How to hire a business development manager

Business development enables your business to expand into new markets and create additional revenue streams. A business development manager will leverage their contacts and expertise to actively seek out outbound leads and partners. They'll set up long-term relationships with key accounts, guaranteeing a steady influx of revenue.

Given that this role comes with so much responsibility, however, you need to know how to make the right hiring decision confidently and objectively.

When hiring a business development manager, look for candidates who have excellent communication and project management skills. Take advantage of TestGorilla's extensive library of skills tests to quickly evaluate the core competencies of your potential hire.

Focus on those candidates who have amassed extensive experience and knowledge in your specific industry. An ideal candidate would demonstrate exceptional networking skills, coupled with in-depth insights into your product lines and niches.

In this article, we’ll discuss all the things you need to consider when hiring your next business development manager, including what skills to look for, how to evaluate them, where to find the most skilled professionals, and how much you can expect to pay.

What is a business development manager? 

Business development is all about generating long-term value from customers, markets and relationships. 

A business development manager (sometimes abbreviated as BDM) will be charged with a varied list of duties depending on the company they work for:

• Smaller businesses look for a business development manager who will bring in the first outbound leads and convert them into paying customers. 

• In a larger company, the role would typically entail overseeing a team of business development representatives and focus on major partnerships and joint ventures.

Business development managers use outbound strategies to connect with leads who've never heard about the company or its products. Networking, thought leadership, content marketing and sponsorships are among the core techniques that business developers leverage to build relations with stakeholders and raise awareness about your business.

Companies constantly change sales titles. Many of them rename sales representatives as business development managers, attempting to avoid possible stigma associated with pushy sales practices. 

At its core, business development is not the same as sales, though: It’s more about selling your vision to potential partners and customers, rather than a specific product or service.

Importantly, the sales journey is evolving. Today, leads spend more and more time on doing independent research: According to Gartner, B2B buyers spend up to 45% of their time researching a solution before they make a purchase (27% if their time is spent on online research, while 18% is spent offline).

Potential buyers are therefore highly informed and can directly strike up in-depth conversations when they contact your brand for the first time. Your future business development manager should therefore have the needed skills to respond effectively and engage your leads from the get-go.

What hard skills should a business development manager have? 

A business developer is primarily tasked with connecting with leads and building relationships with potential partners and allies, which calls for strong soft skills. At the same time, several hard skills will empower a potential hire to generate more value and help your company scale faster. Here are some examples of hard skills to look for: 

Sales skills

Business developers use various sales skills and techniques to effectively reach out to potential leads and establish partnerships with other companies. They can quickly assess leads and predict whether they fit the ideal customer profile. 

Successful professionals will always follow up and nurture relationships with qualified leads before they hand them off to the sales team for a close. 

Marketing skills

Business development managers know how to promote your company's brand and raise awareness. They actively leverate marketing campaigns to spread the word in new markets and identify hidden pockets of demand. 

In a smaller company, they can even wear multiple hats, working on marketing and partnerships development simultaneously.

CRM knowledge

Your future hire should know their way around most of the popular customer relationship management (CRM) systems. They carefully document all steps of the buyer journey and seek to gain insights into specific touchpoints and interactions.

High-performing business developers look for ways to optimize for the company's growth, focusing on those leads that may deliver the highest impact. This places them very close totheir colleagues who work in sales.

Subject-matter knowledge and expertise

Search for those business developers who are subject-matter experts in your industry. An outsider would take too much time and resources to get up to speed, and they might not stick around. 

A developer who's learned the ropes and knows the ins and outs of your niche is an invaluable addition to your team. 

What are the soft skills you should look for in a business developer?

Business development managers are multi-taskers who need to constantly shift between agendas and projects. Networking and building alliances is their bread and butter. Leads need to be convinced about the future value of the planned partnerships, and business developers excel at persuasion. 

Here are the soft skills that would enable your next hire to succeed:

Communication and negotiation skills

Skilled business developers articulate their thoughts in a concise and clear manner, both when speaking and writing. They are active listeners, willing to let another party to vocalize their pain points and needs. 

