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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Business Development Executive

💰 $ - $

SalesBusiness DevelopmentRevenue Growth

🎯 Role Definition

As a Business Development Executive you will drive pipeline generation, qualify and convert high-value opportunities, and build lasting customer relationships. You will identify new market segments, execute targeted outreach, create compelling proposals and presentations, negotiate contracts, and collaborate closely with marketing, product and customer success to meet and exceed sales targets and strategic growth objectives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Development Representative / Business Development Representative
  • Account Executive (Junior)
  • Inside Sales Representative

Advancement To:

  • Senior Business Development Manager
  • Strategic Account Manager / Key Account Director
  • Head of Business Development / Director of Sales

Lateral Moves:

  • Product Marketing Manager (go-to-market focus)
  • Partner / Channel Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own full sales cycle responsibilities from prospecting and lead qualification through proposal, negotiation and contract close to consistently meet or exceed monthly and quarterly revenue quotas.
  • Generate and cultivate a pipeline of new business using a mix of outbound prospecting (cold calling, cold emailing, LinkedIn outreach) and inbound lead follow-up to ensure a predictable revenue funnel.
  • Conduct detailed discovery conversations and needs analyses to map client pain points to product and service solutions, producing consultative, value-driven sales engagements.
  • Create and deliver tailored presentations, product demonstrations and commercial proposals that communicate ROI and business value for mid-market and enterprise prospects.
  • Negotiate commercial terms, pricing and contractual agreements with buyers and procurement teams while protecting margin and ensuring clear commercial governance.
  • Manage pipeline forecasting and deal-stage progression in CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot or equivalent) with weekly updates to leadership and accurate revenue projections.
  • Develop and execute territory and account plans targeting strategic sectors, high-value customers and vertical expansion opportunities to maximize market penetration.
  • Collaborate with marketing to design and run targeted campaigns, ABM programs and events that drive qualified leads and boost conversion rates.
  • Build and maintain long-term relationships with key decision-makers, influencers and procurement contacts to enable repeat business, renewals and upsell/cross-sell opportunities.
  • Conduct competitive and market research to identify trends, pricing dynamics and white-space opportunities that inform sales strategy and positioning.
  • Prepare sales collateral, RFP/RFI responses, case studies and ROI models that accelerate buying decisions and reduce sales cycles.
  • Coordinate with legal and finance teams to finalize master services agreements, NDAs and statements of work in a timely and compliant manner.
  • Track and analyze sales metrics (conversion rates, average deal size, sales cycle length, win/loss) to identify improvement opportunities and optimize the sales process.
  • Lead discovery and handover processes to customer success and implementation teams to ensure a smooth onboarding and high customer satisfaction post-sale.
  • Identify channel and partnership opportunities, recruit and manage strategic partners or resellers to extend market reach and revenue streams.
  • Manage and prioritize a large volume of leads and opportunities using a disciplined qualification framework (BANT, MEDDIC or equivalent).
  • Deliver on monthly and quarterly business plans and initiatives set by sales leadership, including participation in quarterly business reviews.
  • Represent the company at industry conferences, trade shows, webinars and networking events to strengthen brand awareness and generate pipeline.
  • Mentor and share best practices with junior sales colleagues and contribute to continuous improvement of sales playbooks, scripts and objection-handling techniques.
  • Maintain up-to-date product, pricing and competitive knowledge to position offerings credibly during technical or commercial discussions.
  • Collaborate with product and engineering to capture customer feedback, shape product roadmap priorities and influence feature development that drives incremental revenue.
  • Drive pricing and packaging experiments in coordination with commercial leadership to discover new value-based pricing models that improve conversion and ARR.
  • Manage deal escalation and resolve commercial or implementation concerns with prospects to accelerate close and reduce churn risk.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc sales analysis and reporting requests to inform strategic decisions and executive reviews.
  • Contribute to the development and refinement of the organization’s go-to-market strategy and sales playbooks.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (marketing, product, customer success, legal, finance) to translate customer insights into commercially viable product and service offerings.
  • Participate in sales enablement sessions, training programs and role plays to continuously improve pitch effectiveness and negotiation skills.
  • Maintain CRM hygiene by updating contact information, activity notes, next steps and opportunity stages daily.
  • Assist with account segmentation, lead scoring, and territory rebalancing initiatives to improve coverage and efficiency.
  • Provide competitive intelligence and win/loss analysis to marketing and product teams to refine positioning and messaging.
  • Support major proposal development, including pricing models, scheduling demos and gathering customer references.
  • Facilitate pilot programs or proof-of-concept engagements and ensure successful handovers to implementation teams.
  • Help coordinate and execute client workshops, discovery sessions and executive briefings as part of the sales process.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proven B2B sales skills: full-cycle selling, consultative sales approach and quota attainment.
  • CRM proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) for pipeline management and forecasting.
  • Expertise in outbound prospecting tools and platforms (LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Outreach, SalesLoft).
  • Strong presentation and demo skills using PowerPoint, Google Slides and video conferencing (Zoom, Teams).
  • Financial acumen for building pricing models, ROI calculators and commercial proposals (Excel modeling).
  • Experience responding to RFPs/RFIs and preparing contractual documentation.
  • Familiarity with contract negotiation, MSPs, SLAs and standard commercial terms.
  • Use of sales intelligence and analytics tools to track KPIs and optimize pipeline conversion.
  • Ability to run account-based marketing (ABM) programs and coordinate multi-touch campaigns.
  • Understanding of SaaS subscription economics, ARR, MRR, churn, upsell and cross-sell mechanics.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication; persuasive storytelling with both technical and executive audiences.
  • Strong negotiation and objection-handling skills with a win-win mindset.
  • Strategic thinker with the ability to translate market insight into tangible sales actions.
  • Resilient, self-motivated and target-driven with a high degree of ownership and accountability.
  • Relationship-builder: trust-based selling and long-term client management.
  • Analytical mindset: data-driven decision making and continuous improvement orientation.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to manage a large pipeline and competing priorities.
  • Collaborative team player who partners effectively across marketing, product and customer success.
  • Adaptability and learning agility in a fast-moving, ambiguous startup or scale-up environment.
  • Empathy and active listening to understand customer needs and craft relevant solutions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Commerce, Economics, Engineering or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or advanced degree in business, sales, marketing or related discipline.
  • Professional sales certifications (e.g., Miller Heiman, MEDDIC, Challenger Sale) considered a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Commerce / Economics
  • Engineering / Computer Science (for technical product sales)
  • International Business

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of proven B2B sales or business development experience (for mid-level roles); 5+ years for senior roles.

Preferred:

  • Demonstrated track record of exceeding sales quotas in SaaS, technology, professional services or related industries.
  • Experience selling to mid-market and enterprise customers, with history of negotiating multi-year contracts.
  • Prior work with CRM systems, pipeline reporting and revenue forecasting.
  • Experience in target verticals (e.g., finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing) or proven ability to quickly learn industry-specific dynamics.
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