- You will learn the core responsibilities and daily tasks of a business development manager.
- You will get a step-by-step plan for gaining relevant skills, experience, and certifications.
- You will learn how to build a measurable sales pipeline and track the right metrics.
- You will get practical interview preparation and a plan to win your first BDM role.
If you want to know how to become a business development manager, this guide walks you through the practical steps from zero to hire. You will get clear actions on what to learn, where to gain experience, and how to present your value to hiring managers. Follow the plan at your own pace and adapt each step to your industry.
Step-by-Step Guide
Learn the role and core skills
Start by mapping the daily responsibilities of a business development manager, such as lead generation, qualifying prospects, building partnerships, and growing revenue. Understanding the role helps you pick the right learning targets and avoids wasting time on irrelevant skills.
Research job ads for your target industry and save three to five recurring requirements, such as CRM experience, negotiation, or strategic planning.
Next, identify the core skills to develop, including communication, consultative selling, relationship building, and basic financial literacy. Use short online courses, books, and job descriptions to create a focused skills list that you can track.
Expect to re-evaluate this list every few months as you gain experience and learn which skills employers actually ask for.
Avoid assuming the title alone defines the job, because responsibilities vary widely between startups, agencies, and established firms. Instead, tailor your learning path to the specific environment you want to work in, for example SaaS, manufacturing, or professional services.
This reduces wasted effort and makes your experience more relevant when you apply.
- Collect five current job postings in your target market and highlight overlapping skills and tools.
- Read one practical book on sales or negotiation and summarize three techniques you can practice.
- Set a small test: outline a one-page day plan for a BDM and compare it to real job postings.
Build foundational knowledge and credentials
Choose a mix of formal and informal learning that covers sales fundamentals, CRM basics, and business strategy. Short courses on platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning can teach prospecting, pipeline management, and basic financial metrics in a few weeks.
Aim for courses that include practical projects you can show, not just certificates.
Complement courses with practical reading and templates, such as standard sales scripts, qualification frameworks like BANT or MEDDIC, and simple financial models to estimate deal value. Practice by building a sample one-page plan for how you would open a new market or vertical.
Expect to spend two to four months reaching a comfortable baseline, depending on your starting point.
Avoid investing in long expensive certifications unless they include real-world projects or are recognized in your target industry. Instead, prioritize hands-on work and a portfolio of small wins that prove you can move opportunities through a pipeline.
That portfolio will matter more than the credential when recruiters review your experience.
- Complete one short project course that results in a deliverable, such as a market entry plan or a sales playbook.
- Use free CRM trials to practice entering leads, creating stages, and running simple reports.
- Write a one-page 'go-to-market' summary you can present in interviews.
Gain relevant experience through adjacent roles
If you are not already in sales or partnerships, aim for roles that build transferable experience, such as account management, inside sales, or customer success. These roles teach you how to qualify leads, manage customer relationships, and measure retention, which are directly relevant to a BDM role.
Look for positions where you can take ownership of an outcome, such as growing a territory or increasing average deal size.
Target projects that let you show impact, for example running a small outbound campaign, closing a pilot partnership, or improving lead-to-opportunity conversion by a measurable amount. When you apply for BDM roles, quantify these outcomes on your resume, for example number of qualified leads generated or percentage increase in pipeline value.
Plan to spend six to twelve months in adjacent roles if you need to build a track record.
Avoid niche tasks that do not demonstrate revenue impact, such as purely administrative work, unless you can pair them with measurable outcomes. If you must start with junior roles, negotiate for measurable KPIs and a path to take on business development responsibilities.
This makes your transition credible to hiring managers.
- Ask your manager for a stretch project that ties to revenue, and get clear expectations and metrics.
- Keep a simple log of activities and outcomes so you can report progress with numbers in interviews.
- Volunteer to help sales with follow-up sequences or pipeline hygiene to gain direct exposure.
Build a network and generate real leads
Growing a professional network helps you find opportunities and practice outreach. Use LinkedIn to connect with peers, join industry groups, and share short posts about deals you worked on or lessons learned.
Attend one relevant meetup or virtual event each month to meet potential partners and decision makers.
Practice outreach by running a small targeted campaign: identify 25 ideal prospects, research their needs, craft a short personalized message, and follow up twice over three weeks. Track responses and refine your message based on which lines get replies.
This gives you concrete examples of your prospecting skills to discuss in interviews and shows you can create pipeline from scratch.
