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The differences between sales development representatives and business development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a sales development representative, becoming a business development manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a business development manager has an average salary of $100,769, which is higher than the $51,504 average annual salary of a sales development representative.
The top three skills for a sales development representative include SDR, lead generation and customer service. The most important skills for a business development manager are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.
| Sales Development Representative | Business Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $51,504 | $100,769 |
| Hourly rate | $24.76 | $48.45 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 199,588 | 215,309 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 10 |
A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.
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.
Sales development representatives and business development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Development Representative | Business Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $51,504 | $100,769 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $77,000 | Between $67,000 And $151,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | PitchBook Data | Shearman & Sterling |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales development representative and a business development manager in terms of educational background:
| Sales Development Representative | Business Development Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between sales development representatives' and business development managers' demographics:
| Sales Development Representative | Business Development Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9% | Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |