Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Business Development Specialist

💰 $ - $

Business DevelopmentSalesStrategyB2B

🎯 Role Definition

The Business Development Specialist is responsible for identifying growth opportunities, generating and qualifying leads, building and maintaining strategic relationships, and driving revenue through new business acquisition and account expansion. This role combines market research, sales strategy, CRM-driven pipeline management, and cross-functional collaboration to convert prospects into long-term customers. Ideal candidates demonstrate strong commercial acumen, data-informed decision-making, excellent communication and negotiation skills, and a proven track record in B2B sales or SaaS environments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Representative (inside/outside)
  • Account Manager / Customer Success Representative
  • Marketing Specialist or Demand Generation Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Business Development Manager
  • Senior Account Executive or Strategic Account Manager
  • Head of Business Development / Director of Sales
  • VP Growth or VP of Sales

Lateral Moves:

  • Product Management (market-facing product roles)
  • Customer Success Management
  • Partnerships / Alliance Management

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  1. Proactively source, research, and qualify new business opportunities through targeted outbound prospecting, inbound lead follow-up, networking, and industry events to maintain a robust sales pipeline and achieve monthly and quarterly acquisition goals.
  2. Conduct comprehensive market research and competitor analysis to identify unmet customer needs, vertical expansion opportunities, and emerging trends that inform go-to-market strategies and product positioning.
  3. Build, maintain, and update a prioritized pipeline in the CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) with accurate deal stages, contact information, activity logs, and forecast estimates to ensure predictable revenue reporting.
  4. Develop and execute tailored outreach sequences—including cold calls, personalized emails, social selling (LinkedIn), and multi-touch campaigns—designed to convert target accounts into qualified opportunities.
  5. Prepare and deliver persuasive sales presentations, product demonstrations, and proposals that articulate ROI, success metrics, pricing options, and competitive differentiators to C-level and mid-market stakeholders.
  6. Lead discovery calls and needs assessments to uncover business drivers, budget authority, decision timelines, technical requirements, and procurement processes to create win strategies and close deals.
  7. Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, and contractual elements in collaboration with sales leadership and legal to achieve mutually beneficial agreements while protecting company margins and risk exposure.
  8. Coordinate cross-functional handoffs to onboarding, implementation, product, and customer success teams to ensure smooth transitions and rapid time-to-value for newly acquired clients.
  9. Manage the full sales cycle from initial contact through proposal, contracting, and close while maintaining high activity metrics and conversion rates against pipeline targets.
  10. Build and nurture strategic partnerships and channel relationships (resellers, integrators, referral partners) to expand distribution, co-sell and referral pipelines, and accelerate market penetration.
  11. Develop account expansion plans and upsell strategies for existing customers by identifying cross-sell opportunities, usage growth triggers, and renewal risk factors to increase average contract value.
  12. Respond to RFPs/RFIs and prepare tailored statements of work, case studies, pricing decks, and technical appendices in partnership with solutions engineering and marketing.
  13. Track and report on sales KPIs—pipeline coverage, conversion rates, average sales cycle length, ACV, quota attainment—providing actionable insights and weekly/monthly forecast cadence to leadership.
  14. Design and iterate outreach collateral (one-pagers, email templates, playbooks, battle cards) and collaborate with marketing to optimize lead quality, campaign messaging, and inbound conversion funnels.
  15. Attend industry conferences, trade shows, and networking events to generate leads, represent the company brand, and stay current on sector developments and potential customers.
  16. Leverage data and sales intelligence tools (e.g., LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Outreach) to build targeted lists, enrich contact data, and prioritize outreach based on propensity-to-buy signals.
  17. Maintain updated knowledge of product roadmaps, feature sets, pricing models, and case studies to provide consultative advice and tailor value propositions for different buyer personas.
  18. Implement and sustain CRM and sales process hygiene by logging activities, keeping contact records current, and ensuring pipeline integrity for accurate forecasting and operational scalability.
  19. Collaborate with product and marketing teams to provide customer and prospect feedback that shapes product features, messaging, pricing, and go-to-market tactics.
  20. Drive a continuous improvement culture by A/B testing outreach cadences, messaging, and segmentation strategies; analyze results and scale successful approaches to improve lead-to-opportunity conversion.
  21. Manage renewal leads and at-risk accounts by conducting health checks, proposing mitigation plans, and coordinating interventions with customer success to reduce churn.
  22. Serve as a subject matter expert for internal stakeholders on market dynamics, customer objections, and contracting challenges to align commercial strategy with real-world sales conditions.
  23. Support pricing and deal desk activities by assembling deal approvals, margin analysis, and discount requests while adhering to company pricing governance and discounting thresholds.
  24. Mentor junior sales reps or business development associates by sharing best practices, reviewing calls, and contributing to team training and onboarding programs.

Secondary Functions

  • Maintain and enrich market and prospect databases with research, industry tags, and buying signals to improve targeting and segmentation accuracy.
  • Support sales operations with ad-hoc reporting needs, pipeline hygiene projects, and data quality initiatives to enhance forecast reliability.
  • Assist marketing with campaign testing and provide feedback loops on content performance, lead quality, and buyer objections to refine demand generation.
  • Coordinate with legal and finance for contract approvals, SOW finalization, and revenue recognition handoffs to ensure compliant deal execution.
  • Participate in product beta programs and customer advisory boards to collect insights and advocate customer-driven roadmap items.
  • Prepare executive-level summaries and board-ready updates on pipeline health, major deals, and market risks as requested by leadership.
  • Help design incentive plans, quota allocations, and territory assignments in collaboration with sales leadership and HR to drive balanced coverage.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Sales pipeline management and CRM proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) — maintaining accurate stages, forecasts, and activity logs.
  • Lead generation and outbound prospecting techniques including cold calling, email sequencing, social selling (LinkedIn Sales Navigator), and events.
  • Negotiation and commercial contract experience including pricing strategy, SOWs, and simple contract terms.
  • Data-driven sales analytics: building, interpreting, and acting on KPIs, dashboards, and weekly/monthly forecasts (Excel, Google Sheets, BI basics).
  • Familiarity with sales enablement and engagement tools (Outreach, Salesloft, Gong, Chorus) to optimize outreach and improve conversion.
  • Experience responding to RFPs/RFIs and preparing tailored proposals, pricing models, and case studies for B2B buyers.
  • Market research and competitive analysis to identify whitespace opportunities and support go-to-market decisions.
  • Basic financial acumen: understanding contract economics, ARR/ACV, deal margin, and payback periods.
  • Product demo and presentation skills with the ability to articulate technical value to non-technical stakeholders.
  • Experience with account-based marketing (ABM) and working cross-functionally to execute targeted campaigns.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication tailored to executives and technical buyers.
  • Strong negotiation and persuasion skills with a consultative selling mindset.
  • Strategic thinking and commercial acumen to translate market insights into executable growth plans.
  • High degree of organization, time management, and pipeline discipline under quota pressure.
  • Resilience and persistence in a high-activity outbound environment.
  • Collaborative team player capable of partnering across Sales, Marketing, Product, and Customer Success.
  • Problem-solving orientation with the ability to unblock deals and escalate appropriately.
  • Empathy and active listening to understand buyer pain points and align solutions accordingly.
  • Adaptability to fast-changing product roadmaps and go-to-market priorities.
  • Coaching mindset for growing junior team members and sharing best practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

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

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or relevant graduate degree (preferred for senior roles or enterprise-focused positions).
  • Certifications in sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger) or CRM administration (Salesforce Admin) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing / Communications
  • Economics / Finance
  • Technology / Computer Science (for technical product-focused roles)
  • International Business (for market expansion roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years in sales, business development, account management, or related roles with progressive quota-bearing responsibility.

Preferred:

  • 3–7+ years of B2B sales or business development experience, ideally in SaaS, technology, professional services, or industry-specific verticals.
  • Proven track record of meeting or exceeding sales quotas, building pipeline from scratch, and closing complex deals with multiple stakeholders.

Keywords: Business Development Specialist, lead generation, sales pipeline management, CRM, strategic partnerships, revenue growth, B2B sales, SaaS sales, go-to-market, account expansion, contract negotiation, prospecting, market research.

Explore More Careers