Career Paths for Sales & Business Development Jobs

Sales and business development professionals are not only two of the most in-demand jobs right now, but they’re also among the fastest growing fields in almost every industry. In fact, the demand for sales and business development professionals is projected to continue increasing at an accelerated pace into 2023. To get a better understanding of what these roles entail and if either of them might be a good fit for you, let’s take a look at some of the general responsibilities of sales and business development jobs. Keep reading to learn more about each career path.

What is a Sales Job?

Sales is a job where you’ll be working towards the goal of making sales for your company. Sales professionals can work in almost every industry and for almost every type of company, but they all have one thing in common: they make money by convincing others to buy their products or services. One of the main differences between sales jobs and other jobs is that there isn’t just one way to succeed in sales. This means that there’s not just one path to success. It’s up to you to find the ways to get results that work best for you—the way you communicate, your style, and your strengths and weaknesses.

What is a Business Development Job?

Business development is a job where you’ll be responsible for helping a company grow its business by finding new customers and/or increasing the amount of revenue from current customers. Business development professionals can work in almost every industry and for almost every type of company, but they all have one thing in common: they’re focused on growing the business. Basic job responsibilities for business development roles include finding new customers and bringing them on board, and increasing the amount of revenue from existing customers.

Job Responsibilities for Sales Jobs

As a sales professional, you’ll be responsible for bringing in new business for your company and achieving as much revenue from that business as possible. This may mean selling your company’s products or services to new clients and signing them up as new customers. Some of the most common job descriptions for a sales job will include:

• Serve the customers by selling products and meeting customer needs.
• Services existing accounts, obtains orders, and establishes new accounts by planning and organizing a daily work schedule to call on existing or potential sales outlets and other trade factors.
• Adjusts the content of sales presentations by studying the type of sales outlet or trade factor.
• Focuses sales efforts by studying existing and potential volume of dealers.
• Submits orders by referring to price lists and product literature.
• Keeps management informed by submitting activity and results reports, such as daily call reports, weekly work plans, and monthly and annual territory analyses.
• Monitors competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products, new products, delivery schedules, and merchandising techniques.
• Recommends changes in products, service, and policy by evaluating results and competitive developments.
• Resolves customer complaints by investigating problems, developing solutions, preparing reports, and making recommendations to management.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies.
• Provides historical records by maintaining records on area and customer sales.
• Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.

Job Responsibilities for Business Development Jobs

As a business development professional, you’ll be responsible for helping your company grow its business and bringing in more revenue. You may focus your efforts on finding new customers or existing customers, or you may do both. Business development professionals spend their time trying to learn as much as they can about their industry, their company, and potential customers and clients. They’re always looking for new ways to grow the business. Business development professionals focus on the following areas:

Finding New Customers - Business development means finding new customers for your company. This may include finding new leads, setting up meetings with people who may want to buy your products, and bringing them on board as new customers.

Increasing Revenues from Current Customers - Business development professionals are also focused on increasing the amount of revenue from current customers. This means finding ways to get customers to spend more money with your company.

Which Path Is Right For You?

When you’re comparing sales and business development careers, the first thing to do is look at the skills you already have. Are you a natural people person? Do you enjoy meeting new people and building relationships? Are you good at communicating your company’s value proposition? These are all skills that are useful in both sales and business development careers. Depending on which industry you want to work in, some fields may be easier to break into than others. It’s important to do your research and understand what each industry is like and if it might be a good fit for you. When it comes to the actual job responsibilities, most sales and business development jobs have a lot of things in common. Both paths are focused on growing the business and bringing in new revenue. They’re also very goal-oriented, so if you like setting and meeting goals, either one of these paths may be a good fit for you.

Bottom line

When it comes to comparing sales and business development jobs, there are a lot of similarities between the two career paths. Both careers focus on growing the business and bringing in new revenue, and both involve constantly setting and meeting goals. The two paths also differ in the fact that sales is more of a one-on-one relationship-based job, whereas business development is more of a team-focused job. Sales professionals are more focused on the relationship with one customer, whereas business development professionals are focused on the relationships with many customers. Whether you’re interested in a sales job or a business development job, it’s important to understand each path before you decide to pursue one of these careers.