Negotiation and other communication tactics are a must-have, as they engage in lengthy conversations involving a lot of contract terms, agendas and alignments. Their communication style should be genuine and tactful.

Project management and people leadership skills

A business development manager needs to work closely with sales and marketing teams. A high level of self-discipline and organization allows developers to organize and prioritize tasks they tackle personally or within a team. 

Successful developers must have strong leadership skills, allowing them to manage other team members, resolve conflicts and evaluate performance.

Pragmatism and big-picture thinking

Business developers go after the opportunities that matter and keep in mind the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule (20% of the efforts bring in 80% of the results). 

They easily drop unimportant deals and always put the company first: Whenever a situation won’t lead to the desired results, they can easily walk away.

Tenacity and grit

Negotiations with major prospects and partners are difficult, and some business development managers might be enticed to give up on a bold ask prematurely. 

High-performers, however, never lose sight of the potential benefits; they relentlessly go after what matters and continue nurturing those leads who show the biggest promise.

Detail-orientedness

Business developers should be willing to read through all of the contracts and wade through the legalese. Though most don’t have a legal background, they can parse out all of the legal and technical details. 

An in-depth knowledge of your industry, combined with a strong eye for detail, will enable your future business development manager to negotiate partnerships in your favor and never miss the important details.

How to test the skills of your next business development manager?

Now that you know what skills to look for in potential hires, how do you actually test them? 

One of the best ways to do this is to use pre-employment tests like those from TestGorilla. As an employer, you can pick up to five tests from our test library to design a unique assessment tailored to your requirements; you can even add custom questions and ask candidates to record a video. 

Below you'll find some of the most relevant tests for business development managers. Remember that you can use other tests, too, and even experiment to see what works best for you.

Here’s our selection: 

• Communication: Use this skills test to see whether your candidate can communicate clearly and effectively. Screen business developers to see whether they’re well-versed in business etiquette, know how to act tactfully, and can always find the best way to articulate their thoughts in any situation. This test will show you whether they’re capable of attentively listening to leads and potential partners. This is a key skill that would enable them to uncover hidden pain points and develop a unique rapport with the other party.

• Negotiation: To close deals successfully, business developers need to be skilled negotiators. Evaluate applicants’ negotiation skills with the help of this test, which will enable you to assess their ability to control and drive the discussion, influence and persuade others, and use emotional intelligence to get results.

• B2B sales: Quickly identify candidates who are good at sales with our sales skills test. Experienced business developers most often have a background in sales and know how to manage the sales pipeline, persuade leads and create value through negotiation. This B2B Outbound Sales test will help you find developers who can qualify and prioritize your most important leads. To go a step further, check out our in-depth guide on the best questions to ask when interviewing for sales positions.

• Project management: Check whether candidates have the right project-management skills with this test, which evaluates their ability to deal with real-life scenarios. Managing business-development projects is dependent on managing budgets, estimating schedules, and juggling between multiple tasks and contracts. This test enables you to find professionals who can do all this successfully, while never losing sight of the big picture.

• CRM tools like HubSpot or Salesforce: CRM platforms are an essential element in the toolset of every business development manager. Those two tests enable you to easily assess applicants’ proficiency with either HubSpot or Salesforce and hire someone who already knows the ins and outs of the CRM you’re using. 

Set up a skills assessment from TestGorilla and start searching for the best candidates out there. Next, you can check their references and invite them to an interview to evaluate their skills.

Where to find a business development manager? 

You should first consider whether you want to hire a full-time employee or work with a freelancer. 

A full-time business developer will simplify communications with other departments and go to events for face-to-face networking. Meanwhile, a freelancer could be a great fit for startups that seek to keep expenses low and are looking for strategic support for specific campaigns and development strategies.

After you've made up your mind, here are some of the hiring channels you could use:

• Internal hiring: Offer your existing employees a new position in business development. Check how their existing skill sets map against your expectations with the help of skills testing. 

