Finding the right people to fill the spots in your business development team is crucial. Such positions have a major impact on the growth of a venture so it’s important to get the right folks to move forward. Failing to get the best or the right talents might disrupt or slow down the progress of your organization.

How Do I Hire a Business Developer?

In order to hire the right folks for business development, it’s important that you have a clear idea of what you’re looking for. The title will already clue you in: they should be able to help develop the business, keep it advancing, and ensure that sales are created. However, it’s also a pretty vague term that some might need additional information to grasp the concept behind it.

To simplify what these professionals are about, here are the most common tasks of business development officers:

• Analyze the sales, budget, products, marketing campaigns, and revenues of the company so they can make recommendations to resolve problems and help the business grow.
• Understand the trends in the field the company is in and know the right people to work with.
• Find leads and new opportunities for the company.
• Negotiate partnerships.
• Create meaningful relationships with customers, partners, and other business contacts.
• Participate in media communication efforts and marketing campaigns.

Accomplishing such a wide range of tasks can be a challenge so it’s important to find the right person who can handle such a responsibility. Not everyone can fulfill these duties so it’s crucial that employers know what they’re looking for and what to avoid when filling such spots in their teams. 

What Makes a Good Business Development Professional

How do you know if a candidate is a right fit for a position in your business development team? Here are a few of the key characteristics a great business development professional should have.

1. Excellent Communication Skills

One of the most important things anyone in business development should have is top-notch communication skills. This field is a mix of sales and marketing so it will require a lot of talking, persuading, charming, and sales talk, in general, in order to get results. They should be able to communicate well with a wide range of people, from internal teams to partners and clients. 

This is a tricky part as it requires great versatility and a high level of communication skills. It can be challenging to switch approaches very quickly but it’s a must for the people in this line of work so they can connect well with the people they will work with. 

2. Result Oriented

Business development people need to keep things moving. They should be able to get things done or they won’t be able to push for growth. They should be able to close deals and seal partnerships with terms that are favorable to the institution they’re working for to ensure that they’re taking the business forward. 

3. Structured And Organized

Structure and organization are vital traits for a business development officer because they can ensure that they’ll take the right steps when completing a task or transaction. These characteristics will guarantee that they’re capable of shepherding stakeholders in sealing a deal. Lack of organization and structure might not bode well in this area as it takes planning to achieve certain goals.

4. Smart, Creative, And Quick on Their Feet

Despite being structured and organized, good business development personnel still needs to be quick on their feet and ready to react to the situations thrown at them. They need to be creative and smart enough to come up with solutions on the fly as they will most likely face a lot of hurdles when trying to close deals and putting together a scheme that will propel the business forward. 

Being too structured will not do in these circumstances as it may prevent them from taking necessary risks to achieve their goals. Having flexibility is also important when the occasion calls for it.

5. Pays Attention To Detail

A professional that comes in strong can be exciting but those in business development should always pay attention to details. Since they will be transacting with all sorts of people, they should be well aware of everything they’re getting themselves and the company they’re representing into. This means that they should know everything a contract or deal entails, even the smallest details.

While there are experts in the organization for different areas, it would be very helpful if the people in your business development team can understand various technical details that can affect their transactions. They should be able to understand legal and financial details so they won’t commit to something that will put the company they work for at a disadvantage.

6. Puts The Company First

Business development people will represent your company in various ways so it would be great if they always put the company first before their personal interests.

7. Charismatic And Capable of Pushing The Envelope

The right kind of charm and aggressiveness would be integral traits for someone in business development because they need to get good results.

How to Find the Best Business Development, People

With all of these said, how do you find the right folks to add to your business development department? Take a look at the following:

References

Many applicants list references who are unable to tell whether they’re actually good at what they do but will tell you how great the applicant is as a person. These are not reliable references for business development people as you need to know about the deals they’ve closed. Look for those who list professional contacts as references as they will be able to tell you about the abilities of the candidate in terms of transactions and negotiations.

Deal History

Make sure to ask the candidate about the details of the deals and partnerships that they have secured for their previous job. Look into the complexity of the terms and how advantageous they were for the employer. Try to learn about the impact of the deal on the company and whether they had to be creative in securing it. 

How They Fit Into Your Company’s Culture

Are their goals aligned with your company’s? What are their priorities when executing deals and transactions? Is it for the company they’re working for or are they more interested in creating a bigger network for themselves? Your business development people should always share the core cultural values of your organization so you can be sure that they will have the welfare of your company in mind when they do their job.