialists. They're 5.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How a Product Specialist Compares

A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.

The product specialist profession generally makes a higher amount of money when compared to the average salary of business development specialists. The difference in salaries is product specialists making $28,522 higher than business development specialists.

By looking over several business development specialists and product specialists resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "work ethic," "crm," and "customer service." But beyond that the careers look very different.

As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from business development specialists resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "strong work ethic," "healthcare," "salesforce," and "lead generation." But a product specialist might have skills like "sales floor," "windows," "product management," and "technical support."

Additionally, product specialists earn a higher salary in the technology industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $92,638. Additionally, business development specialists earn an average salary of $63,094 in the finance industry.

Product specialists are known to earn similar educational levels when compared to business development specialists. Additionally, they're 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Brand Specialist

A brand specialist is responsible for promoting the goods and services of an organization to various market platforms, identifying effective business strategies to increase brand awareness to the public. Brand specialists work closely with the marketing and sales team to develop sales pitches and techniques to grow revenues and profits for the brand. They also review digital content and visual promotions, ensuring that everything adheres to internal guidelines and state regulations. A brand specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in coordinating with the clients for progress updates and brand sales reports.

Brand specialists tend to earn a higher pay than business development specialists by about $319 per year.

According to resumes from both business development specialists and brand specialists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "crm," "customer service," and "sales process. "

While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "healthcare," and "salesforce" are skills that have shown up on business development specialists resumes. Additionally, brand specialist uses skills like cleanliness, wordpress, client relationships, and sales floor on their resumes.

The average resume of brand specialists showed that they earn similar levels of education to business development specialists. So much so that the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree is 4.9% less. Additionally, they're less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.4%.

Updated October 2, 2020