What Is a Business Development Executive and How to Become One

What Is a Business Development Executive?

A business development executive is responsible for developing growth in the company through increased sales and customer acquisition. Your job duties as a business development executive are to generate sales leads, contact potential clients, and nurture existing customer relationships. You also promote products and services, represent the company at networking events and conferences, travel to events and meetings with key clients, conduct online research via social media platforms to discover leads and new target markets, and help plan and oversee marketing and advertising initiatives. This career requires excellent sales, management, and interpersonal skills.

How to Become a Business Development Executive

The qualifications you need to become a business development executive vary depending on your employer and the industry in which you work. To pursue this career path, you need at least a bachelor’s degree in business administration or a field relevant to your industry, such as engineering or computer science. A graduate degree, particularly a master’s of business administration (MBA), often helps to advance your career. You need significant experience in your industry before becoming part of the management team. A lower level position within a single company is a great way to start your career path.

Is Business Development Executive a Good Job?

Business development executive is an excellent job for people who enjoy being part of a corporate management team. You can do well as a business development executive if you have strong interpersonal and leadership skills, a knack for numbers and sales strategy, and the ability to work well under pressure. Many business development executives started out in entry-level jobs like sales agents or marketing specialist and climbed the ladder as they gained experience and developed their skills. If you excel in sales positions, a career as a business development executive is an ideal path.

How to Be a Good Business Development Executive

You need excellent leadership and interpersonal skills to be an effective business development executive. Your role as a business development executive often requires you to attend industry conferences, networking events, and meetings with potential and existing clients. You must be comfortable talking to a variety of people and presenting solid, persuasive information about your company’s products and services. Furthermore, you must be a strategic thinker and team player to contribute to your company’s growth and success in a competitive market.

Business Development Executive Job Description Sample

With this Business Development Executive job description sample, you can get a good idea of what employers are looking for when hiring for this position. Remember, every employer is different and each will have unique qualifications when they hire for a Business Development Executive role.

Job Summary

The business development executive will focus on customer acquisition, lead generation, and prospect management, as this role will garner and meet with potential clients. The business development executive will be responsible to research client business referrals, network, and web leads; provide prospective customers/clients with all services offered and additional presentations as needed, and work with clients to create solutions for their needs and consult throughout the sales process. Must be energetic, well-spoken, and eager to close sales and increase revenue.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Identifying, qualifying, and securing business opportunities; coordinating business generation activities; developing customized targeted sales strategies
• Building business relationships with current and potential clients
• Understanding client needs and offering solutions and support; answering potential client questions and follow-up call questions; responding to client requests for proposals (RFPs)
• Collaborating with sales and leadership to secure, retain, and grow accounts
• Creating informative presentations; presenting and delivering information to potential clients at client meetings, industry exhibits, trade shows, and conferences
• Creating and maintaining a list/database of prospect clients; maintaining a database (Salesforce, CRM, Excel, etc.) of prospective client information
• Cold calling; making multiple outbound calls to potential clients; closing sales and working with the client through the closing process
• Meeting all quotas for cold, active, inactive calls, appointments, and interviews; meeting or exceeding annual sales goals
• Maintaining a pipeline of all sales administration using CRM software
• Collaborating with management on sales goals, planning, and forecasting; maintaining short- and long-term business development plans

Requirements and Qualifications

• Experience with lead generation and prospect management
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; the ability to call, connect, and interact with potential customers
• Persuasive and goal-oriented
• Possesses an energetic, outgoing, and friendly demeanor
• Able to professionally and confidently communicate with C-Level Executives
• High school degree or equivalent
• Four years of cold calling experience; previous experience in an outbound call center, inside sales experience, or related sales experience; knowledge of sales process from initiation to close
• Excellent analytical and time-management skills
• Demonstrated and proven sales results
• Ability to work independently or as an active member of a team