Business development associates’ duties involve finding new business opportunities and partners, coordinating internal teams’ projects, analyzing market data and making recommendations – among others – all tasks which require superior project management and communication skills.
An emerging career option for recent graduates is that of business development associate. However, it’s essential that they understand the distinction between this role and that of sales executive.
Project Management
Business development associates frequently work on complex projects requiring both time and resources. It is therefore essential that they possess excellent project management abilities, such as resolving issues, monitoring risks, supporting teamwork and understanding the nuances of each project in order to make informed decisions that ensure its success.
Business development associates should possess the capability of overseeing their company’s sales pipeline effectively, including creating plans to meet annual, quarterly, monthly and daily targets as well as keeping abreast of market trends and competitors.
While both careers share similarities, their responsibilities often differ significantly. For instance, business specialists tend to be more knowledgeable about marketing strategies, customer service and powerpoint presentations while they usually earn higher annual salaries than business development associates.
Business Intelligence (BI)
As a business development associate, you will be accountable for researching new markets and opportunities to expand the company. Working alongside other departments, you will collaborate to devise plans for profit growth through strategies and programs developed. Furthermore, this role involves working closely with various strategic partners while adhering to company policies and standards.
BI is an analytics tool that can assist your business in making data-driven decisions that drive business expansion. It gives visibility into key performance indicators and allows for the accomplishment of major deliverables, including increased market share, revenue, brand visibility and superior customer service.
BI can also assist your organization in recognizing and mitigating potential issues within its walls. For instance, operations managers could use global manufacturing insights and real-time production bottleneck data provided by BI to quickly address production bottlenecks that arise, saving time, money and resources while improving quality – on average business development associates tend to earn considerably more than other workers in similar careers.
Sales
Business development associates are charged with identifying growth opportunities and devising plans to expand their organization. This may involve finding and cultivating new client relationships, implementing marketing materials and working closely with production managers and sales departments in order to increase company revenue.
To succeed in their roles as business development associates, it’s crucial that they possess an in-depth knowledge of how their product or service can assist clients in solving problems or improving operations. Furthermore, they must have the ability to present their ideas clearly to both management and executives alike.
Business development associates must be adept at tracking returns on investments and providing leadership or executives with supporting data. This requires meticulous attention to detail as well as being able to pull vital information out of an otherwise disorganized collection of data for analysis, as well as being able to predict future successes based on this analysis. In many instances, these professionals must meet yearly, quarterly, monthly or daily goals set for them by leadership or executives.
Communication
As a business development associate, your primary responsibility will be fostering relationships and closing sales. That requires being able to communicate clearly – both verbally and written – as well as listening closely to clients so you can design effective strategies to meet their goals.
Finally, it’s crucial that you can track returns on investments and present this data to your leadership or executives. This requires careful attention to detail so that essential data and indicators can be extracted from an unorganized mass of unrelated information.
Enhance your skills to increase the chances of becoming a business development associate, and ensure your resume reflects essential qualifications. Learn more about what it takes to work as one by reading our guide, How to Write the Perfect Resume for a Business Development Associate; this page includes an example resume as well as tips.
