Business Development: What It Is
To some extent, the job of a business developer is to do exactly what it says on the tin — i.e., develop a business. Business developers may work on developing and then perhaps finding partners for their own business, or they find work in developing other people’s businesses for them.
People who advertise business development jobs are looking for people with a number of different skills that are need in order for a business enterprise to grow. From the outset you will need research skills. A business development job description will include assessing what opportunities there are in the market, knowing the target market for the industry in which you are operating, and gathering information of potential customers and competitors.
In order to qualify for a job in business development, you may or may not need a business studies degree, but you will be expected to know where and how to generate possible leads for sales, as well as any other activity that this involves such as telephone calls and follow up emails or visits. You will also need to have some experience of writing a formal business proposal and of designing a model or plan for a business.
As a business developer you may start by evaluating an economic enterprise and devising an action plan whereby the business will reach its full potential. The skills mentioned above are part of the ongoing process of business development, in some respects a business that stops developing and growing may cease to be financially viable. While each business may have its own particular needs, these skills and qualities will be important in developing any business.
Business Development Jobs
There are several ways in which jobs in business development are advertised, and one in particular may require extra skills that the others do not. Broadly speaking, these positions are advertised as business development jobs, business development manager jobs, and international business development jobs. It should be quite clear that the latter category will require extra skills.
Whatever sort of business development job you are looking for it is a lot easier to get what you want when you belong to a site where all the research is done for you and the jobs are brought together in one place. There are, of course, also those people who desire to set up and develop their own business and who will require the skills listed above.
Experience and Qualities
Most advertisements for business development jobs require some previous experience, if not in developing a business for someone else, then in developing your own business. This is largely because business development is an area where people learn by doing, without that prior learning a potential employer would have little evidence on which to gauge your skills.
As a business developer you would be expected to reach out to your target market in a number of ways besides expensive commercial advertisements. You would be expected to go out of your way to give some talks and presentations to your target market to let them know that your business exists and what it can do for them. Networking with others is also an important part of business development and may often lead to lucrative business partnerships.
Some employers may expect you to have at least a first degree in business studies and others may even want someone with a masters in business development — and there are also those who may not necessarily worry about a degree but will want an experienced developer.
The qualities required may differ from one business development job to another but you certainly need to be tenacious about following up leads, you need to be able to pay meticulous attention to detail (in proposal writing and development plans) and you need to be gregarious in order to deal with all of the networking that is expected in this job.
Business Development Manager
If you are searching for business development manager jobs in the present financial crisis then the most important thing you need to put before potential employers is just exactly what you can bring to the table.
The first thing you should do is to find out as much as you can about the current state of the business to which you are applying. Try to get a handle on what it’s like on the inside, is the company a driving force or is it laid back. This will give you some idea of whether you do actually want to work for that company, and it will show potential employers that you have done your homework. One of the prime tasks of a business development manager is research, this will include researching target markets, gathering intelligence on customers and competitors, and researching past and possible future trends for a particular business. If you are asked to give an account of some things you have done previously then statements such as: I aggressively marketed a particular company’s logo and message to heighten brand awareness across the state, or something similar will go down well.
Besides your primary knowledge of the company and your research skills your potential employers will be looking at your past experience and at skills such as team building and networking, communication and planning.
International Development Manager
If you are searching for international development manager jobs then you will need some of the following skills: the ability to create strategic alliances on a broad, international level, initiating strategic relationships with other businesses and searching for new business opportunities along with the generic skills of chasing up sales leads and looking for more sales opportunities. A lot of what you will be engaged in as an international development manager will depend to a large extent on how the company you work for operates. You will certainly be selling to customers from other countries and forging business relationships abroad, you may also be expected to operate foreign franchises and have foreign distributors.
Business development is a wide and fascinating field, and even in the present financial crisis, there are still plenty of jobs available in the particular areas discussed in this article.
