5 Essential Skills Every Business Development Manager Must Possess
As a business development manager, your role requires you to identify and pursue growth opportunities for your organization. In achieving this, you need to possess certain skills that will help you excel in your job and deliver on your targets. In this article, we’ll discuss 5 essential skills that every business development manager should possess.
Creativity and Innovation
As a business development manager, one of the primary skills you must possess is the ability to think creatively and come up with innovative solutions. This involves thinking outside the box and identifying unique opportunities that can give your organization a competitive advantage. You should be able to leverage your creativity to find new ways of doing things, develop new products or services, and design creative marketing campaigns.
Examples: Airbnb transformed the travel industry by creatively allowing homeowners to rent their spare rooms or homes to travelers. Tesla Motors disrupted the automobile industry with their innovative approach to electric vehicles.
Proactivity and Initiative
Successful business development managers do not wait for opportunities to come to them; they seek them out proactively. They are self-motivated and take the initiative to identify and pursue new leads, partnerships, and business deals. They are also quick to adapt and seize opportunities that arise, exhibiting a ‘can-do’ attitude towards their work.
Examples: Apple’s business development team proactively developed partnerships with music publishers in the early days of iTunes, enabling them to secure a vast music catalog for their platform. Google’s team saw the opportunity to acquire start-ups such as Youtube and Android before they became mainstream.
Relationship Building
The ability to build and maintain positive relationships with people is crucial for business development managers. It helps to create trust, credibility, and opens doors for collaboration. Successful business development managers are well-versed in networking and know-how to leverage their relationships with clients, partners, and stakeholders to drive growth for their organizations.
Examples: Microsoft has a thorough business development strategy playbook that requires executives to devote time to building relationships with strategic partners.
Sales Skills
Business development managers must be skilled in sales to identify opportunities and close deals. Sales skills will enable them to effectively communicate their organization’s products or services and convince potential clients to buy. They must have a firm understanding of their client’s needs, finance, and sales methodology.
Examples: Richard Branson’s Virgin brand is renowned for its excellent sales practices and customer service, which they credit for their success.
Strategic Thinking
A great business development manager must possess the ability to think strategically. They must not only be able to identify opportunities but also have the foresight to predict market trends. They must be able to analyze data and make informed decisions that align with their organization’s vision and goals, providing actionable insights that help guide and shape the organization’s direction.
Examples: Amazon’s business development team transformed the company through strategic thinking, identifying opportunities in markets ranging from cloud computing to media and entertainment.
Conclusion
Being a business development manager requires a unique combination of skills, including creativity and innovation, proactivity and initiative, relationship building, sales skills, and strategic thinking. Possessing these skills will enable you to identify and pursue growth opportunities for your organization, ensuring it stays competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
