It is a concept that helps you to increase your sales. An increased turnover leads to increased profits. This can be achieved through customer development, product development, marketing, and price development. Whichever way business developers approach the market, they are constantly asking themselves questions: What are my customers’ needs? How do I get new customers? Who wants what I have to offer? Who wants it enough to pay for it? And what would convince them of this need so far that they buy from me rather than someone else who could also supply them with their requirements? The business developer constantly inquires about the latest developments in his markets. That’s why he stays up-to-date on all current issues and continually develops new ideas. He asks himself how to present this new product or service so that potential customers want it. He is always looking for the demand of his products and services regarding production, distribution, marketing, and sales. For this, he studies each market individually with the help of specialists who are good at devising imaginative advertising campaigns.
What does a business development person do?
A business developer is more than just a marketer. He has to sell his product or service, but he also knows how the production process works. So he must present the product well, but he must also ensure that it can be produced economically and realistically within time limits. A good business developer has solid connections within all areas of the company to know who does what and where decisions are made. Good communication with all employees makes him aware of upcoming supply and demand trends early on, which gives him an advantage over competitors. And working together with other departments (marketing, sales, PR) ensures that they are all up-to-date about developments to develop and implement all-encompassing and value promoting ideas and concepts. He knows how to identify possible customers with an eye for the market even before they realize they need a product or service.
How is a business development manager different from other managers?
He does not work like most managers in his team, who usually have their departments (marketing and sales departments) and bring reports to complete meetings. Because he has so many hats, it can be challenging for others to understand his role within the company. He spends about 80% of his time out of the office because he needs first-hand information about developing trends to coordinate successfully with all areas involved. It’s about communicating with the people who are responsible for the development, production, and distribution. He must be able to motivate his team with clever ideas so that they develop the product or service so that it can be sold and produced. First, he has to identify what is not working within the company to make an overview of existing possibilities visible. Then he can develop proposals for new approaches which thorough studies on the market have substantiated. His role is, therefore, continuously advisory since he works together with others from different departments.
What do you need to become a business developer?
A good business developer needs excellent communication skills, creative thinking, and emotional intelligence. Because you have to communicate your strategy systematically, not just once but many times over, to different people who further understand the market. In addition, you must have the ability to recognize the needs and wishes of your customers so that you can quickly identify new trends to keep up with them from a marketing perspective. Finally, a business developer needs to systematically collect information about current developments in his market and know how it can be implemented in practice within the company – ideally across departments. This results in synergies that would otherwise not exist if development was managed individually by each department.
What do employers expect from their employees?
Employers expect their employees (employees) to work independently and make decisions on their initiative, even though they still want them to consult with their superiors. They expect their employees to be proactive instead of waiting for new projects to come from the top as soon as they think outside the box and take action if needed. In short, this means that you should not wait until a project is assigned but initiate projects on your own or at least identify possibilities that can benefit your company. Employers also want their employees (employees) to understand everything within a department so that they know how it relates to other departments and what decisions will need approval from where for a specific work process to start.
What are the business development skills?
Personal skills are often mentioned in job advertisements. However, these are the most critical business development skills which you should have if you want to be successful as a business developer:
Excellent communication and coordination skills, Emotional intelligence, Creative thinking and Flexibility, Entrepreneurial spirit, and Teamwork. Here it is also about identifying potential within your team – not only the individual strengths of the candidates but also their weaknesses so that together they can create a solid and reliable team. Of course, all these qualities must be supported by sufficient theoretical knowledge of relevant market developments.
An expert once said that today’s managers must be generalists instead of specialists because companies need people who know something about everything and can also think outside the box.
What are the best job titles for business development?
One of the best job titles for a business developer is Business Development Director. This job title provides scope to think creatively and develop new ideas that you can then implement in your company. In addition, a business development director must always be well informed to know what is going on in the market. For many companies, this latest information is a critical success factor because it enables them to be one step ahead of their competitors from a marketing perspective. Therefore, a person appointed as a business development director represents not only his department but also the entire company because he controls all relevant developments within his area and communicates them systematically to exploit them for optimum benefit – even without being assigned specific duties by his superiors.
