The position of business developer involves responsibility for identifying new business opportunities and business partners in order to generate new income for the company. This is done by research, networking, arranging appointments and putting together presentations aimed at attracting either customers or investors. Business development officers are also responsible for training sales teams and setting targets
An applicant for this role should have excellent verbal communication and presentation skills and be able to work successfully within a team. It is also important to have a high level of sales experience and knowledge of business and marketing protocols. IT competency is also essential, as is the ability to use initiative along with excellent organisational and time management skills
A degree qualification related to commerce and marketing is important for this position, as is previous experience in a related job, with average salaries at entry-level of £30,000, increasing with further experience and promotion.

• Being able to communicate verbally and in written form
• Being able to responsibly delegate to others
• Being analytical and able to interpret data
• Being influential, confident and motivated
• Being logical and decisive
• Being objective, flexible and independent
• Encouraging fellow co-workers
• Handling stressful experiences
• Having tact, professionalism and diplomacy
• Meeting project deadlines
• Networking and negotiating
• Organisation and resolving problems
• Understanding numerical data

Like all business related professions, having a certification or qualification in business related courses, or fields in necessary. There are those employers who offer training to future Business Development professionals. The training is generally specialised to their products and services and rules out time which may be lost on their competitors.
Some people in Business Development go on to become sales or marketing managers or even Business Development managers. Understanding the concepts of Business-to-Business (B2B) or Business-to-Customer (B2C) is largely beneficial.