Job Description of a Business Development Officer

The goal of all corporate organizations is to make a profit by creating solutions that meet the needs of customers. Profit only comes by increasing sales of the company’s stock and that is why business development officers are one of the crucial backbones of many corporate organizations. In a bid to bring you quality information on the job description and other details you need to know as a business development officer, our team spoke to Clara, who has over 4 years of experience in the field. Below is an excerpt of our conversation, we hope she’s able to answer all your questions on the topic.

Can we meet you?

I am a graduate of Business Administration from Ekiti State University and I presently work as a Business Development Officer in one of the top players in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry. I have over 5 years of practical experience in the field and I have worked on several projects within the organization.

Who is a Business Development Officer (BDO)?

A business development officer is an individual who is engaged in a company with the responsibility of developing and implementing different tactics with the goal of developing the business by increasing the sales and revenue of a company. He identifies, develops, and carries out the necessary work to create new streams of income for a company or make more revenue from the already existing products. That is a basic summary of what my role entails as a business development officer.

What are the key responsibilities of a Business Development Officer?

A BDO’s major responsibility revolves around promoting the organization’s profit drive and marketing efforts. A simple and clear list can be found below.

1. He identifies and follow-up potential clients and business opportunities for the organization.
2. He conducts adequate and intensive market research and analysis in a bid to identify new markets or iterations of existing products to meet the demands of existing customers.
3. He develops and executes different strategies that are targeted towards the attraction of new clients and retention of existing clients or customers of the business.
4. He ensures that the company maintains a good relationship with all stakeholders such as customers, vendors, shareholders, and the society at large.
5. In a bid to give quality advice and information to the organization, he is expected to monitor emerging trends in the industry he works and also analyze the activities of other competitors.
6. He is trained to negotiate and execute contracts and deals for and on behalf of the organization.

What are the required skills and qualifications?

If you are applying for the role of a business development officer, ensure you have the skills and qualifications listed below. Also, try to include any or all of the skills in your cover letter and resume.

1. He must possess strong sales and negotiation skills in order to attract and retain customers. The skills will also help him present the organization’s position professionally when there is a conflict between the company and stakeholders.
2. He will need to express himself in words and verbally most times. This makes it important for a business development officer to be able to communicate excellently and also present his thoughts logically and concisely.
3. One of the core skills of all successful salespersons is the ability to build relationships with diverse individuals. Networking skills will help a BDO project an organization’s image to people.
4. He must be familiar with business and financial principles and must be able to interpret financial data based on the information in his possession.
5. He must be able to work both independently and within a team as the job requires at different times.
6. He must possess advanced time management and organizational skill due to the volume of work that will pass through his table.

SEE ALSO

A Review of Student Loan in Nigeria

How to Write a Compelling Cover Letter

What are the educational qualification and experience required?

In addition to the skills stated above, an individual is also expected to have certain educational qualification to be fit for the role of a Business Development Officer role. He must possess a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Accounting, or any other related field. However, if you didn’t study any of the courses mentioned above, you can still pursue a career in business development by taking some certifications, both virtual and physical which will help you transition into the field.

In most cases, the job specification of BDOs often requires a certain number of years of experience in the field. This is to ensure that the person not only has theoretical knowledge of the field but shows that he has distinguished himself in the field through practical experiences.

Business Development Officer interview questions

There are a plethora of interview questions that a business development officer could be asked at different stages of the interview. These include the following,

1. Please explain your understanding of the business development process and its contributions to the growth of an organization.
2. Can you describe a successful business development project you were involved in and how you achieved positive outcomes?
3. There are fast-changing market trends and numerous business opportunities in the country, how do you intend to stay updated?
4. How did you maintain stakeholders’ satisfaction in a situation where you had to build relationships with them?
5. How would you approach developing a business plan or strategy for entering a new market segment in Nigeria?
6. How did you handle a challenge you faced during a business development initiative, and what is the outcome
7. What are the strategies you will adopt to leverage the competition in the Nigerian market for the success of this company?
8. Tell us your experience in working with different teams to achieve a common business development goal.
9. What KPI do you use to determine whether an initiative was successful or not?

Parting words

I have explained all the basic content of a Business Development Officer’s job description and all you need to know to ace your next interview. Lest I forget, a Business Development Officer usually reports to a Business Development Executive who is also known as the Business Development Manager. The Business Development Executive or Manager is responsible for overseeing all the business development activities of the company and as such the BDOs report to him. He is expected to have more experience in the field and more professional certifications.

Cheers to a successful career!!!