Business Development Specialist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Business Development Specialist identifies new business opportunities and clients for a company, identifies new products, services and lines of business, and develops marketing and sales strategies to help grow a company's business. Collects and manages data on sales and business processes, does market research, and stays informed of industry trends and dynamics. Builds customer relationships and partnerships. Reports to a Business Development Manager or Director.
Job Outlook
There were 1515 Business Development Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 43887 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Sales Representative industry, which includes the Business Development Specialist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Business Development Specialist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $78,976.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $76,000.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Business Development Specialist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $57,790.
Education and Experience
Posted Business Development Specialist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 54.36% |
| Master's Degree | 9.16% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.11% |
| Other | 13.43% |
Posted Business Development Specialist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 45.62% |
| 3 to 5 years | 40.66% |
| 6 to 8 years | 7.79% |
| 9+ years | 5.93% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Business Development Specialist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Sales (68.86%)
- Communication (49.55%)
- Customer Service (30.03%)
- Management (28.56%)
- Presentations (23.77%)
- Self-Motivation (20.49%)
- Leadership (18.86%)
- Writing (16.51%)
- Research (16.26%)
- Microsoft Excel (16.07%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Marketing (43.29%)
- Business Development (83.49%)
- Sales Prospecting (38.05%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Account Management (6.4%)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software (9.53%)
- Business To Business (14.78%)
- Cold Calling (14.84%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (5.3%)
- Marketing Strategies (3.58%)
- Market Research (8.65%)
- Salesforce (16.63%)
- Sales Process (9.7%)
- Customer Relationship Management (28.62%)
- Selling Techniques (19.3%)
- Finance (8.41%)
- Lead Generation (11.29%)
- Project Management (11.2%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Sales Prospecting (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Business Development Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Business Development Representative
- Business Development Associate
- BDC Representative
- Business Developer
- Business Development Lead
- Business Development Officer
- Business Development Intern
- Business Development Coordinator
- Associate Director of Business Development
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Business Development Manager (General)
- Director of Business Development
- Corporate Development Analyst
- Account Executive (General)
- Client Relationship Manager
- Director of Sales
- Account Manager (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Business Development Specialist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Amazon (799)
- Jensen Landscape Services (446)
- Wolters Kluwer (423)
- GPAC (419)
- Sazerac Company (404)
- Chevrolet (355)
- Veralto (307)
- Toyota Motors (290)
- UniFirst (268)
- Sysco (219)
North Carolina
- Sysco (25)
- Chevrolet (24)
- Hendrick Automotive Group (21)
- Burlington Kia (18)
- Rx Express Marketing (16)
- General Motors (15)
- Stellantis (14)
- Hendrick Automotive (13)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (13)
- Capital Ford (13)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.