• Job boards: Use job boards like LinkedIn, Monster, and Indeed to post a job ad. Give a concise description of the role and talk about the growth opportunities you offer to attract high-potential candidates. 

• Networking: Connect with other professionals in your industry and let them know that you are actively seeking to hire a new business developer for your team. Ask for recommendations and get in touch with potential passive candidates to see whether they’d be interested in working with you.

Business development manager job description template

Position: Business development manager

Location: [City and state or "remote"]

[Your company name] is looking to hire a skilled and experienced business development manager who will play a pivotal role in identifying new business opportunities, fostering partnerships, and driving our growth. 

This position is ideal for a highly driven individual who has a passion for innovative technologies and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment.

Key responsibilities

As our next business development manager, you will: 

• Build and nurture strong relationships with potential clients and partners

• Create and present business proposals tailored to our clients' needs and expectations

• Identify and develop new market opportunities to boost company growth

• Work closely with the marketing, sales, and product teams to align strategies and drive results

• Attend industry events, conferences, and workshops to network and stay updated on market trends

• Set and achieve sales targets and KPIs

• Provide feedback and insights from client interactions to inform product and service development

• Lead contract negotiations and close deals effectively

• Monitor competitors and help build marketing and sales strategies

Qualifications

We're looking for someone who has: 

• [Number of years] of business development or sales experience, preferably in [specific industry or domain]

• A proven track record of successfully growing a business and meeting sales targets.

• Strong communication, networking, and relationship-building skills

• The ability to work autonomously and take decisions independently

• Strong knowledge of CRM software

What we offer

With [company name], you'll get: 

• A competitive salary with performance-based bonuses

• Many growth opportunities in a rapidly evolving company and industry

• Flexible work hours and remote working options

• Health and wellness benefits

• A collaborative and inclusive work environment

[Add more information on potential benefits or perks you offer]

How to apply

Interested? We can't wait to hear from you! 

To apply, [describe the application process here; mention skills tests if you'll be using those – this shows applicants that you value their skills more than anything and want to build a culture of belonging]

How much does a business development manager cost? 

According to Salary.com, the average salary of a business developer is around $130,000 per year and usually ranges from $116,000 up to $150,000. 

Importantly, business development managers usually receive combined remuneration packages with bonuses (such as cash, stock, and stock options) and additional benefits making up a certain share of their pay. 

Your next hire’s salary will depend on several factors, such as: 

• Their experience and track record

• Their qualifications, extra certifications, and additional skills

• Your industry 

• The size and location of your company

• Your budget for the role

Business development manager interview questions

After using skills tests to evaluate your candidates’ strengths and knowledge, you can invite the most promising talent to an interview for a more in-depth assessment of their suitability for the role.

Here are some sample interview questions you can ask prospective employees:

1. Can you tell me about a successful project you've managed in a previous role? What were the outcomes?

2. Have you ever had an important deal fall through? Why did it happen and what did you learn from this?

3. What's your system for evaluating and prioritizing potential business opportunities?

4. Can you describe a time when you identified and pursued a new business opportunity that led to significant growth?

5. How do you cultivate and maintain relationships with key partners?

6. Can you give an example of a long-term partnership you've built?

7. How do you measure your success as a business development manager?

8. What CRM or sales tools have you used in the past?

9. What's your approach to managing long sales cycles?

10. Can you discuss a time when you had to pivot your strategy based on unforeseen changes?

11. What's the most complex deal you've ever secured? How did you approach it?

12. How do you handle criticism from potential partners?

Hire a business developer to boost your performance 

A proficient business development executive will help you boost your performance by identifying new potential customers and lines of business. 

Look for a strong networker who communicates well with leads and potential partners and has a proven track record of successful deals. Though it may seem hard to know whether they are a good match, pre-employment tests are an excellent way to evaluate their skills and make sure they have what it takes to be successful.

Sign up for TestGorilla for free today to hire your next business development manager, bias- and stress-free.