Avoid mass generic messaging that does not reference the prospect's business, because low response rates provide little feedback. Focus on personalization and a clear next step, such as a 15-minute discovery call.
Over time, scale successful templates while keeping personalization for high-value targets.
- Create a 30-day outreach calendar with daily tasks like research, messaging, and follow-ups.
- Save three subject lines or opening sentences that get responses and reuse them with slight edits.
- Track all contacts in a simple spreadsheet until you graduate to a CRM.
Master the tools and metrics hiring managers care about
Learn the core tools that BDMs use, primarily a CRM, email sequencing tools, and simple analytics like spreadsheets or business intelligence dashboards. Understand how to build and forecast a pipeline, calculate average deal size, and estimate close rates to forecast revenue.
Practice by creating a mock pipeline with stages, conversion rates, and monthly forecasts for three hypothetical deals.
Know the common KPIs companies expect, such as leads generated, opportunities created, win rate, average deal size, and sales cycle length. Be ready to talk about how you improved one of these numbers or would improve them in a new role.
Prepare simple visuals or one-page summaries of a pipeline you managed or a forecast you built to include in interviews or your portfolio.
Avoid technical overkill, such as complex dashboards that do not clearly tie to decisions. Hiring managers want clear, actionable metrics that show you can move opportunities and predict outcomes.
Focus on clean, repeatable reporting that supports decision making.
- Build a three-line pipeline model in a spreadsheet showing stages, conversion rates, and expected revenue.
- Learn one CRM to an intermediate level, including creating reports and saving views.
- Prepare a one-page case study with numbers you can walk through in an interview.
Package your experience and prepare for interviews
Create a concise portfolio including a one-page summary of a campaign or partnership you ran, the metrics you tracked, and the outcome. Tailor your resume and LinkedIn headline to highlight revenue impact, partnership wins, and pipeline ownership, using short bullet points with numbers when possible.
Prepare three short stories that describe a challenge, the action you took, and the measurable result, following a simple structure that interviewers can follow.
Practice common interview tasks such as pitching a new market entry plan in ten minutes or walking through a pipeline forecast. Prepare scripts for negotiation and for asking questions about quota, territory definition, and cross-functional support.
Role play with a friend or mentor and ask for feedback on clarity, confidence, and how you present metrics.
Avoid presenting generic achievements without context or numbers, since hiring managers look for clear impact. If you lack quantitative results, explain your thinking and show mock forecasts or projected outcomes you would expect, supported by reasonable assumptions.
This shows you understand the mechanics of the role and can be trusted to run a pipeline.
- Prepare three STAR stories with metrics and practice delivering them in two minutes each.
- Bring a one-page printed case study to interviews to leave with the interviewer.
- Ask at least three role-specific questions in every interview, such as how quota is set and which tools the team uses.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Pro Tips from Experts
Keep a running spreadsheet of every outreach and result, including message, date, and outcome, so you can identify what works and report traction quickly.
Volunteer to run a pilot partnership or small outbound campaign even in non-sales roles, and document the process and results as a case study.
When you lack direct revenue numbers, build realistic mock forecasts and show the assumptions clearly so hiring managers can see your reasoning.
You can become a business development manager by following a sequence of learning, hands-on practice, and deliberate networking. Start small, track measurable outcomes, and build a portfolio that shows you can create and move pipeline.
Take one action this week, such as researching target job postings or running a five-prospect outreach, and use that momentum to keep progressing.
Step-by-step guide: Become a business development manager
1.
- •What to do: List relevant experience (sales, marketing, partnerships), education, and network size. Score yourself 1–5 in: lead generation, negotiation, CRM use, strategy.
- •How: Create a one-page skills matrix in Excel or Google Sheets.
- •Pitfalls: Overrating soft skills; avoid vague entries like "good communicator."
- •Success indicator: Clear gaps for 3–5 prioritized skills.
2.
- •What to do: Pick certifications/courses targeting gaps (e.g., sales strategy, financial modeling).
- •How: Enroll in 1–2 courses with practical projects (Coursera Sales, HubSpot Academy, LinkedIn Learning).
- •Pitfalls: Taking too many courses; focus on applied learning.
- •Success indicator: Completion certificate and one portfolio deliverable.
3.
- •What to do: Reframe achievements with numbers (e.g., "grew pipeline by 40% in 6 months").
- •How: Use the CAR method (Challenge, Action, Result) for 6 bullets.
- •Pitfalls: Generic wording; avoid listing responsibilities without outcomes.
