In the modern world, the main motive behind every business is to expand themselves and make profits. In order to expand and grow, a business needs professionals who can help in its development. Thus comes into picture the concept of Business development. Business development has a vast prospective and is about developing the business through direct sales, client acquisition and making strategies.
Aspirants who want to outshine in this career domain must have certain personality traits inculcated in them from the very beginning of their career. Since business development involves meeting and interacting with clients on a regular basis, a professional must be well groomed, have presentable personality and good communication skills. Most of the business development executives or sales executives are hired nowadays in organizations just because their personalities impress the hiring manager. Their education background is given secondary importance. Mostly a BA degree or BS degree will suffice initially, but for achieving higher positions in the Business development or Sales, pursuing an MBA in Marketing from a reputed institute proves to be an added advantage.
Sales versus Business Development
Tough these two terms have been perceived to be similar there is a considerable difference between these two. Aspirants need to be aware of the difference.
Sales jobs rely mainly on target achievement. The initial payout for new entrants in this field is somewhat low. If a new entrants plan to move into telecalling, they may receive a salary in the range of 8,000 to 10,000 per month. If they decide to choose door to door sales, their salary might be somewhere on the higher side around 15,000 per month plus incentives based on target achievements. However for new entrants, if they manage to survive this path for five years they can be promoted as a Sales Manager with a decent salary within the organization. It is only a matter of time and experience. Having a degree in marketing field may prove to be an added advantage however for this job any graduation degree may suffice. A person must have good communication skills in local language or English whichever required and must possess a pleasing personality.
Business development, on the other hand, is a much broader perspective as compared to sales. Business development involves client acquisition and client interaction along with making strategies for business enhancement. However, in the initial stages of Business development, new entrants might be required to conduct sales jobs like telecalling or door to door sales. However, business development jobs also include strategic planning and Business developer jobs. The strategic planning is done mostly by the Business Development Manager in identifying market trends to improve the business. Business developer profile includes managing company partnerships and building relationships with client companies.
The minimum requirement for getting into business development is having a BA degree. However, if aspirants want to join in higher positions like a Business Development Manager, having an MBA in Marketing is of utmost necessity. As a Business Development Manager a person can expect a salary in the range of 25,000 to 50,000 per month based on his experience or the organization’s capability.
In my own opinion, if a person wishes to pursue a career in business development, he or she can wish to opt for the position of a business development executive initially where initially telecalling or door to door sales might be required initially, based on the type of job. After about five years the prospect of career growth is huge in this field and one can see himself or herself as a successful Business Development Manager. A person can become a Business Development Manager at the starting stage of his or her career through MBA campus placements. A person opting for this career must have creative skills as in initial stages he or she may be required to formulate advertisements and bidding activities to attract clients.
Advantages of pursuing a career in Business development
For new entrants, Business Development provides a massive scope for career building. Business development may involve sales but it also involves developing expertise and valuable skills necessary for an individual to survive in the corporate world. Nowadays, in order to achieve top positions in the corporate world, business development skills are required in an individual. Business development thus provides a basic platform for an individual to grow.
- Builds technical capabilities- Some technical jobs require an individual to already possess technical skill set pertaining to that job. What about those candidates who are having technical knowledge but no skill set? Business development environment requires an individual to work under pressure, formulate new strategies, study latest technologies and software for market analysis etc. All these activities inculcate in him the technical crash course skills that he must possess. Thus he won’t be facing any difficulties working in a technical environment in future.
- High exposure-Business development professionals generally work in a close association with senior leadership. Thus they get the necessary industry exposure and are able to build valuable contacts necessary for career improvement.
- All round experience- A business development experience is highly valued by most of the other employers as this experience involves an individual for organization’s development, which is a very crucial role, along with development of his own skill set. Even if a person later on opts for project management in a technical role, somehow he or she has to get involved in business development at certain stages even while in that role.
- Wide range of future prospects- An individual if he chooses to opt for a business development career can see his or her future open to several future prospects. As nowadays, almost all jobs involves some sort of business improvement activities, therefore individuals having experience in business development are mostly hired in higher positions in project management roles.
