Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for vice presidents, business development in the United States
Vice president, business development job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected vice president, business development job growth rate is 6% from 2018-2028.
About 189,200 new jobs for vice presidents, business development are projected over the next decade.
Vice president, business development salaries have increased 3% for vice presidents, business development in the last 5 years.
There are over 135,653 vice presidents, business development currently employed in the United States.
There are 188,137 active vice president, business development job openings in the US.
The average vice president, business development salary is $165,159.
Are vice president, business development jobs in demand?
Vice president, business development job and salary trends over time
Vice president, business development jobs over time
Vice president, business development job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 135,653 | 0.04% |
| 2020 | 52,757 | 0.02% |
| 2019 | 52,002 | 0.02% |
| 2018 | 132,625 | 0.04% |
| 2017 | 124,884 | 0.04% |
Average vice president, business development salary over time
Vice president, business development salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $165,159 | $79.40 | +0.8% |
| 2025 | $163,836 | $78.77 | --2.7% |
| 2024 | $168,401 | $80.96 | +3.5% |
| 2023 | $162,779 | $78.26 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | $160,949 | $77.38 | +3.5% |
Vice president, business development jobs by state
Most common states for vice presidents, business development
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 546 | 79% |
| 2 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 2,129 | 38% |
| 3 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 347 | 33% |
| 4 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 279 | 32% |
| 5 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 600 | 31% |
| 6 | Alaska | 739,795 | 229 | 31% |
| 7 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 794 | 27% |
| 8 | Delaware | 961,939 | 259 | 27% |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,803 | 26% |
| 10 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 150 | 26% |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,385 | 24% |
| 12 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 770 | 24% |
| 13 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 709 | 24% |
| 14 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 500 | 24% |
| 15 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 181 | 24% |
| 16 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,430 | 23% |
| 17 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 2,591 | 22% |
| 18 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 1,399 | 21% |
| 19 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,391 | 21% |
| 20 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 592 | 20% |
Most common cities for vice presidents, business development
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farmington | 2 | 8% | $171,392 |
| 2 | Englewood | 2 | 6% | $164,071 |
| 3 | Eden Prairie | 3 | 5% | $172,950 |
| 4 | Bridgewater | 2 | 4% | $174,772 |
| 5 | Columbia | 3 | 3% | $154,087 |
| 6 | Huntsville | 3 | 2% | $145,181 |
| 7 | Atlanta | 7 | 1% | $146,023 |
| 8 | Boston | 5 | 1% | $157,012 |
| 9 | San Francisco | 5 | 1% | $192,466 |
| 10 | Tampa | 3 | 1% | $129,588 |
| 11 | Orlando | 2 | 1% | $129,813 |
| 12 | Chicago | 8 | 0% | $159,905 |
| 13 | Los Angeles | 5 | 0% | $184,770 |
| 14 | New York | 5 | 0% | $167,217 |
| 15 | Denver | 3 | 0% | $164,137 |
| 16 | Phoenix | 3 | 0% | $155,421 |
| 17 | Washington | 3 | 0% | $173,968 |
| 18 | Baltimore | 2 | 0% | $154,106 |
| 19 | Miami | 2 | 0% | $120,476 |
Vice President, Business Development job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of vice president, business development experts
Portland State University
Washington College
Purdue University Northwest
University of Saint Mary
The Pennsylvania State University
Arizona State University
Creighton University
The University of Findlay
Fordham University Gabelli School of Business
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Kent State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
University of Dallas
Central Connecticut State University
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Becky Sanchez
Executive Director of Career & Academic ServicesPortland State University
The School of Business
What skills stand out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Becky Sanchez: Skills that are directly tied to the particular job the company is hiring for. Having a certain set of skills matters less than having the exact skills the employer needs. See below for common critical skills in business.
What soft skills should all Vice Presidents, Business Development possess?
Becky Sanchez: -Conflict resolution
-Interpersonal relationship building
-Team player mentality
-Willingness to jump in and get the work done and focus on living into the company mission
What hard/technical skills are most important for Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Becky Sanchez: -Microsoft Excel & Tableau - data visualization skills
-Data analysis skills
-Presentation skills
What skills will help Vice Presidents, Business Development earn the most?
Becky Sanchez: -The ability to concisely and effectively communicate your point
-Negotiation skills
-Understanding of data analysis and how to leverage data to do your job more effectively
-Leadership skills and an interest in managing others
Dr. Michael Harvey
Provost and Dean, John Toll Professor of Business ManagemenWashington College
Business Department
What skills stand out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Dr. Michael Harvey: Above all, good Business Developers must have excellent communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills. Their work centers on meeting prospective customers and building relationships with them. Their communication skills, in particular, must include good listening skills so that they can truly understand customer needs.
