Business Development Manager job description
A Business Development Manager opens new markets, partners and larger accounts for the business. The role builds a pipeline of opportunities and works with the founder to turn them into long term revenue.
Why the role exists
Companies that depend on a few clients or one channel need someone to find the next ones. This manager researches targets, starts conversations and shapes proposals. In Indian startups and service firms the role often reports to the founder or sales head and works closely with delivery teams.
What the person does
- Research target industries and companies and build a clear list of ideal customers.
- Start conversations with decision makers through LinkedIn, email, referrals and events.
- Run discovery calls to understand needs and judge whether the opportunity is worth pursuing.
- Prepare proposals, presentations and pricing inputs with the founder and delivery heads.
- Negotiate scope and terms within limits set by management, and escalate larger decisions.
- Build partnerships with channel partners, agencies, consultants or resellers.
- Maintain the pipeline in a CRM and report its health in weekly and monthly reviews.
- Hand over won deals with full context to account managers or delivery teams.
Skills and tools
- Prospecting and outreach through LinkedIn, email and warm introductions
- Consultative selling and discovery questioning
- Proposal writing and presentation skills for senior buyers
- Pipeline management in tools such as HubSpot, Zoho CRM or Pipedrive
- Negotiation and commercial thinking about margin, scope and risk
- Market and competitor research using public sources
- Cross-team coordination with delivery, finance and product
- Clear written English for proposals and client emails
Education and experience
Preferred, never a bar: equivalent experience counts.
- Graduation in business, engineering or a related field preferred, with an MBA useful but not required
- Preferred: several years in B2B sales or business development in a similar industry
- Preferred: proven record of winning new clients, shown through real examples
- Equivalent experience in partnerships, consulting or enterprise sales is also valued
How the work is judged
- Quality and number of new qualified opportunities added to the pipeline
- Progress of opportunities through each stage towards signed deals
- New clients or partners won against the plan set by the company
- Accuracy of forecasts and pipeline records
- Smoothness of handover between sales and delivery after a deal closes
Where the role can lead
- Senior Business Development Manager or Head of Business Development
- Director of Sales or Chief Revenue Officer in a growing company
- Moving into strategy, partnerships or general management roles
Interview questions to ask
Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and score them against written anchors, so the decision rests on the work and not the impression.
- Walk us through how you won your largest new client from first contact to signature.
- How do you decide which prospects to ignore, and what signs tell you a deal will stall?
- Describe how you would enter a new city or industry for us with a small budget.
- A prospect asks for a discount and a faster delivery together. How do you respond?
- How do you work with the delivery team so you do not promise what they cannot deliver?
- Which partnerships have you built, and how did you keep them active after the first deal?
Hiring tips for this role
- Ask for specific deals with context: how the lead started, who decided, how long it took. General claims of big wins prove little.
- Give a case: a target industry and a product. Ask for a one-page plan for the first ninety days.
- Check references on partnership and relationship skills, not only revenue. Poor handovers harm delivery and client trust.
- Be honest about sales cycle length. Candidates from fast transactional sales often struggle with longer, multi-stakeholder deals.
Questions about hiring a business development manager
No. Sales usually closes defined leads for existing products. Business development looks for new markets, partners and larger deals, often with long cycles and several decision makers. The two roles often work together.
Not always. In a small company, one person may work alone with support from the founder. As the pipeline grows, add a research or outreach executive so the manager spends more time with decision makers.
Look for named deal types, industries, deal sizes in general terms and how the person found them. Vague phrases about relationships and growth say less than a clear account of one real win.
GullyHR agrees the job description with you, including target markets and the level of seniority. We then find and screen candidates, test their deal stories and support the offer for a permanent hire.
Hiring a business development manager?
GullyHR runs talent acquisition for permanent roles. We agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates against it, and support the offer through to joining. We recruit permanent employees. We do not supply contract or temporary staff.