The business development team could work on new products to offer them to customers who are in the first stage of finding solutions. In that sense, business development is sales. However, the main purpose of this department is not sales transactions. A business development manager (BDM) works to develop business relationships or strategic partnerships on behalf of an organization.
This type of marketing focuses on facilitating business growth and opportunities, while a sales manager focuses on generating revenue. Someone in either position can work to create new opportunities and sales contacts, but a business development manager pays more attention to fostering customer relationships. It's not uncommon for a BDM to have previous experience as a sales manager or marketing executive. Business development managers and sales managers must be persuasive, versatile, and willing to monitor economic fluctuations consistently.
However, the scope of their functions is different. For example, business development managers must weigh how changes in products and prices affect the entire company. Sales managers focus on how these changes affect a company's sales territories. Sales and business development are different functions within a company that work both to increase visibility and to increase sales.
Sales focuses on identifying potential customers, researching and developing them, and taking them through the sales cycle until closing. Business development involves finding new growth opportunities for the company and forming strategic partnerships that open up new markets. A business development manager works on strategic planning, sales management, and prospecting for new customers to help grow an organization. Business development seeks long-term partnerships that have the potential to generate long-term business synergy.
To achieve those goals, development managers research markets and create strategies to expand into their company's current markets and to find new ones. On the other hand, as a business development manager, you're looking to expand the reach of your business, and it's relatively difficult to predetermine your revenue plan. Both business and sales development contribute to a company's success by generating more revenue, but they do so in different ways and over different time frames. Bachelor of business courses can provide basic knowledge about decision-making, data analysis, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
In sales jargon, they help people move from occupying the highest positions in the sales funnel to achieving the goal of becoming repeat customers. The sales development function involves analyzing potential customers, researching them, determining which ones are most likely to generate a conversion, and sending them to a salesperson to close them. The business development function uses many business skills, such as strategic planning, project management, and successful negotiation. When you're a sales representative, you must have a thorough understanding of the product or service you're selling.
Business development managers, sometimes referred to as BDMs, are key members of the marketing team (GTM). Textile engineer; works in global business development, market research and international business strategy. The company's business development department could work on a 10-year contract to sell tools to the city for maintenance staff members who take care of government buildings. Other key areas of expertise include strategic planning, business management, and successful negotiation.