Profession category manager

Business development managers plan, direct and coordinate the business development activities of an enterprise or organisation or of enterprises that provide related services to other enterprises and organisations.

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Personality Type

• Enterprising / Investigative

Related professions sales

• Account director
• After sales manager
• Area sales manager
• Commercial products designer
• Driver-salesperson
• Field sales executive
• Regional sales manager
• Sales director
• Sales engineer
• Sales representative chemical products
• Sales representative civil engineering
• Sales representative clothing, leatherwear
• Sales representative computer equipment or components
• Sales representative construction buildings
• Sales representative construction equipments or components
• Sales representative construction installation activities
• Sales representative educational materials
• Sales representative electrical equipment or components
• Sales representative financial products
• Sales representative food, beverages, tobacco products
• Sales representative glass, glass products
• Sales representative machines, appliances, vehicles
• Sales representative metal goods, metalware
• Sales representative pharmaceutical products
• Sales representative rubber, plastic products
• Technical or medical sales professional (not in IT)
• Telesales executive
• Wholesale manager

Knowledge

• Company policies

  The set of rules that govern the activity of a company.

• Market research

  The processes, techniques, and purposes comprised in the first step for developing marketing strategies such as the collection of information about customers and the definition of segments and targets.

• Store design layout

  Fundamentals in layout and store design in order to achieve an optimal product placement.

• Market participants

  The businesses, relations and opportunities of different participants in the market.

• Corporate social responsibility

  The handling or managing of business processes in a responsible and ethical manner considering the economic responsibility towards shareholders as equally important as the responsibility towards environmental and social stakeholders.

• Conflict management

  The practices concerning the resolution of conflicts or disputes in an organisation or institution. It encompasses reducing the negative aspects of a conflict and increasing the positive outcomes of it by learning from the errors made.

• Channel marketing

  The strategies and practices, including channel sales, that involve distributing products directly and indirectly through partners in order to bring the products to the end consumer.

• Marketing mix

  Principle of marketing that describes the four fundamental elements in marketing strategies which are the product, the place, the price and the promotion.

• Pricing strategies

  The techniques, theories, and commonly accepted strategies regarding pricing of goods. The relation between pricing strategies and outcomes in the market such as profitability maximisation, deterrence of newcomers, or increase of market share.

• Market pricing

  Price volatility according to market and price elasticity, and the factors which influence pricing trends and changes in the market in the long and short term.

• Content marketing strategy

  The process of creation and share of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.

• Cost management

  The process of planning, monitoring and adjusting the expenses and revenues of a business in order to achieve cost efficiency and capability.

Skills

• Collaborate in the development of marketing strategies

  Work together with a group of professionals to develop marketing strategies performing market analysis and financial viability while staying aligned with the company's goals.

• Study sales levels of products

  Collect and analyse sales levels of products and services in order to use this information for determining the quantities to be produced in the following batches, customer feedback, price trends, and the efficiency of sales methods.

• Analyse internal factors of companies

  Research and understand various internal factors that influence the operation of companies such as its culture, strategic foundation, products, prices, and available resources.

• Align efforts towards business development

  Synchronise the efforts, plans, strategies, and actions carried out in departments of companies towards the growth of business and its turnover. Keep business development as the ultimate outcome of any effort of the company.

• Identify suppliers

  Determine potential suppliers for further negotiation. Take into consideration aspects such as product quality, sustainability, local sourcing, seasonality and coverage of the area. Evaluate the likelihood of obtaining beneficial contracts and agreements with them.

• Perform product planning

  Identify and articulate market requirements that define a product’s feature set. Product planning serves as the basis for decisions about price, distribution and promotion.

• Analyse work-related written reports

  Read and comprehend job-related reports, analyse the content of reports and apply findings to daily work operations.

• Show entrepreneurial spirit

  Demonstrate a proactive attitude and determination to achieve success in business

• Ensure customer focus

  Attitude that puts customers at the centre of the business in all cases.

• Integrate strategic foundation in daily performance

  Reflect on the strategic foundation of companies, meaning their mission, vision, and values in order to integrate this foundation in the performance of the job position.

• Apply strategic thinking

  Apply generation and effective application of business insights and possible opportunities, in order to achieve competitive business advantage on a long-term basis.

• Analyse consumer buying trends

  Analyse buying habits or currently prevalent customer behaviour.

• Select optimal distribution channel

  Choose the best possible distribution channel for the customer.

• Perform market research

  Gather, assess and represent data about target market and customers in order to facilitate strategic development and feasibility studies. Identify market trends.

• Evaluate marketing content

  Revise, assess, align, and approve marketing material and content defined in the marketing plan. Evaluate written word, images, print or video advertisements, public speeches, and statements in accordance with the marketing objectives.

• Coordinate marketing plan actions

  Manage the overview of the marketing actions such as the marketing planning, internal financial resource granting, advertising materials, implementation, control, and communication efforts.

• Manage inventory

  Control product inventory in balance of availability and storage costs.

• Develop product design

  Convert market requirements into product design and development.

• Identify potential markets for companies

  Observe and analyse market research findings in order to determine promising and profitable markets. Consider the firm's specific advantage and match it with markets where such value proposition is missing.

• Manage profitability

  Review on a regular basis sales and profit performance.

• Plan marketing campaign

  Develop a method to promote a product through different channels, such as television, radio, print and online platforms, social media with the aim to communicate and deliver value to customers.

• Plan marketing strategy

  Determine the objective of the marketing strategy whether it is for establishing image, implementing a pricing strategy, or raising awareness of the product. Establish approaches of marketing actions to ensure that goals are achieved efficiently and over a long term.

• Track key performance indicators

  Identify the quantifiable measures that a company or industry uses to gauge or compare performance in terms of meeting their operational and strategic goals, using preset performance indicators.

• Analyse customer service surveys

  Analyse results from surveys completed by passengers/customer; analyse results to identify trends and draw conclusions.

• Manage budgets

  Plan, monitor and report on the budget.

• Define measurable marketing objectives

  Outline the measurable performance indicators of the marketing plan such as market share, customer value, brand awareness, and sales revenues. Follow up on the progress of these indicators during the development of the marketing plan.

• Perform multiple tasks at the same time

  Execute multiple tasks at the same time, being aware of key priorities.

• Analyse external factors of companies

  Perform research and analysis of the external factor pertaining to companies such as consumers, position in the market, competitors, and political situation.

• Create annual marketing budget

  Make the calculation of both the income and expenditures that are expected to be paid over the coming year concerning the marketing related activities such as advertising, selling and delivering products to people.

• Integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy

  Integrate the marketing strategy and its elements such as the market definition, competitors, price strategy, and communication with the general guidelines of the global strategy of the company.

• Impart business plans to collaborators

  Diffuse, present, and communicate business plans and strategies to managers, employees making sure that objectives, actions, and important messages are properly conveyed.

• Maintain relationship with suppliers

  Build a lasting and meaningful relationship with suppliers and service providers in order to establish a positive, profitable and enduring collaboration, co-operation and contract negotiation.

• Perform risk analysis

  Identify and assess factors that may jeopardise the success of a project or threaten the organisation's functioning. Implement procedures to avoid or minimise their impact.

• Negotiate sales contracts

  Come to an agreement between commercial partners with a focus on terms and conditions, specifications, delivery time, price etc.

• Perform project management

  Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project's progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB