Sales / Business Development

Business Development Manager

Overview

A business development manager is responsible for identifying new business opportunities, developing relationships with potential clients, and creating strategies to increase sales and revenue. They may also be responsible for market research and analysis.

Business Development Managers typically have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as business administration, marketing, or sales. They also typically have several years of experience in a related field, such as sales or marketing. Additionally, they should have strong communication, negotiation, and strategic planning skills.

Common tasks 

    TaskRelated trait(s)
    Identifying opportunities in the market Conscientiousness Achievement striving
    Developing and implementing strategies to target potential customers Conscientiousness Achievement striving Understanding customers and others Integrity
    Building and maintaining relationships with clients, partners, and other stakeholders Amiability Understanding customers and others Achievement striving  Integrity Effective listening 
    Creating and delivering sales presentations and proposals to potential clients Amiability Understanding customers and others Achievement striving  Effective listening 
    Negotiating contracts pricing and deliverables Amiability Understanding customers and others Achievement striving Integrity 
    Developing and managing budgets for business development Conscientiousness
    Communicate with other departments such as marketing, and product development Amiability Understanding customers and others 
    Preparing reports on sales and market trends 
    Traveling to attend conferences, meetings, and other events to represent the company and build relationships Activity level
    Managing a team of business development professionals Effective listening 
    Providing guidance and support to colleagues and subordinates on business issues Effective listening 
    Developing and managing partnerships and collaborations with other organizations Effective listening 

    Soft skills measured by TraitForward

    TraitNo of QuestionsCronbach’s  alpha (α)
    Conscientiousness70.75
    Do they have a desirable work ethic?
    Activity level60.72
    Can they multitask? Can they handle demanding workloads?
    Amiability60.81
    Are they calm? Do they respect others?
    Understanding customers and others80.76
    Do they know what makes others tick?
    Achievement striving80.77
    Are they able to set clear goals? Are they able to achieve these goals? How motivated are they to achieve these goals?
    Social confidence50.76
    Are they able to express themselves social situations?
    Integrity90.73
    Are they moral, honest, do they follow rules?
    Effective listening80.71
    Do they understand others?
    Effective communication110.84
    Do they express themselves effectively?
    Positive group practices110.78
    Do they like being included in a group?
    *Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α) determines the extent to which the questions consistently measure each trait and it is expressed as a number ranging between 0 and 1 . Higher values indicate higher agreement between questions.  A value of α equal to greater than .7 indicates acceptable reliability or internal consistency.  For more information on the psychometric properties of the solution, please click here.

    Did you Know?

    Source: US Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics

    Median wage: 

    $39,000 / per year

    $19 / hour

    A relatively low annual wage is $18,000 (10th percentile)

    A relatively high salary of the annual wage is $71,000 (90th percentile)

    Find out the psychometric properties for the Business Development Manager Traitforward questionnaire