What is a senior business development manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
Quoted Expert
Annemarie Franczyk
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A senior business development manager identifies and pursues business opportunities that generate growth and revenue. They build relationships with clients, partners, and stakeholders, and develop strategies to expand the company's market share. A senior business development manager conducts market research, analyzes data, and makes recommendations for new products or services. They also negotiate contracts and collaborate with other departments. A senior business development manager drives business growth by seeking new opportunities and maintaining relationships.

What general advice would you give to a Senior Business Development Manager?

A

Annemarie FranczykAnnemarie Franczyk LinkedIn Profile

Associate Professor, Buffalo State College

Never settle and never settle down. Both notions suggest dropping where you are and staying put and being hopelessly stuck. When you're hopelessly stuck, you're not learning, growing and advancing. Always look for the next opportunity to do something interesting. Take chances. If you do, you will have a lifetime of no regrets.
ScoreSenior Business Development ManagerUS Average
Salary
8.4

Avg. Salary $129,638

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
7.5

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 25.15%

male 74.85%

Age - 38
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38
Stress Level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
9.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
3.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Senior Business Development Manager?

Pros

  • High earning potential

  • Opportunities for career advancement

  • Exposure to global markets and international business

  • Variety of roles available in different industries

  • Potential for travel and international assignments

Cons

  • Long working hours, including evenings and weekends

  • High levels of competition for jobs and promotions

  • Often required to work on multiple projects simultaneously

  • Risk of burnout due to high workload and demanding deadlines

  • Need to maintain a high level of professionalism at all times

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Senior Business Development Manager career paths

Key steps to become a senior business development manager

  1. Explore senior business development manager education requirements

    Most common senior business development manager degrees

    Bachelor's

    72.7 %

    Master's

    19.4 %

    Associate

    4.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior business development manager skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Healthcare7.09%
    Cloud5.43%
    Business Relationships5.24%
    Account Management5.14%
    Project Management4.09%
  3. Complete relevant senior business development manager training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior business development managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior business development manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior business development manager resumes.
  4. Research senior business development manager duties and responsibilities

    • Manage the distributor/end user relationship in all accounts maintaining focus on emerging healthcare segments.
    • Lead and manage large RFP responses to ensure corporate objectives for profitability, sustainability, and operational delivery objectives are meet.
    • Develop trusting, lucrative business relationships with key decision makers as a proponent of healthcare technology integration initiatives.
    • Execute first lighting IP agreement with Lumenetix.
  5. Get senior business development manager experience

    Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a senior business development manager. The most common roles before becoming a senior business development manager include business development manager, account executive team lead and account manager.
  6. Prepare your senior business development manager resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior business development manager resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior business development manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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    Build a professional Senior Business Development Manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Senior Business Development Manager resume.
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    Senior Business Development Manager Resume
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    Senior Business Development Manager Resume
    Senior Business Development Manager Resume
  7. Apply for senior business development manager jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior business development manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Senior Business Development Manager Job

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Are you a Senior Business Development Manager?

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Average senior business development manager salary

The average Senior Business Development Manager salary in the United States is $129,638 per year or $62 per hour. Senior business development manager salaries range between $94,000 and $178,000 per year.

Average Senior Business Development Manager Salary
$129,638 Yearly
$62.33 hourly

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Senior Business Development Manager reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2023
Pros

Rule of thumb with international travel is be ready for serious jet-lag!

Cons

rule of thumb with international travel is to have jet-lag non-stop!


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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2021
Cons

Juggling multiple tasks and projects was always a constant struggle. I also felt very frustrated at times working with third party vendors and consultants remotely.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

Innovating a business model is key for a profitable business and growth. Without a proper and sustainable business model, even the best product or technology innovations will not flourish. Learn the skills and knowledge needed to start improving your business as you learn through real-life examples from fellow entrepreneurs, innovators and leading experts on business model innovation. Benefit business owners, entrepreneurs, business consultants or business developers who seek better understanding of business models and the tools to develop them.

Cons

There's nothing much not to like about this role.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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