During my recent job search, I’ve noticed that many roles labeled as business development are sales positions. While this might seem trivial to the job poster, it creates confusion for individuals looking for the “right fit” career role and ultimately wastes time for hiring managers and recruiters as they sift through resumes or conduct interviews with candidates that don’t fit the needs of the organization.
As a recruiter looking for someone to help fill the sales pipeline, it may seem inconsequential whether the role is titled Business Development or Sales. The truth is that the differences in these two functions are significant and the skills and experiences required for success are quite different.
It could be that the confusion between sales and business development roles is due to their similarities. After all, business development and sales teams both aim for growth and focus on customer relationships, and both roles require strong communication, negotiation, market knowledge, and presentation skills. However, the differences far outweigh the similarities.
Business Development Feeds the Top of the Funnel
The business development team can be compared to the farmer. They are thinking about the kinds of relationships and strategic partnership strategies that will lead to long-term growth. They are the planners, strategic thinkers, market researchers, and relationship builders. They are sowing the seeds that sales will ultimately harvest.
Job descriptions for business development roles typically include:
- Conduct market research
- Identify new market segments, trends, and opportunities
- Develop and present compelling growth partnership visions
- Create new strategic partnerships and client opportunities and build relationships
- Negotiate contracts and create terms in line with company goals
- Collaborate with marketing, product, and sales teams
- Track and analyze business development and make recommendations for growth
To fulfill these requirements, business development professionals must be strategic thinkers able to identify market trends and new opportunities and then develop executive strategies to capitalize on them.
Sales Representative Converts Leads to Customers
In contrast to the long-term view of business development, sales reps are focused on the now. They are the harvesters. Their success lies in converting leads to customers, upselling current customers, and driving immediate revenue. They are effective communicators and excel at building the kind of relationships that result in purchasing products or services.
Job descriptions for sales representative roles typically include:
- Prospect and qualify leads to generate revenue
- Meet quarterly and yearly sales goals and hit revenue targets
- Manage a sales pipeline of qualified leads
- Develop and deliver compelling sales presentations
- Negotiate contracts and pricing to close deals
- Maintain positive relationships with existing clients to identify upsell opportunities
- Prepare accurate sales reports and forecasts
Sales reps have the unique ability to form relationships quickly and build trust and rapport with prospects and customers. Because their focus is on near-term results, they must be highly motivated individuals with a target-oriented and results-driven mindset.
Hiring the right talent with the right skills
When a job is posted with the wrong title, qualified job seekers are likely to either apply for the wrong role or skip the application process because they recognize a disconnect between the title and the responsibilities.
Even when the job market is glutted with qualified candidates, creating positive candidate experiences is in your best interest. Recycling old job descriptions with new titles or posting job descriptions that don’t match the role or title of the actual job will lead to poor employer branding and unnecessary candidate frustration.
So, if you’re posting a job that centers on generating immediate revenue by directly selling products or services to customers and achieving sales targets, especially if there are sales quotas, you want a Sales Representative.
If, on the other hand, if you’re looking for a new hire who can provide a strategy to drive the company’s growth and profitability, identify and develop new business opportunities, build long-term growth relationships with potential partners and clients, and negotiate deals to expand the company’s reach and revenue, ask for a Business Development Representative—and I can help you with that.
