Business Development Managers, as the name suggests, develop the business of an organization by fostering long-term relationships with new as well as existing customers. They also improve profitability through strategic planning and forecasting. As such, the role demands its designates have exceptional skills and competencies.
To become a successful Business Development Manager, you should possess the following skills.
Communication Skills
Communication involves listening, understanding, and asking questions to provide appropriate solutions. One of the primary responsibilities of a Business Development Manager is to be able to communicate clearly and efficiently with all stakeholders. They have to build rapport with their customers as well as peers and subordinates to ensure services are delivered as intended.
Negotiation Skills
A huge part of business development deals with convincing customers to buy your products or services. It also involves influencing stakeholders to make investments. Business Development Managers should be tactful when handling customers as well as investors. They also have to be diplomatic during their interactions, thus ensuring the solution swings their way. Understanding when to compromise and when to stand their ground is a quintessential skill for Business Development Managers.
Project Management
In a business environment, everything is a project. And every project has goals, targets, costs, budgets, deadlines, and teams working to complete it. Business Development Managers are essentially Project Managers who have to handle all these responsibilities, yet on a different level.
Business Acumen
The “Business” in Business Development Manager means the role requires an understanding of the business – both your own and your competitor’s. To do so,
Business Development Managers keep a keen eye on the market and analyze what’s working and what’s not.
They identify what customers are talking about, what they’re buying, what trends are they looking for, etc. This way, they are able to strategize and provide solutions that are beneficial to their business.
Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills
Not every project will sail smoothly. Many times, a project is wrought with challenges. Business Development Managers should be able to foresee and identify any problems that a project may encounter. Additionally, they should be able to analyze the problem from different perspectives and provide the best possible solution. The main goal of Business Development Managers is to find new business opportunities for growth and sales. In order to achieve this, they should possess excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
Flexibility
There’s no saying how tides will turn in a business. One minute you are working in a calm environment, the next you are in the eye of the storm. Working with different teams, each with members of different mindsets, being on call at odd times, interacting with customers of diverse attitudes, etc. is a challenge that has to be handled diplomatically. Being able to adapt and react to any situation thrown at them is an invaluable skill for Business Development Managers.
Time Management
As a Business Development Manager, time will never be on your side. There are umpteen tasks to keep track of, meetings to attend, stakeholders to meet, projects to complete, all the while balancing your personal life. Successful Business Development Managers are those who are able to manage their time exceptionally well. They make use of calendars, apps, tools, or even post-its to monitor their day-to-day activities and adhere to it no matter what.
Technical Skills
Of course, being a Business Development Manager means possessing the technical skills required to handle different projects. Software such as CRM and Microsoft Office are essential tools that a Business Development Manager should master. This may seem basic, but there is a glaring population of high-level executives who don’t even know how to make a simple PowerPoint presentation. Since Business Development Managers handle multiple projects involving various tools and technologies, they need to have at least a basic understanding of how those work.
Becoming a Business Development Manager involves having to shoulder a massive amount of responsibilities.
In addition to these skills, Business Development Managers always should be up-to-date on their industry and apply them accordingly. They also have to be empathetic towards their customers. While there are those for whom some or all of these qualities are inherent, there are those who learn them over the course of time.
HETIC prepares you to develop these skills with its BMS in Digital Business course. Besides subject knowledge, the course also provides business and communication skills that are essential for your growth in the digital space.
Admissions are open
You can download the application form with this form
