A business development associate can be an extremely helpful partner to a business owner. The tasks a business development associate accomplishes will depend on the type of business they are working with. However, all associates have one primary duty. That is, to help a business to market itself by identifying business opportunities, helping to build a business plan, and finding potential funding sources for the business. Here is a brief description of some of the different tasks that can be expected from business development associates.
The primary responsibility of a business development associate is to develop plans to improve a business’s sales and market growth. They are primarily involved in conducting comprehensive research and study to identify customer needs, engage in developing business proposals and products, and create presentations and reports. They then assist in closing the deals that result from this research. During the sales process, they must understand customer needs and desires, as well as recognize the business opportunities that exist along with the necessary skills and talents to satisfy these needs and desires. This includes analyzing current customer purchasing behaviors, competitor assessments, competitor strategies, competitor pricing, customer service issues, product pricing, promotional activities, and marketing plans.
Another duty of business development associates is building client relations. This involves becoming skilled at building relationships with existing and potential clients. This includes obtaining referrals, maintaining strong client bases, identifying clients who are likely to purchase a product or service from your business, communicating effectively with these potential clients, making referrals and building long-term relationships with existing clients. They must also be aware of the current business climate and be aware of the business development trends within their industry. Additionally, they need to be highly skilled at social media marketing and search engine optimization.
In addition to assisting a business development associate in their client relationship tasks, business development associates are also responsible for the creation of informational technologies (such as websites, blogs, email campaigns, and online brochures). They are often involved in the design and creation of these technologies. Business development associates are required to know how to use technology effectively to attract business and to maintain its popularity among customers and clients. They must know how to create compelling content that attracts readers and they must understand how to keep that content updated. They often draft business development associate writing samples.
Salaries for business development associates depend upon many factors. The number of employees, their job title, industry experience, the length of time they have worked for the company, educational background and additional skills that they bring to the position, are just a few of the factors considered by employers. Other considerations include: location of the business, their expected salary, what they expect from their employees, the level of turnover in the business, and the company’s reputation for hiring the right employees for the job title. For example, if the business development associate works in a call center and their job duties involve making calls to companies or clients around the country, they may be paid an increased salary because those companies have a reputation for paying their workers better.
A business development associate job description can be quite detailed. A typical associate will spend their work hours performing several duties. These would include but not limited to, preparing business development plans, interviewing and hiring candidates, training employees, developing client presentations, assisting with company marketing, writing business development articles, designing promotional advertisements, interviewing clients and others, and so forth.
The job requires effective interaction with people from all walks of life, as well as with a variety of different industries. A business development associate who is a member of a business networking association should consider a career as operations associate. Operations associate would be responsible for advertising and promoting a business through various methods including direct mail, online advertising, social media advertising, event marketing, and so on. A lead generation associate can also work in the business development department. This individual would be responsible for obtaining leads and turning them into business. This could be done by telemarketing, cold calling, or any other method.
There are many business development associates who are looking for jobs in this field. Many people think that the degree is in finance or accounting, but in fact, anyone with good communication skills and good sales skills can do this job. A college degree does not really need to be obtained, but having communication skills can definitely help. It can be a very rewarding position as well, because you are helping improve the processes and policies of different types of businesses all over the country. No matter what position you take on, being able to close a deal, helping create a new product or service, or just being a good listener, you will do well in this career.