Business development is the finding side of sales: spotting firms that need what you sell, opening the conversation and getting to a yes. Be honest with yourself about the hard parts. You will hear no far more often than yes, targets are public and commission means pay moves with results. Plenty of people find that pressure energising rather than crushing, and the ceiling is high: good business development people are among the best paid in most firms. Entry rarely needs qualifications; it needs resilience, curiosity and the nerve to ask.
Mornings often start with a list of prospects your AI tools researched overnight, ready for you to pick the ones worth your time. The day runs on conversations: calls, meetings and messages, with the follow-ups drafted for you. Some days a deal lands and the whole team hears about it. Other days nothing lands, and you go again tomorrow.
AI now finds the prospects, drafts the outreach, chases the follow-ups and writes up every call. The high-volume, script-driven end of sales is automating fast. The part that endures is persuasion with judgement: knowing which door to knock on, and being the person a stranger decides to trust.
There are no formal academic requirements, and training usually happens on the job. Vocational sales qualifications at Levels 2 and 3 are available if you want them.
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Account manager · Recruitment consultant