What Does a Business Development Executive Do?

Business development executives, or BDEs, are salespeople who locate new customers and help businesses grow and expand.

If you enjoy creating business contacts, this could be a good career choice for you. Learning more about the roles and duties will help you perform better at work. In this post, we will address the question “What does a business development executive do?” discuss their salaries and the abilities required, and detail the stages to becoming a successful BDE.

What Does a Business Development Executive Do?

Business development executives assist a company in increasing sales by acquiring new clients and persuading existing customers to make further purchases.

These experts specialize in lead creation and prospect management. They help a company develop new business and preserve its longevity. Some of their regular job responsibilities are:

The role includes learning about the company’s products and services, developing relationships with consumers, and recommending solutions based on their needs.

Developing and maintaining a list of prospective clients
Negotiating with clients to help them move down the sales funnel.
Researching and conducting outbound calls to potential clients
collaborating with the sales staff and business managers to keep and grow accounts.
Traveling to customers’ locations and visiting trade exhibitions to promote a company’s products and services
Conducting competitive marketing studies to develop a sales strategy for new business and keeping a customer database.

What is the role of business development?

Business development refers to the methods and actions necessary to create and implement profitable growth initiatives.

Business development usually contributes to an increase in a company’s worth. A BDE can bring about the necessary change and foster growth across departments. The function of business growth is:

Developing key relationships
increasing revenue and lowering costs
Improve the corporate image and expand into new areas.

Average compensation for a business development executive

Business development executives earn an average monthly salary of ₹20,306. The specific wage may differ depending on a candidate’s skills, experience, qualifications, and region.

Some Indian cities provide a higher salary to BDEs than others. For example, the average monthly wage in Mumbai is ₹24,137, whereas in Pune it is ₹19,798.

Skills of a business development executive

Here are some essential skills to master for a successful career as a BDE:

1. Communication skills

The capacity to convey your thoughts to others is a critical skill for success in this field. Employers want people who can write well, communicate eloquently, and actively listen to potential clients.

These sales experts analyze the client’s needs, break them down into theories, logically develop solutions, and explain them to their clients. This necessitates superior verbal communication abilities.

2. Sales skills

To attract new customers, a BDE assesses the company’s target audience and pursues potential leads. Selling a company’s product or service to potential customers necessitates strong sales abilities.

They may engage in tasks such as cold calling or scheduling possible meetings with clients to explore opportunities.

3. Marketing skills

To carry out their professional responsibilities, a BDE must comprehend basic marketing principles. While their primary focus is on developing relationships, they also need marketing skills to promote their brand, assess competition, find new target consumers, and get an in-depth understanding of emerging markets. They also need marketing skills to raise awareness of their business.

A BDE’s organizational skills include the capacity to schedule appointments with potential clients. They arrange meetings between clients and colleagues, converting potential clients into customers.

Excellent organisational skills can assist business development executives manage meetings and plan their work schedules more effectively.

4. Negotiation skills

To negotiate a contract or price with present and future clients, business development executives must possess exceptional negotiation abilities.

While they may not be responsible for closing business deals, they do generate leads and keep people intrigued until they reach the bottom of the sales funnel. A BDE must grasp the client’s needs and propose a solution in order to negotiate successfully.

5. Flexibility

Flexibility is a characteristic that allows business development executives to manage the work environment in response to the needs of their clients. It enables business development leaders to maintain a favorable work-life balance, which can lead to improved performance.

Flexibility defines a person’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances and can aid in the development of creative problem-solving strategies.

What are the top three competencies for a business development executive?

The top three competencies for a BDE are:

Sales and communication abilities.
Marketing skills

How To Become A Business Development Executive

Here are five actions you may take to begin your career as a business development executive.

1. Complete your schooling.

While there is no set qualification for becoming a BDE, employers frequently prefer candidates with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, or similar fields.

Employers favor undergraduate degrees such as Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) and Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). While a master’s degree is optional, many employers prefer to hire people with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

An MBA in marketing, finance, information technology, or operations can help you qualify for a coveted BDE position.

2. Develop necessary abilities.

Learning and mastering standard company development executive talents is a vital aspect of the process. Focus on developing your soft skills because a large portion of a BDE’s job entails interacting with consumers. Take online classes, seminars, or internships to improve your soft skills.

Focus on enhancing your communication and sales abilities because they allow you to interact with clients and professionals at all levels of the organization.

3. Complete an internship

While obtaining your bachelor’s and master’s degrees, complete an internship in the business development profession.

It is a great approach to gaining job-specific skills. In addition, an internship will provide you with excellent work experience and keep you up-to-date on the functions and responsibilities of this employment. To acquire the most exposure, consider taking up an internship in a business-related field.

4. Find a mentor.

To begin a successful career as a BDE and grow your professional network, consider hiring a mentor with extensive experience in business development. Your mentor could be a former manager, a colleague, or another seasoned professional who can share their knowledge and offer advice. A mentor might also connect you to potential work prospects.

5. Participate in job shadowing

Job shadowing is a good technique to gain insight into the duties, responsibilities, work environment, and abilities required to become a business development executive.

Find someone from your network and accompany them to work for an hour or a day. Job shadowing allows you to gain firsthand insight into what your average day will be like in a BDE role.

6. Gain experience.

After developing your skills through an internship or formal schooling, seek an entry-level career as a BDE. You can start as a sales representative or in another sales-related profession and work your way up to become a business development executive. When hiring for a BDE position, businesses often favor candidates with appropriate experience.

Work Environment of a BDE

Business development executives operate in both the retail and non-retail sectors. While most BDEs work 40 hours per week, they may work extra hours after work or on weekends to meet their goals. They may also work in shifts based on the project’s requirements.

These sales experts typically do not work in silos and are an essential component of a company’s sales and marketing departments.

BDE is a good job for people who enjoy traveling and discovering new cities and countries because it demands regular travel to meet with clients. These personnel may go to international locations depending on the project’s requirements.