- •Success indicator: 2–3 recruiter messages or interview invites in 4 weeks.
4.
- •What to do: Take a sales or partnerships role, short-term contract, or lead an internal growth project.
- •How: Negotiate measurable KPIs: meetings booked, pipeline value, conversion rate.
- •Pitfalls: Accepting vague roles without measurable goals.
- •Success indicator: Achieved KPIs or increased pipeline by at least 20%.
5.
- •What to do: Learn CRM (Salesforce/HubSpot), Excel forecasting, and basic SQL for reporting.
- •How: Complete hands-on tutorials; build a monthly forecast model.
- •Pitfalls: Sticking to surface-level features; practice real datasets.
- •Success indicator: Able to produce a 3-month sales forecast with confidence intervals.
6.
- •What to do: Add 5 new industry contacts weekly, attend 1 meetup/month, join relevant Slack groups.
- •How: Use a 3-message cadence: connect, share value, request short call.
- •Pitfalls: Spamming contacts; always provide value first.
- •Success indicator: Two informational interviews per month and one referral in 3 months.
7.
- •What to do: Run 10 mock negotiations and 5 pitch decks for varied buyer personas.
- •How: Record sessions, collect feedback, iterate slides to reduce time-to-close.
- •Pitfalls: Ignoring objections; train to handle 10 common objections.
- •Success indicator: Average time-to-close reduced by 15–30% in simulations.
8.
- •What to do: Apply to 8–12 roles/month; tailor each application to the job description.
- •How: Use one core resume and tweak 3 bullets per job. Prepare STAR stories and a 30/60/90-day plan.
- •Pitfalls: Using one-size-fits-all resumes; prepare role-specific metrics.
- •Success indicator: 4–6 interviews and at least 1 offer within 3 months.
Actionable takeaway: Follow this sequence, measure progress with KPIs (pipeline growth, interview rate), and iterate monthly.
Expert tips and pro techniques
1. Qualify leads with a two-question filter: "budget authority timeline.
" Use these in your first call to save 40–60% of wasted meeting time.
2. Build an objection playbook with scripts for the top 8 objections you face.
Review it weekly and reduce stall rates by at least 15%.
3. Use a discovery checklist tied to LTV (lifetime value) inputs: contract length, expansion potential, churn risk.
This helps prioritize deals by expected value, not just size.
4. Run weekly 15-minute deal reviews focused on one metric (conversion rate, velocity).
Rotate metrics to improve forecasting accuracy by 10–20%.
5. Create a one-page 30/60/90 plan for interviews showing exact activities and metrics you'll deliver.
Hiring managers respond positively to concrete first-90-day targets.
6. Automate outreach sequences but personalize two lines per message (company or person detail).
Personalized sequences convert 2–3x better than generic ones.
7. Track a small set of leading indicators—meetings booked, proposal sent, product demos—not just closed revenue.
Leading indicators predict revenue 1–2 quarters ahead.
8. Shadow customer success for two weeks when onboarding a big client.
You’ll spot expansion opportunities and reduce churn by anticipating issues.
9. Negotiate anchor pricing internally: always propose a mid-tier option first to steer buyers toward higher-value packages.
10. Keep a quick wins folder: 10 short case studies you can use in proposals and pitches to shorten sales cycles by demonstrating similar results.
Actionable takeaway: Implement 2–3 tips this month—start with a qualification filter and an objection playbook to see immediate efficiency gains.
Common challenges and how to overcome them
1.
- •Why: Complex buying committees and unclear ROI.
- •Recognize: Deals stagnate for >60 days without movement.
- •Solution: Break large deals into milestones, run pilots with clear metrics, and set calendar-based follow-ups. Prevent by mapping stakeholders early.
2.
- •Why: Inbound marketing misalignment or wrong targeting.
- •Recognize: High lead volume but <2% conversion to qualified meetings.
- •Solution: Tighten lead scoring (company size, role, intent signals) and run a 30-day audit of sources. Prevent by aligning MQL criteria with sales team input.
3.
- •Why: Relying on gut or last-touch data.
- •Recognize: Forecast misses actual by >20% each quarter.
- •Solution: Use stage-weighted deal values and track leading indicators; hold weekly forecast reviews. Prevent by standardizing deal stages and definitions.
4.
- •Why: Reactive calendar and too many low-value tasks.
- •Recognize: Less than 20% of time on revenue-generating activities.