What soft skills should all Vice Presidents, Business Development possess?
Dr. Michael Harvey: Across the business, the soft skills most in demand are the "3 C's": collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. Employers are especially interested in evidence of projects, experiential learning, and internships, not simply majors and minors.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Dr. Michael Harvey: Quantitative skills and computer coding skills, plus any expertise in a specific technical area, like logistics or GIS.
What skills will help Vice Presidents, Business Development earn the most?
Dr. Michael Harvey: Quantitative skills and computer coding skills are in the highest demand and shortest supply-and people who can combine them with strong, soft skills end up going the furthest.
Pat Obi Ph.D.
White Lodging Professor of Finance, Director, Executive MBA ProgramPurdue University Northwest
Finance Department
What soft skills should all Vice Presidents, Business Development possess?
Pat Obi Ph.D.: Communication, negotiation, writing, and professional conduct, especially on virtual platforms.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Pat Obi Ph.D.: Data analysis and presentation skills - spreadsheet, statistical software, presentation software.
What skills will help Vice Presidents, Business Development earn the most?
Pat Obi Ph.D.: Data analytics, accounting, risk management, and business analytical skills, especially as they relate to financial data.
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Familiarity with software-basic windows packages, particularly MS Word and Excel. Candidates should not be afraid of quantitative data analysis. Analytics are necessary to figuring out what your business is doing and how it can grow. Also, familiarity with whatever social media platforms are used in that industry can be very important.
What skills will help Vice Presidents, Business Development earn the most?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: One consideration is, does the position pay commission? If so, the soft skills listed above are extremely important because the more you apply those skills, the more likely you are to grow your business.
When a manager is not on commission, there's little correlation between skills and pay while doing the job. The employer will hire you at a given salary level, and it is your job to negotiate to the best position. Once they have chosen you-that's the moment when you have the most leverage. You will never get a raise that is as substantial as what you might be able to ask for upon hire. After that, most raises are not going to be tied mechanically to performance and skills. Your next chance at a raise will be when you move or are promoted to a new position. Thus, those soft skills can affect your ability to negotiate.
I will repeat a previous theme: education and experience are probably more important than skills in terms of making more money. An employer can't really tell what your skills are from your resume. Just because you say you have a skill doesn't mean that you really do. They can reasonably guess that somebody with a degree is responsible enough to have accomplished something big. Somebody who makes it through a graduate program is probably very good at what they know. And somebody who has been in the industry and/or in a similar job is more likely to be able to walk in with little orientation and know what they are doing. Employers take risks on employees and hope that they can deliver. Thus, with more education and more experience, you are able to apply for higher-level jobs, which usually come with higher salaries.
What skills stand out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
What soft skills should all Vice Presidents, Business Development possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program CoordinatorThe Pennsylvania State University
Business Department
What skills stand out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.
What soft skills should all Vice Presidents, Business Development possess?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: 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 Vice Presidents, Business Development?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.
What skills will help Vice Presidents, Business Development earn the most?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skill at rapidly learning market trends, relating business development to product development, and persuading major prospective clients when brought in to help with closing sales. Bottom line: the business development manager must be on the cutting edge of new market conditions and new business opportunities to help the firm organically grow its sales, especially in new markets or product/service lines.
Adegoke Oke Ph.D.
Professor of Supply Chain ManagementArizona State University
W. P. Carey Supply Chain Management
What skills stand out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Adegoke Oke Ph.D.: Effective communication, leadership, critical thinking skills. Can you be entrepreneurial in the face of adversity? Demonstrating situations where the candidate has been able to persevere and solve problems in the face of diversity would be very attractive to employers.
What soft skills should all Vice Presidents, Business Development possess?
Adegoke Oke Ph.D.: In general, people skills: leadership, effective communication and negotiation skills, the ability to work effectively with people in different cultures and in a team environment.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Adegoke Oke Ph.D.: Data analytics skills are currently in high demand, so is understanding the impact of emerging technologies and digitization on business
What skills will help Vice Presidents, Business Development earn the most?
Adegoke Oke Ph.D.: Imagine the perfect candidate that possesses the combination of all the skills mentioned above. But in truth, some combination of good people skills and appreciation of the digital environment and its impacts will help.
