Company growth rarely happens on its own. New partnerships and market expansion take research, conversations with the right people, and a good sense of which ideas are actually worth pursuing. That work often sits with business development.

To look more closely at what the role involves, we draw on the experience of Mohamed ElGohary, our Head of Business Development — MENA, whose work covers market expansion, client relationships, sales strategy, and cross-functional collaboration.

There are several ways to move into business development management. The job calls for commercial judgment, communication skills, practical experience, and an ability to keep longer-term goals in sight while dealing with everyday demands.

A business development manager looks for business opportunities that support the company’s growth goals. Closing business deals is part of the job, alongside market research, strategic planning, and relationship management.

The exact mix depends on the company. A business development manager might explore new markets and growth opportunities, work with marketing teams on marketing campaigns and lead generation, or collaborate with sales executives and sales teams on the selling process. New prospects, prospective accounts, and potential clients also need to be managed as they move through the sales funnel.

Market entry is a good example of how business development connects several functions at once. It involves decisions around target markets, positioning, outreach, and how early feedback should influence the next steps.

This is a common pattern when a company enters a new region. Market research informs early choices about pricing, positioning, and partnerships, while conversations with potential clients test those assumptions. The business development manager links what the market is saying to strategic planning and the next commercial decisions.

There is no particularly typical day in business development. Business development managers may check the sales funnel and contact new prospects in the morning, then spend the afternoon with potential clients or working through status reports. Other days are given over to market research, meetings, or the need to analyze data against business goals and arrange meetings with colleagues or partners.

Some structure helps. Business development professionals can use CRM systems such as Salesforce or HubSpot to organize prospective clients before turning to more client-facing work. It leaves space for relationship management and decision making without letting immediate requests consume all the time available for strategic planning.

A bachelor's degree in business administration, economics, or marketing is a common starting point, although it is not the only one. Some professionals later pursue a master's degree when preparing for managerial positions or wider commercial responsibilities.

A useful foundation includes understanding how companies measure growth, turn strategy into action, and make commercial decisions around areas such as pricing. Business administration offers useful grounding in business management and project management, but commercial awareness also develops outside formal education.

Annual reports and investor presentations are a good place to learn. They show how companies discuss priorities and explain the business development strategies supporting them. Reading a few closely can also make conversations with company leaders easier and show how individual decisions connect with longer-term company growth.

A successful business development manager needs communication skills, relationship management, sound decision making, and enough technical skills to work confidently with commercial data. These key skills overlap in everyday work, especially when conversations involve prospective clients, internal stakeholders, or company leaders.

Strong business relationships usually take time, and commercial decisions also need to be backed by evidence. Business development managers analyze data, review CRM reports and status reports, and compare business opportunities according to their likely contribution to business growth and revenue growth. If a prospective client objects to the price, for example, there may still be room to discuss a phased rollout, different terms, or the expected return.

Part of the job is deciding which opportunities are worth the time and which are not. For example, expanding in a market where the company already has traction may deliver more value than pursuing a long list of weak leads. Business development professionals tend to get better at making those calls through experience rather than theory alone.

The career path often starts somewhere adjacent to business development. Sales, marketing, account management, and project management can all lead into business development manager roles because they expose people to different parts of commercial work.

Sales provides a close look at the selling process and sales targets. Marketing brings experience with lead generation, marketing campaigns, new prospects, and market positioning. Project management teaches coordination, while sales and marketing roles can provide useful experience in client acquisition. Working with business development professionals adds another layer: seeing how an initial opportunity is assessed before a company commits time or money to it.

Cross-functional projects can make it easier to build relevant business development experience. A person might support market research, contribute to a proposal involving new markets, or join work around strategic partnerships.

Those projects provide useful evidence when applying for managerial positions because they show how someone operates outside the boundaries of a single function.

There is usually a process behind business development, even when companies use different names for its stages. Prospecting and market research help identify new markets, potential clients, and prospective accounts that closely align with business goals. LinkedIn, CRM systems, research tools, and industry placements can all contribute information.

Outreach is less about making an immediate sale than finding out whether there is a genuine fit. Development managers arrange meetings, ask about client needs, and gather enough information to qualify the opportunity. The next step is to decide whether the opportunity can contribute to revenue, fits current priorities, and justifies the resources required.

A qualified opportunity then moves toward execution. Business development managers shape proposals and use negotiation skills while working toward business deals with long-term value. Development managers may involve sales teams, finance, and sometimes marketing directors to settle pricing, timelines, and expectations. What prospective clients say during these discussions can also influence the selling process and future sales strategies.

Once a deal is signed, the handoff to sales or account management becomes important. Sales teams or account managers need enough context to continue the relationship, protect brand loyalty, and spot further growth opportunities. Status reports provide a simple record of what has happened and what still needs attention.

Business development is inherently cross-functional. Marketing teams, sales teams, product, and finance see opportunities through different lenses, and development managers often have to bring those views together.

The teams involved typically own different parts of the commercial process. Marketing supports awareness and marketing campaigns, sales executives move the selling process forward, product teams use client feedback, and finance helps test whether an opportunity supports the company's growth.

Business development managers need a reliable way to keep track of opportunities. CRM systems make it easier to see where each conversation stands and what needs to happen next.

CRM data gives managers one view of an opportunity, but external market information adds important context. Market research, industry trends, industry placements, and the latest industry developments help development managers judge growth opportunities in context rather than in isolation.

Together, these inputs can give business development managers a clearer view of where an opportunity is heading. A shift toward subscription models, for example, might make customer lifetime value and churn more important when preparing for conversations with prospective clients.

Different sales strategies are worth understanding as well. SPIN selling, consultative sales, and account-based marketing each offer a different way to approach a client. The right approach depends on the client, market, and type of opportunity, so familiarity with several methods can be useful.

Strategic planning can easily lose out to urgent operational work. For development managers, the calendar fills quickly with meetings, follow-ups, and negotiations, even when market research or longer-term thinking deserves more attention.

Many managers protect time for research and planning alongside meetings, follow-ups, and negotiations. Status reports keep active projects visible, while dedicated blocks for market research and strategic planning prevent those tasks from being endlessly postponed. The aim is to create enough structure to keep longer-term priorities visible when urgent tasks start competing for attention.

The job outlook for business development professionals differs by sector and location. Even so, companies across industries need people who can find commercial opportunities and contribute to driving business growth, which creates options for experienced development managers.

Business development manager jobs can come with a competitive average salary and average base salary, but a single figure rarely tells the whole story. Seniority, region, industry, and compensation structure all matter, so labor statistics and current vacancies are more useful when comparing markets.

With experience, development managers may move into a sales manager or marketing director position, become a vice president, take on regional leadership, or specialize in strategic partnerships.

Long-term growth opportunities usually come from building a track record of results and taking on broader responsibility over time.

The business development manager role is evolving as tools, client expectations, and market conditions change.

At the same time, relationship management remains central. Companies still need people who can develop relationships, understand client needs, and build strategic partnerships. Technical skills can reveal patterns in the data, but human judgment is what turns those patterns into useful commercial choices.

Business development managers come from a range of commercial backgrounds, including sales, marketing, account management, and project management. Business knowledge, practical experience, and relationship skills tend to develop across several roles and projects.

The strongest candidates learn how market insight and client needs connect with company goals, and how to turn that understanding into sustainable growth.