“As far as remuneration is concerned, it is worth remembering that these type of employees like uncapped incentive compensation” – Marie Taquet, CEO and founder of IconoClass.
In a high-pressure post-COVID commercial context, business developers, also known as sales engineers, are faring well. With their ability to manage protracted and complex sales, they keep companies economically stable even when sales are at a standstill. In the following article, we paint a picture of business developers, or commercial 3.0s!
“Forty-five per cent of business developer positions are held by women” (France 2021: The Jobs of the Future (linkedin.com)). (France 2021: The Jobs of the Future (linkedin.com))
Some people mistakenly believe that business developers are seasoned salespeople who start managing a high-end customer base using the same sales techniques. On the contrary, they have a very specific set of hard and soft skills allowing them to hold an extremely strategic post for their company over time. They also have to be able to demonstrate resilience and evolve in a fiercely competitive environment.
Business developers are the sales representatives who work on protracted and complex sales which are exclusive to the B2B sector. They have a high level of expertise in their field of activity, and they understand the sector as well as how things operate, allowing them to work in close cooperation with technical teams to provide customers with optimised solutions.
Business developers are sales technicians. They have experience, a network, an address book full of contacts and sound knowledge of their sector of activity, but also handle the latest tools: CRM for complex sales, data aggregation tools to facilitate statistical analysis and the industrialisation of reporting – this is especially the case for business developers who work in highly regulated sectors such as health or insurance. Business developers are evolving in the digital age!
Since the COVID-19 crisis, business developers have also had to adapt by organising fewer in-person customer meetings, cutting back travelling and using videoconferencing more etc. Remote selling is part of their day-to-day life and they’re now having to revise their sales pitches to maintain their relationship with customers.
Business developers are strategists who implement their company’s sales development objectives. They collaborate with all of their company’s departments (finance, legal, marketing and development among others) so that they know their field inside out. If there are no opportunities to be taken, they understand the market well enough to create opportunities!
With their entrepreneurial spirit, analytical mind, good organisation, interpersonal and communication skills, strategic thinking, adaptability, innovative capacity and mastery of sales techniques, business developers have a comprehensive profile. A precious jewel can be hard to find.
Depending on their sector, business developers can easily be found evolving in an international context, especially in the biotechnology sector which, since marketing authorisations (MA) were obtained, has been looking for international business developers to distribute products (« Remuneration Study 2021 – Page Group »)
Developing business (relaunching production and winning new contracts) is what companies are most concerned about today, with 38% giving it priority (Remuneration Study 2021 – Page Group).
Business developers are market analysis experts! They understand customer needs, try out commercial opportunities, define their company’s business plan, determine KPIs, take into account the challenges facing the company’s various departments and have to persuade their hierarchy to implement their commercial strategy. They are a driving force in their company.
Business developers are responsible for the commercial development of their company and set the tone. They lead sales teams and ensure the smooth running of operations on the one hand, but also have to give instructions to employees in other departments and collaborate with the various teams on the other.
Business developers manage a customer portfolio and ensure new contract are negotiated while building on customer loyalty. Thanks to their industry expertise, they can work on protracted and complex sales because they have expert knowledge of their sectors regulations or simply because they have to be innovative to provide new solutions requiring research and development.
They have a strong command of sales techniques such as upselling or cross-selling, and are driven by the objective of increasing their company’s turnover!
Business developers are true performers. Their work is based on quantitative targets and their remuneration primarily has to reflect their ability to attain the targets set for them. As such, they are rarely paid on a commission basis.
A junior business developer earns between 30,000 and 40,000 euros gross, but they are mainly involved in prospecting and customer acquisition.
With five to 15 years of experience, their salary varies from 35,000 to 70,000 euros gross with a variable component ranging from 25 to 50% (Remuneration Study 2021 – Page Group). At this level, business developers mainly deal with customer loyalty and specialise in highly regulated sectors (such as health, IT and insurance).
Business developers have become essential to overcome the COVID-19 crisis because they have pivotal skills at a time when the structuring of sales positions is undergoing an unprecedented transformation.