What is a business development manager? Find out if your company needs this type of business professional to oversee your operations.
To scale a business, you have to look at multiple facets of your company—from its overall performance down to the minute details in the efficiency of each task. And it can get overwhelming to strategize a cohesive business development plan when there are lots of items to study. This is where the business development manager comes in.
We can consider the business development manager position as one of the all-encompassing roles in a company. It requires multiple and diverse skills to pull off a successful development program. Business development managers have a lot to offer in terms of long-term growth and success. Let’s look deeper into what this role entails.
What Is A Business Development Manager’s Role?
Business development managers focus on the expansion of a business. Their core responsibility is to increase brand recognition and promote financial growth. To do this, they would have to put on different hats.
They can take on the role of a chief business development officer, business development executive, or business development expert. In short, they will take on all the necessary roles to change and improve multiple areas of the company.
How They Do It
A business development manager assists in marketing, data analysis, sales, and employee management. They would need to coordinate with several executives and sales and marketing professionals. As such, they are in charge of tasks like strategic planning, financial planning, and customer relations.
Business development managers may spend the majority of their time coming up with new ideas with a product developer. They may also collaborate with members of the marketing team to analyze focus groups and survey results. Their day-to-day task varies depending on what project they’re working on and how much time and attention it needs.
We can summarize the business development manager role in three areas:
1. Networking
Networking is arguably one of the important items on a business development manager’s to-do list. It entails applying new methods of pitching to new clients or securing new business deals for the company. The manager will have to prepare a lot of materials such as status reports, updates on timelines, and forecasted sales for potential clients and investors.
2. Client Relations
Business development is about improving both the quality and quantity of a business. Fostering relations with existing clients is just as crucial as acquiring new ones. A business development manager has to plan out projects that will allow them to have closer ties with clients. Project collaborations are a great way to enhance existing partnerships.
3. Market Research
Conducting market research is essential in business development. Learning from competitors, looking at the latest market trends, and proposing new marketing methods are just some of the business development manager’s responsibilities. The goal is to gather information to identify and accommodate the target audience’s preferences.
Should Your Company Hire Business Development Managers?
Now that we’ve learned what the role is all about, the next question is whether to hire one or not. The short answer to that is, “it depends.” Business development managers ideally come in when a company has already made good traction and solidified its place in the industry. This means that there are already existing goals and plans in place. After all, the manager will be there to help realize this vision.
Here are some aspects you should look into before deciding to hire a business development manager:
Timing
Early-stage companies can typically handle the sales and business development themselves. But once they start gaining traction in the market, they’ll have to shift their focus on meeting the more significant demands. Having too much on one’s plate can be detrimental to their growth.
Ideally, when a business is already handling over 30 employees, it may need to consider hiring a full-time business development manager. Having one will ensure they stay on the right track as they steadily expand their operations.
Funding
The business development manager position is not entry-level. You will be hiring a seasoned and multi-disciplinary expert in the field. So you’ll have to take into account if you can afford to add another managerial role to the business.
On top of that, business development managers will propose campaigns and programs that can be costly yet beneficial to business growth. You have to assess whether you can also afford to implement their ideas in business development.
Hiring Business Development Managers
If you’re ready to hire a development manager for your business, then it’s important to take note of their qualifications. When it comes to hiring a business development manager, you’ll have to assess the following traits:
- Communication skills
- Leadership skill
- Industry experience
In assessing their technical skills, you have to choose a candidate with relevant experience in the industry. For example, if you’re running a software company, you’ll need someone who has good knowledge and experience in working with tech. If they aren’t familiar with the type of service or product you offer, it may limit their development contributions.
Hire Managers from Full Scale
Hiring business development managers can be a huge challenge, especially in the tech industry. Qualified tech experts are hard to come by. You’ll need someone who can understand the complexity of your technology while also mastering its business aspect. This is why it’s better to partner with a company that specializes in hiring technical roles. You can work with Full Scale to find qualified candidates.
Full Scale oversees the entire hiring process. We vet the best candidates by employing a rigorous screening, interview, and assessment process. We help businesses build their development team, from developers to managers, quickly and affordably.