- •Solution: Block 10 hours/week for prospecting, delegate admin to a coordinator, and use templates. Prevent by tracking time use for 2 weeks.
5.
- •Why: No measurement framework agreed with buyer.
- •Recognize: Buyers ask for vague proof or push pricing discussions.
- •Solution: Define 3 measurable success metrics (e.g., cost savings %, revenue uplift) in proposals and lock them into a pilot agreement.
6.
- •Why: Overpromising or lack of onboarding.
- •Recognize: >10% churn within first 6 months.
- •Solution: Partner with customer success for handoff, set expectations in contract, and run a 30/60/90 onboarding checklist. Prevent by involving CS during sales conversations.
Actionable takeaway: Audit which challenge hits you most this quarter and apply the corresponding solution steps to reduce friction quickly.
Real-world examples
Example 1 — SaaS startup: shortening sales cycle
- •Situation: A B2B SaaS firm had an average sales cycle of 120 days and 18% win rate.
- •Approach: The business development manager introduced a pilot product offering with a 60-day trial and defined three success metrics (activation rate, 30-day retention, ROI estimate). They also created an AB test for two pitch decks.
- •Challenges: Internal resistance to discounting and legal delays for pilot contracts.
- •Results: Cycle shortened to 75 days in three months, win rate rose to 26%, and ARR growth from pilots converted at 22%—adding $420K ARR in the first year.
Example 2 — Manufacturing supplier: entering a new vertical
- •Situation: A mid-size supplier wanted to enter healthcare but had zero contacts and no case studies.
- •Approach: The business development manager mapped 120 target buyers, created three healthcare-relevant case studies from adjacent work, and ran a focused outreach campaign of 600 personalized emails over 8 weeks. They secured 12 discovery calls and set up two paid pilots.
- •Challenges: Long procurement cycles and strict compliance documentation.
- •Results: Closed one pilot worth $180K in year-one revenue and built a repeatable outreach sequence that produced a 3.5% response rate vs. 0.8% on previous campaigns.
Example 3 — Enterprise account expansion
- •Situation: An enterprise customer represented 30% of revenue but low expansion activity.
- •Approach: The manager conducted a joint business review, identified two expansion opportunities, and coordinated a cross-functional proposal demonstrating expected 15% cost reduction. They negotiated a 3-year upsell contract with staged payments.
- •Challenges: Internal alignment across solutions and procurement pushback on price.
- •Results: Upsell added $1.2M in ARR, and the churn risk dropped below 5% due to formalized success metrics.
Actionable takeaway: Pick one example closest to your context and adapt its core tactics—pilots, targeted outreach, or joint reviews—to replicate measurable outcomes.
Essential tools and resources
1.
- •What it does: Contact and pipeline management, email sequences, reporting.
- •When to use: Early-stage through scale; start free to track leads and activity.
- •Limitations: Advanced automation and customization require paid plans.
2.
- •What it does: Enterprise-grade CRM, forecasting, integrations.
- •When to use: For complex sales processes and multiple teams.
- •Limitations: Steeper setup cost and admin overhead; budget $25–150+/user/month.
3.
- •What it does: Advanced prospecting, saved leads, InMail.
- •When to use: Building targeted outbound lists and account-based outreach.
- •Limitations: Cost (~$100/month) and requires disciplined messaging.
4.
- •What it does: Forecast models, territory plans, KPI dashboards.
- •When to use: Build 3-month and 12-month forecasts before investing in BI tools.
- •Limitations: Manual upkeep at scale.
5. Outreach/Reply.
- •What it does: Sequence automation for emails/calls and analytics.
- •When to use: When running multi-touch outbound campaigns at scale.
- •Limitations: Requires clean data and personalization to avoid low reply rates.
6.
- •What it does: Scheduling with automated buffers and reminders.
- •When to use: Reduce time-to-meeting and eliminate back-and-forth.
- •Limitations: Advanced features behind paid plans.
7.
- •What it does: Ready-made interview and pitch frameworks.
- •When to use: Prepare investor-style decks, client proposals, or interview plans.
- •Limitations: Customize heavily—templates alone won’t win deals.
8.
- •Recommendations: "SPIN Selling" for discovery, "The Challenger Sale" for insights-driven approaches, HubSpot Academy for free certifications.
- •When to use: Foundational theory and practical certifications.
- •Limitations: Combine reading with practical projects.
Actionable takeaway: Start with a free CRM and Google Sheets forecast, then add Sales Navigator and an automation tool as you scale.