Responsibilities of a Business Development Manager

Business development encompasses a number of activities, techniques, and strategies designed to improve efficiency and increase productivity in a business organization or firm. Professionals involved in this process of development play an integral role as they help grow an economic enterprise. Some of the various techniques and methodologies used by these professionals are marketing assessments, learning about competition in the market, generating leads, follow-up sales activity, research on target markets, and evaluation of business potential.

When appointed as a business development manager, the duties and responsibilities dramatically increase. The entire load of promoting the business, improving credibility, and increasing productivity is laid on the shoulders of the manager. He or she has mulch-task roles to play in such a situation. Some of the most important responsibilities of a business development manager are as follows:

• Investigate the economic conditions of the market.

• Research on the financial issues and bring out an appropriate solution.

• Learn about the latest trends and the growing competition in the market.

• Prepare a perfect business plan in accordance to the set goals and objectives.

• Maintain financial records of the company and stay within the proposed budget throughout the life of the business.

• Improve networking with other renowned businesses in the market.

• Strengthen customer base with commitment to quality issues and high customer satisfaction.

• Learn about the expansion of other companies in the same field of business.

• Motivate employees and push to work more efficiently and logically.

• Understand the needs and requirements of the business growth plan.

• Learn about the strengths and weaknesses that someway or the other impact growth potential.

• Develop innovative techniques and adopt new strategies to keep pace with the advancing business world.

• Explore new opportunities to achieve profit targets.

• Learn about new marketing tactics and implement the same for marketing specified products and services.

• Negotiate with clients and customers to enjoy higher profit margins.

• Ensure smooth functioning of all business operations within the organization.

Sales Tips For The Advanced Business Development Manager

Whether you are an advanced account manager or a new business acquisition specialist, there are certain techniques and sales methodologies that will inevitably help the revenue generating numbers of a more seasoned sales professional. Despite the fact that, in the back of their minds, many know these techniques, they fail to implement them.

Inevitably, this failed tactical implementation often leads to less deals closed and the potential to miss quota. Below, you will find some more advanced business development and closing techniques that will help the members of any sales force increase their client hits and go well beyond their assigned quotas.

Do Your Research, Then Do More Research
As a mid to senior or even business development sales representative, doing the proper research on your target client is of the utmost importance. Too many professionals spend a lot of time and energy to gain a meeting with a target client, and then go into the in-person with little to no company and industry research completed.

This is one of the main separators between the average and the successful, heavy revenue generating business development representatives. Many companies and their respective employees don't have the time to explain their business upon meeting any prospective sales professional. Therefore, they expect the business development professional to come equipped with their homework completed and with questions already set.

The basis of selling is asking the right questions and uncovering what the key needs of the client are. This is quite difficult to do when the sales representative knows little to nothing about the company and their prospective industry.

Listen, Then Speak
The most effective sales professionals listen more than they speak. The average sales representative will go into a prospective client meeting and do their "pitch" hoping only to hit one of the darts that they are throwing at those sitting on the other side of the table.

Instead, if the sales representative actually listens to the prospect, upon speaking they will know the right words to say and can easily pair the solutions that they have with the needs of the client.

Get The Client To Commit
Too many sales representatives put together great presentations and have great meetings with the client only to leave the further steps uncertain and in the air. Obtaining commitment is one of the key details that a sales representative must do. Therefore, instead of simply shaking hands and leaving the meeting, the sales representative should follow a set sales pipeline and get some sort of set obligation from the potential client.

This pledge can be something as small as another phone call at a specific date or as big as having the potential client ink the contract. Either way, commitment on the client's side is key to a successful sales call for the business development representative.