Natalie Gerhart Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Business Intelligence & AnalyticsCreighton University
Department of Business Intelligence & Analytics
How have salaries changed over time for Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Natalie Gerhart Ph.D.: Technology is not going away and is becoming increasingly relevant in the strategy of businesses. As a result, salaries in these fields have been trending up, and will, overall, continue to do so, I think. We have been seeing an increasing in IT spend, which doesn't always correlate with salaries, but does show an uptick in the value being placed on technology. As technology continues to evolve and become more ubiquitous, the value placed on advanced technology skills will continue to rise.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Vice Presidents, Business Development to find work opportunities?
Christopher Sippel Ed.D.: A silver lining to the pandemic may be that the location of an individual in many industries no longer dictates which company or organization someone can work for. When travel restrictions begin to ease, successful candidates will be willing to go wherever they are asked to go. In these challenging times, organizations will need people that are open to working where they are needed.
What experience really stands out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Anthony DeFrancesco: Knowledge and experience with sales technology tools and effectively navigating Omnichannel hybrid sales environments. Social selling and analytical skills are also highly important. Product and industry knowledge for the targeted verticals also stands out. Experience with specific industry vertical prospecting tools can be a major differentiator. Finally, important to complement the aforementioned ATS keywords are leadership and team collaboration.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Anthony DeFrancesco: Yes, there will. Many businesses are changing their headquarters, operational infrastructure and buying communications protocols. Effective vertical prospecting, networking and selling skills will still be as important as ever as sales engagements will continue to become more complex. According to McKinsey sales engagements of course have moved mostly to digital and remote which is a trend that started before the pandemic. A McKinsey survey of B2B companies finds that, "Almost 90 percent of sales have moved to a videoconferencing(VC)/phone/web sales model, and while some skepticism remains, more than half believe this is equally or more effective than sales models used before COVID-19." (The B2B digital inflection point: How sales have changed during COVID-19) April 30, 2020 McKinsey Article)
What experience really stands out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Anthony DeFrancesco: Knowledge and experience with sales technology tools and effectively navigating Omnichannel hybrid sales environments. Social selling and analytical skills are also highly important. Product and industry knowledge for the targeted verticals also stands out. Experience with specific industry vertical prospecting tools can be a major differentiator. Finally, important to complement the aforementioned ATS keywords are leadership and team collaboration.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Vice President, Business Development job market given the pandemic?
Laura Sansoni: I think the changes we will see in the job market will have to do with how employers recruit and how we will work. Many employers had to transition quickly to virtual recruiting without changing their usual recruiting schedule. In the last few years, I have seen a shift to virtual interviewing and recruiting; the pandemic simply sped up the process across industries, occupations, and geographic locations. Virtual recruiting has allowed employers to expand their reach and connect with institutions and students they would not have had the opportunity to otherwise. Some employers also reimagined their internships from in-person to virtual experiences in direct response to travel and social distancing guidelines. Being able to still offer internship programs in a virtual setting offers more possibilities for students to gain work experience and new skills.
Moving forward, employers will likely focus again on in-person recruiting and working, but I believe virtual recruiting and remote work will become a much larger offering in the future. Here at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) we have transitioned to offering more courses and programs online and we plan to continue to offer career services programming virtually to accommodate the growing number of online students. I think that working remotely or the ability to work remotely on an ad hoc basis will remain prominent but will look different based on the needs of the company and position.
What Vice President, Business Development skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Laura Sansoni: I think taking a year between high school and college or between a bachelor's and master's degree can be incredibly beneficial if the individual approaches this time with intentional purpose. If they want to gain work experience and/or save up money for school, seeking a position with ties to a career that interests them is going to help them narrow down their academic path once they begin their higher education.
If they want to use this time to travel, they should consider documenting their experiences to reflect on their personal growth and any new skills they gain such as learning a new language. If they simply wish to take a break from their studies, take the year to explore their personal interests and hobbies by trying new things and meeting with people doing work that interests them. Lifelong, fulfilling careers stem from your passions and interests. Discovering both early will help guide them in educational pursuits as well as fulfilling work throughout their life.
John Rose
Associate Lecturer, Internship Coordinator and MSA CoordinatorKent State University
Department of Accounting
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Vice President, Business Development job market given the pandemic?
John Rose: For accounting students, the job market is good. There was a dip at the beginning of the pandemic, but CPA firms are still hiring. The number of interns for the winter season is comparable to the previous year.
Jonathan Byers
Assistant DirectorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Career and Professional Development
What skills stand out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Jonathan Byers:
- Professional skills related to career development competencies such as strong oral & written communication, teamwork & collaboration, leadership, problem-solving ability & creativity, and professional integrity, but we recommend that applicants do not just list these skills. They should provide evidence of how they have used them in their work experience, volunteer experience, academic experience, etc.
