To become Bizdev, several paths are possible. Everyone must select the one that best suits their background and personality. Here is our summary of all the options available to you to become a Business Developer!
The post of Business Developer (BizDev) is very coveted: companies have very strong recruitment needs, it is also one of the most major talent shortages in France.
But this profession requires many Soft Skills (resilience, communication, leadership...), and ideallyField experience. This reassures companies that recruit, by providing guarantees on the ability of their new hires to be operational.
Many Akimbers become Business Developers after their Bootcamp at Akimbo.
What is a business developer?
The Business Developer plays a key role in executing the strategy of Business Development of his business. From positioning to prospecting to closing, he is responsible for executing the commercial strategy throughout sales cycle.
Its multiple actions allow the company to reach the sales objectives set, and to set the milestones for its sustainable and optimal development.
What are the skills of a business developer?
- Detecting business opportunities
The Business Developer has a sensitivity for business and the analysis of customer needs, as well as the market. By mastering the tools for automating and customizing prospecting, he or she will facilitate the execution of tasks and qualify their actions. He's not afraid of the other tools either: CRM for customer data (ex: HubSpot, Salesforce), social selling (ex: LinkedIn and Waalaxy), or telephony (ex: Aircall, Ringover).
Develop business development skills such as: identifying growth drivers, knowing the psychological mechanisms of his prospects will allow him to perform at best commercial strategy. These achievements ensure maximum efficiency in order to achieve its results.
- Know how to manage and guide a team
Insofar as he manages the smooth running of the Commercial plan by coordinating everyone's roles, he must have managerial and administrative skills.
Often at the head of a small sales team, he manages and executes the development plan throughout the process. This job supervises the team in the field and monitors developments.
- Know how to communicate
The Business Developer is the internal and external link of the company, with customers but also with the other departments of the structure. He Prospect, Negotiate contracts, Analyze the data, and Summarize reports. His ability to listen and communicate, thanks to theActive listening among other things, will determine the understanding and effectiveness of its instructions. This emotional intelligence also promotes a collective agreement within the group around common values and goals.
What is the salary for a business developer?
The salary of a Business Developer varies according to the performance of his work, that is, the sales he makes. Often, this amount is calculated in the form of Package composed of a fixed salary And of a variable salary the sum of which gives the total remuneration.
The variable part, which represents approximately 30% to 50% of the total, is therefore calculated by the Head of Sales and/or the CEO according to the results of the individual, experience, sector of activity, level of study etc...
For a junior Business Developer, the average annual remuneration is estimated between €35K and 45 K€ gross, including a variable portion which amounts to €10 MILLION - €12 MILLION raw.
For a senior Business Developer (more than 5 years of experience), this annual gross remuneration approaches €60K unto 100 K€, the part of the variable is all the more important.
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What are the best business developer courses?
While Business Development is a particularly recent concept, some “classical” courses offer an introduction to these professions. The School setting And the first theoretical approaches are a means of access to the world of work and business.
1. Business schools, IAE, IUT and BTS
- Business schools and IAE
Business schools and IAEs offer training specialized in Sales, Negotiation or Business Development to allow you to obtain Master's degrees (bac+5). These courses are longer and allow students to take the time to be interested and learn in the areas they like.
- IUT - Marketing technique
These courses train in sales professions by teaching students the commercial techniques And the tools (marketing, negotiation, management...). This course is very popular because professionalizing. It makes students more independent and versatile in the world of work.
- BTS MUC or NRC
These short courses (bac + 2) allow an introduction and a condensed learning of the basics of sales. This training links the theory To the practice : the students being operational as soon as they were released from BTS. They can also pursue a Bachelor's or Bachelor's degree to complete their studies.
Advantages and disadvantages of this type of training
✅ Benefits 1 - Becoming operational
The IUT and BTS allow you to learn a profession in 2 years! They are less general than IAEs and business schools allowing you to spend more time in the field. Be careful, however, to become a business developer, a BTS or IUT is not enough, you will have to continue to train in the field and know how to seize the right opportunities.
✅ Advantages 2 - Numerous opportunities
After 5 years of study in a business school or an IAE, the employability rate Is around 93%. These institutes benefit from a status that reaches national and even global companies and the networks are particularly efficient.
✅ Advantages 3 - Courses of all types
Some university or business school Master's degrees offer courses in alternation that not only allow you to benefit from Theoretical courses but also practices. They allow a first immersion in a company, in addition to financing the training.
❌ Disadvantages - The price
Private business and management schools are for the most part accessible through competitions or applications and present very high school fees (more than 10,000 euros per year depending on the school) that many cannot afford. Unlike business schools, IAE, BTS and bachelor's degrees are good courses less expensive : around 100 euros per year.
❌ Disadvantages - The format
Traditional courses are not necessarily always up-to-date in their content but also in their format. The aspect Very theoretical of apprenticeships can represent a real lack on the labor market, which is constantly evolving and is very challenging.
❌ Disadvantages - The lack of a specific curriculum
Few schools, IUT or BTS offer a path specific to the Business Developer profession. Overall, candidates who graduate from these schools draw their knowledge from a fairly global background and who then specialize during their employment.
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2. Online Business Development training
Today, there are educational and comprehensive online courses (Moocs) to start or complete your Business Development training.
These courses offer different types of content adapted to all levels so that everyone can learn at their own pace. These formats will appeal to the curious, self-taught and anyone who wants to discover this field and develop their interest in the subject in an innovative way.
Some platforms like Openclassrooms, Coursera and Udemy offer a structured and supervised teaching leading to real accreditation in Business Development. They come in the form of interactive and illustrated videos or short lessons covering all the concepts you need to know when you want to get started.
On another very current format on social networks and listening platforms, there are podcasts and influencers specialized in Business Development who regularly discuss this field. These platforms allow daily training. They will not teach you the job but will develop your skills and creativity for your prospecting campaigns and negotiations (responses to objections).
We can cite podcasts The Sales Game and The Heroes of Sales. These podcasts last about an hour and contain stories, news and sales tips, often provided by an external speaker. Fans of this type of content can regularly enjoy new releases, learn about various topics while doing other things at the same time.
A new generation of neo-professors is also emerging through social networks and the world of influence. These influencers like Elric Legloire and Thomas Ebrard are professionals or enthusiasts who discuss the mechanisms and secrets of Business Development. This means of communication is easy to access and allows you to meet an entire community with whom you share the same interests. These individuals can be a source of inspiration, teaching but also partners.
For regular documentation in the form of comprehensive articles, blogs such as that ofAkimbo, Salesforce and Hubspot publish regularly updated free content that is available to everyone. A lot of information such as job/sector profiles, Of sales guides and many other topics that make up Business Development are regularly published there. A newsletter is often available to receive new positions directly as soon as they are published.
Advantages and disadvantages of this type of training
✅ Benefits 1 - The price
The price requested to follow a Mooc depends on the content and the training time. However, the latter are much less expensive than classical training. Access to podcasts and blogs is often free and available to everyone.
✅ Benefits 2 - A current course
The content of these courses and courses is up-to-date, often referring to best practices of the moment. These are structures that observe changes and adapt to the image of society. These formats are also often held by young people active in the world of work.
✅ Benefits 3 - Accessibility
These different formats are often accessible to everyone. They are suitable for people who want to discover business development, as well as for those looking to develop their knowledge and skills during their career or as a hobby.
❌ Disadvantages 1 - Impersonal
Some people may smell a lack of support And of personalized advice with their technological interfaces. It can be difficult to find the motivation to continue learning or growing when you are active and no one is in control of your attendance.
❌ Disadvantages 2 - The lack of recognition
These organizations and contents are all too often less well recognized than classical training. Since many do not issue diplomas Or ofaccreditation, this discourages some from investing in it and prefer to invest their money and time in a more common structure.
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What are the practical courses to become a Business Developer?
1. Bootcamps to become a Business Developer
Becoming a Business Developer is a challenge: a job that requires versatility, of critical thinking And of the resiliency. These qualities and skills need to be mastered in order to hope to join and make a place for yourself in the world of Business Development.
