Business Development Managers (BDMs) are increasingly in demand as organisations ramp up their efforts to gain market share and expand.
Business development is a combination of strategic analysis, marketing and sales with the objective to grow the company’s business by establishing new partnerships and increasing sales from existing accounts.
The first aspect of a business development professional’s job is typically to identify new business opportunities – new markets, new partnerships, new ways to reach existing markets, or new product or service offerings to better meet the needs of existing markets – and then to go out and exploit those opportunities to bring in more revenue.
How that happens exactly depends on the industry. It can be a combination of marketing, attending events and networking, participating in exhibitions and conferences, cold calling, responding to incoming leads and managing accounts. Companies also look for partner opportunities to cross and up sell services.
To analyse potential new business opportunities to pursue, your BDM will need excellent quantitative and analytical skills. He or she will also need developed people, communication and negotiation skills. Honesty and integrity are valuable attributes to have, as people are more likely to do business with someone they trust.
With tertiary qualifications in Economics (Macquarie University) and Marketing (Monash University) combined with over 35 years of professional sales and marketing experience, James Schaefer brings a wealth of knowledge to your business.
