Business Developer

Oh My Job is a web series that helps you learn about specific roles from the people who carry them out every day. In this episode, Guillaume, a Business Developer, shares his professional insights and talks about his working life at UPTOO.

A Business Developer is responsible for the growth of a company and the acquisition of new customers or clients.

Responsibilities

The main responsibility of a Business Developer is to pinpoint growth drivers that will help a business grow. This most often translates into assessing new markets for the purposes of prospecting. By analyzing the issues facing potential clients, a Business Developer tries to attract them, which in turn creates long-term value. A Business Developer achieves this goal by setting up meetings where they can pitch a service or product to prospects, before providing a sales proposal in the hopes of getting a contract signed. While Business Developers are often in charge of a specific sector, enabling them to find and contact relevant prospects and key players, they must also watch out for other growth opportunities, such as communications opportunities or partnerships.

Close monitoring is thus indispensable to Business Developers because they must find and offer growth solutions that go beyond mere client acquisition.

“It’s my responsibility to go out and find new clients. You are in charge of a sector that needs to be developed in response to the issues your clients are facing.”

Career path

While the traditional path of a Business Developer involves a Master’s degree from a business school, there are other roads that lead to taking up these responsibilities. An educational background in marketing, entrepreneurship, or even engineering can be very valuable in this job.

Skills

Closely connected to business strategy, a Business Developer must be a talented negotiator because he or she will be in contact with many potential clients. He or she must also be able to adapt to a wide variety of relevant parties to build a rapport quickly. To excel in this profession, you must demonstrate patience, empathy, and versatility so as not to put pressure on potential clients.

“The challenge of my profession is having perseverance and resilience. Every month, your targets are reset.”

Collaborative relationships

Since a Business Developer acts as a bridge between prospects and the company, once a contract or agreement has been signed, he or she often hands over the “key” to the relationship – their client tracking information – to the client experience team or an Account Manager.

Business Developers also work closely with support services, such as marketing and IT. Being so close to the issues that prospects face means information can be gleaned to capitalize on potential growth opportunities, such as communications partnerships and potential product improvements.

Salary

In the United States, a junior Business Developer can expect $4,000 gross per month, while a more experienced professional can make $7,000.

Career progression

One of the most logical progressions for a Business Developer within a company is to take on managerial responsibilities. Depending on his or her skills and performance, a Business Developer can climb to positions with high-level responsibilities, such as Sales Director.

He or she can also stop prospecting and go on to the positions of Account Manager or Key Account Manager.

“It is a very rewarding profession because you can create a business culture and develop your network through high-level contacts.”

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