Akimbo created the first Sales & Business Development school in Digital accessible to everyone. Faced with the variety of profiles and the high demand, Akimbo launched a Bootcamp to learn the best Business Development methods and quickly become operational.
These are regularly updated to deliver the best methods, tools and processes in order to be at the forefront of the expectations of startups throughout the sales cycle. These courses are supervised by Sales Coaches who focus their teaching on practice and important concepts, all remotely but also in person.
2. MyBizDev
MyBizDev is a free commercial training course supervised by expert business development coaches.
For three months, the individual learns peer-to-peer by working on real freelance missions offered for startups.
Accessible to all, this course allows concrete application and supervised and effective learning where candidates come out trained and paid.
Organized in person, this structure reproduces a real business situation in an educational setting: the student feels integrated, useful and rewarded. However, it seems that the structure has recently closed.
3. Schools that offer work-study programs
In addition to being a graduate, some courses offer work-study courses providing training and integration into the world of work. These solutions are increasingly in demand, allowing both to increase skills more quickly and to have a source of income.
Advantages and disadvantages of this type of training
✅ Benefits 1 - Building a professional experience as an employee
Thanks to their real immersion in the company, the work-study student is led to face real challenges and fulfill missions worthy of an employee. Throughout the duration of this training, he integrates concepts theoretical and practical, but also the qualities ofautonomy And ofinitiative. He becomes a fully-fledged part of the business where his work and what he has learned are recognized.
✅ Benefits 2 - Being considered an employee
In some courses where tuition fees are high, work-study programs can partly remedy this burden. Indeed, this experience will allow him to finance not only his studies but also part of his daily expenses. In addition to the salary, this status allows you to benefit from advantages (meal tickets, bonuses, etc.) but also paid leave.
✅ Advantages 3 - Facilitating professional integration
On the job market, a work-study student is more attractive than a student who has completed initial training. This training is a real springboard for apply your knowledge and gain experience, while enjoying a professional network. Moreover, it is not uncommon for the host company to recruit an apprentice in case of satisfaction at the end of his studies, and thus launch his career in such a way as to make him perform directly.
❌ Disadvantages 1 - Being committed over a certain period of time
Generally over 1 or 2 years, the work-study student is bound with the company by a contract. That is to say, if he does not like the mission or the work environment, it is almost impossible to change his situation. Mobility is very limited for the student during their studies and it can be frustrating or even counterproductive to be given repetitive or trivial tasks. Like any worker, he may need evolution and recognition.
❌ Disadvantages 2 - Be limited in remuneration
Because of the special status of work-study programs, the student does not benefit from a salary strictly speaking. His tuition fees and sometimes some supplements are covered but he does not benefit from other advantages. Faced with the situation and an often intensive pace, the absence of a “real” salary payment can be disheartening. Apprenticeships often have a limited place and remuneration is the result of this vision, which is too often seen as a decrease.
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What are the other ways to become a Business Developer?
- Involvement in associations
During his studies (often in business schools) but also during his free time, numerous associations and organizations can provide a hobby and a rewarding experience. Whether within sports, humanitarian or artistic organizations, positions at the sponsor or canvassing centers can initiate prospecting And at the negotiation. But an association also brings values and skills such as teamwork and organization, which it will be good to highlight in your experience. These initiatives are elements that will be useful in the world of work.
- entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is often an adventure valued by employers. In autonomy, the individual can legally choose to set up his own business (auto-entrepreneur), generally focused on a small activity (jewelry manufacturing, dropshipping...). Although it is a small model, the ability to manage productive and administrative tasks nevertheless proves a real organizational fitness and Of the will. Likewise, some business schools and institutes offer incubator services that help young people get started on their projects.
- Start with simple sales cycles
Being a Business Developer is generally a large-scale position. However, experiences as a customer/sales manager/field sales manager in small structures represent a good way to train and Increase your skills. It is a good experience of managerial And of Management with increased observation of the various departments that make up the complex sales cycle. From each role, there is a lesson to be learned and applied for the future.
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