7 Skills You Need to Be an Excellent Business Development Manager

• by Yazan Rous
• July 8, 2017
• 7 Comments

Business Development Managers are responsible for developing the business side of an organisation. They must identify arising business opportunities and build long-term relationships with prospects. That is needed in order to increase company revenue and maximize profits.

Business developers help the company to become as successful as it can be. They rely on knowledge, theory and hands-on experience to help businesses to grow. As well they evaluate the current performance of the business and find ways to help the business reach its full potential.

In a previous article, “Top Qualities to look for when hiring a Business Developer”, we mentioned the qualities excellent business developers have. In this article we will discuss the key skills that any good business developer should have.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

A good business developer must have strong communication skills. They are required in order to communicate, present, assert and speak to all the different stakeholders involved. He must also be able to cold call prospects with confidence in order to gain new clients.

Collaboration Skills

Business Development is not a one man show. It involves collaboration with multiple parties from inside and outside the company. Any good business developer should be able to build relationships, influence, manage conflicts and navigate through office politics in order to get things done.

Negotiation & Persuasion skills

This includes being tactful and diplomatic at all times. Achieving your set goals require that you are able to learn when to compromise and when to take a stand. In order to persuade your prospects to do what needs to be done, you will need to win their hearts, minds and trust.

Project Management Skills

Good Business developers are in some way also project managers. They have to be able to set goals, plan and manage projects, manage the risks involved, calculate budgets, cost, time and teams working on ongoing projects.

Research & Strategy

A Business Developer will need to have strong research and strategic analysis skills. These are necessary in order to benchmark the competition and keep the company ahead of it.

Computer Skills

This comes without thinking these days. Any decent employee needs to have at least basic computer skills. Nevertheless a Business Development Manager must have high competency working with Microsoft Office. Even CRM softwares is  a must for this job as well.

Business Intelligence

Knowing all about your business services and products is essential for any Business Developer. However knowing everything about your competition as well will provide you with the leverage you need to surpass them. Any respectful business developer will conduct the necessary market analysis needed to identify the company´s current position. He will conduct analysis of what competitive advantage the company has over the similar businesses in the sector. Business developers must be able to collect the data they need in order to prepare an accurate analysis.

In addition to all of the above mentioned skills, exceptional Business Development Managers are always hungry for knowledge. They like to stay up-to-date with the latest economic issues in the industry. Being always organized and working under constant pressure is a part of a Business Developers routine. Moreover knowledge in Sales Management, Marketing, Strategic Management and Business Planning is a strength they can use to grow your business. Combined with the skills detailed above and the qualities described in the article ‘Top Qualities to look for when hiring a Business Developer‘ , you can rest assured that your business lies in good hands.