A business development professional has three primary responsibilities:
- Identifying new sales leads
- Pitching products and/or services
- Maintaining fruitful relationships with existing customers
When it comes to generating leads, day-to-day duties typically include:
- Researching organisations and individuals online (especially on social media) to identify new leads and potential new markets
- Researching the needs of other companies and learning who makes decisions about purchasing
- Contacting potential clients via email or phone to establish rapport and set up meetings
- Planning and overseeing new marketing initiatives
- Attending conferences, meetings, and industry events
When it comes to the challenge of actually selling, other typical duties include:
- Preparing PowerPoint presentations and sales displays
- Contacting clients to inform them about new developments in the company’s products
- Developing quotes and proposals
- Negotiating and renegotiating by phone, email, and in person
- Developing sales goals for the team and ensuring they are met
- Training personnel and helping team members develop their skills
To keep healthy relationships with clients, this mostly requires socialisation. So from simple chats on the phone to lunches and events or conferences business development managers must be sure to keep their customers happy. Of course, as with all office jobs, documentation is also a big part of the work. Business development professionals are also obligated to write reports and provide feedback to upper management about what is and is not working.
Business Development Executive Skills
To be an effective business development executive, an individual must be:
- Socially adept
- Good with numbers
- Able to provide quality leadership to a large team of sales people
The skills you need to excel in this position include:
- Strong communication and IT fluency
- Creative talents and the ability to solve tough problems
- In-depth knowledge of the industry and its current events
- The ability to handle pressure and meet deadlines
- Skill in prioritizing and triaging obligations
- Attention to detail
- Excellent time management and organisation
Other Skills Presentation, Business Development, btl, social media, electronic media, digital media, Outdoor