-The ability to use technology effectively to solve problems or improve collaboration; this could relate to social media management, computer hardware or software skills, proficiency with general programs like Microsoft Office Suite (also being able to demonstrate the use of these skills in various experiences).
-With diversity, equity, and inclusion becoming more important in 2020, the ability to appreciate different points of view, accept and appreciate different cultural backgrounds & types of identities, and increased awareness of one's own cultural biases and assumptions can also be important to market on a resume.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Vice Presidents, Business Development to find work opportunities?
Jonathan Byers: Like most Liberal Arts graduates, people with History degrees will most likely develop a number of the professional skills mentioned above that can be applicable in many different industry areas. In today's job market, college graduates are not bound to one type of job opportunity. History majors from Virginia Tech have found employment in Higher Education, Law, Politics, Public Policy, Business, Marketing, Information Technology, Information Management, International Affairs, Local & State Government, and the Federal Government. They have found opportunities in many different locations across the United Students. A person who finds a job depends on how much they are willing to network with other professionals and be strategic and intentional with their job search strategies.
Dr. Tammy Leonard
Chair & Associate Professor, Co-Director Community Assistance ResearchUniversity of Dallas
Economics Department
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Vice Presidents, Business Development?
Dr. Tammy Leonard: "Some students have flourished in the online learning environment, and others have not. I fear employers may interpret these differences as indicators of something more than they are. Indeed, some students are more capable of managing their time than others, which is one factor that employers care about. Still, students also really learn in many different ways -and the sudden change in learning formats affected some learners more than others.
Also, Covid impacted the external situation of some students much more than others. The pandemic could further amplify disparities between different types of learners and students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. One way to remedy this is for employers to be very forthright in asking students how they adjusted to the changing learning environment. It's unlikely the learning environment will ever go 100% back to what it used to be, so this change (and asking about this change) is here for the next several years. Employers need to be aware of the vast heterogeneity in pandemic impacts; those differences are large and likely will endure for some time.
Employers that care about equal opportunity and diversity need to be even more aware that the landscape has changed and disparities are potentially more extensive than ever before. For example, I have one student who has moved from a solid A student to an A/B student during the pandemic. That same student is managing more than one job and relying on an old computer. Another student has moved from an A/B student to more of an A student. That student is still good, but they benefit from the fact that many exams are an open book because of the online format, and there are fewer social distractions. Employers need to seek out this information when making comparisons-now more than ever."
What experience really stands out on Vice President, Business Development resumes?
Dr. Tammy Leonard: I always tell my students that the experience that stands out is the one they own. It's been tough for students to get the same "traditional" internship experience during the pandemic. However, there are still plenty of opportunities to contribute to those willing to own those responsibilities. At UD, my Community Assistance Research (CARE) group leads an academic-community partnership with local nonprofits. We have had students creating internships out of volunteer opportunities with these organizations serving the many households adversely affected by the pandemic. Even if it's a tiny part of a project or an unpaid role, students who take ownership of something ultimately exemplify leadership, responsibility, and impact. When students go off for internships, I often encourage them to check in a month or so into the engagement, and we talk about what they can own and what they are going to do with it.
What Vice President, Business Development skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kaustav Misra Ph.D.: This pandemic taught us many things and one important thing that we have an efficiency gap.
The way of doing business will be much more technology orientated. Hence graduates should be ready to unskill and upskill their credentials. This time it is necessary to forget the old way of doing business and learn new skills to get a job or stay in a current job. Soft skills have become much more important than before, but a different soft skill set would be essential to interact with future market participants. Thus, a gap year should be utilized to unskill-upskill and enhance relevant credentials by getting into short-long term programs, training, and workshops would be highly recommended.
Dr. Vallari Chandna
Chair and Associate ProfessorUniversity of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Marketing and Management Department
What type of skills will young Vice Presidents, Business Development need?
Dr. Vallari Chandna: Critically, for all graduates, expertise or interests, in sustainability will be important. The reason behind this is the shift in looking at sustainability holistically and not just as something one-person does. This would also give an edge to those with degrees, specifically in sustainability. Graduates with degrees related to sustainability will often be asked to oversee or manage these across-the-board sustainability endeavors. Also, soft skills are highly desired. The ability to be better at time management, work in teams, and have a strong work ethic, will be more desirable. These are all interconnected with remote work as well. Employees who "thrived" in the pandemic were those able to manage their work-life balance, work remotely in teams, all the while performing well. The skills are thus "transferable" to both modalities of work in this way.