Top Qualities to look for when hiring a Business Developer
Finding remarkable Business Development Professionals can be a hard task, although most recruiters look for employees with long experience in business development, they may not be the best candidates, they can be one of those employees who have 10 years of experience which consists of 1 year multiplied by 10, instead you should seek to hire based on qualities and traits plus experience; find candidates who are proactive, caring, possess leadership skills and can still be good followers, these are almost rare to find as only few people reach that level of professionalism at work.
In terms of education, almost any person regardless of the background can become a business developer, if you do a quick search over LinkedIn you will find that the most talented Business Development Professionals have an MBA degree, MBA graduates make excellent Business Developers as they understand how the business operates as a whole, they have knowledge in HR, Marketing, Accounting, Strategic Management, Project Management, Logistics, Business Planning and much more.
Now here are the main qualities you should look for when you hire a Business Development Professional:
They are excellent communicators
As the business world is becoming increasingly service oriented; it would be nice if all the company employees were good communicators but for business developers it’s a must.
They are great communicators who can easily adapt to their audience, they build rapport quickly and they build up to their point straight so they do not waste the other person time.
They are always polite and diplomatic when making requests, they use straight forward language when they speak or write in order to avoid misunderstandings, they are patient when dealing with difficult personalities and know how to absorb the anger and frustration of the client, colleagues & managers, they are great listeners who don’t jump to conclusions or interrupt the other person while talking, they are highly persuasive and influential and they are constantly looking to improve their communication style.
They are caring and possess a high level of empathy
Great Business Developers always demonstrate interest in other people around, they are excellent in starting conversations and really interested in learning about from other people they engage, the recognize the contributions of other people around them and do not care to take credit for the jobs done.
Their ability to influence others comes from their high level of empathy; their ability to put themselves in other people shoes and see things from the other person perspective, this ability attracts people around them because they are always able to connect with other people around them on an emotional level.
They are highly proactive and love taking initiative
Regardless of the company size, a good business developer will not wait to be told what needs to be done and will always look to do what it takes to get things done.
When a certain project is at risk, they will know without being told because they always think ahead to be ready to jump into and save without being asked.
Hiring a reactive person to do business development can be a vital mistake, a reactive employee will rarely take initiative, they prefer to stay in their comfort zone, they need to be micromanaged and told what needs to be done and how to do it, and they need to be closely monitored at all times.
On the other hand, a proactive person is the total opposite of that, they do not like to be micromanaged, they like to be told what needs to be done and they will go their own way to get it done, they do not like to be closely monitored and will often rebel if faced with a manager tries to micromanage and monitor them every step of the way.
Proactive business development employees are highly talented employees very often and are in high demand, retaining them at your company and keeping them away from recruiters eyes is hard so they need to be provided with a good compensation package that includes a good salary and commission system to keep them motivated, remember that once they receive an invitation for an interview they will most likely get a job offer so you should make sure you keep them happy at work by keeping them secured financially and as long as they get results, let them have their own way.
They drive change
Remarkable Business Developers are often different, they prefer to be unusual, some may view them as quirky and odd in a good way, they believe that you should not waste your time trying to fit in when you can always stand out.
Unusual sometimes can shake things around, make work more fun and even change certain traits of the common culture, they understand that change is often faced with resistance and they are never afraid to stretch the boundaries more, challenge the status quo in order to change it.
Knowing when to back off
Although different and unusual can be fun, when things get heated, a good business developer will know when to dial it down and be part of the group.
They know when to take a stand and when to back off, when to stand out and when to conform, they always look to strike a balance between their individuality and their role as member of a team, this balance is hard to achieve but they constantly seek to reach.
They are humble and passionate about what they love
Great Business Developers do not like to be complimented, and only offer genuine sincere compliments so they do not come across as fake, they find that having a strong ego distasteful, yet they are passionate about doing what they love and always look to develop themselves further to become better in what they do.
They speak up when others won’t
Some employees do not prefer to speak up in meetings, others hesitate to speak up in private, they lack the leadership skills to put themselves in the front and say what they really think.
During a recent training I had about a new product range we are developing, after the training the trainer told me “You asked a lot of questions during the training, some you asked me before and already know their answer!” I told him “I do know the answers but a lot of the others don’t, and when none of them asked these questions I thought it would help that they hear the answers from you”.
Remarkable Business Developers have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of those around them, they will often step up and raise important issues when others won’t.
They are not afraid to make mistakes and always willing to admit shortcomings
Great Business Developers are not arrogant know it all type of people, they understand their strengths and shortcomings, they are comfortable and not threatened about delegating others to fill up areas where they lack knowledge or the skills, they do not worry about making mistakes or failing a certain job, they understand that with every job there are risks and progress depends on taking an extra step forward, they know they will not be right the whole time and they will admit when they make a mistake.
For them; making mistake is part of the learning cycle, when things go wrong, they are always ready to take action to correct it and later on they will reflect and learn how to avoid such mistake in future.
Try- Fail- Learn- Improve- Repeat
They are creative and innovative
A good business developer follows a process, a great business developer improves the existing process, if a process does not exist they will take the initiative to create it, not because they are expected to, but because they can’t help it.
Motivated by continuous learning and committed to continuous development
They love to be given opportunities to work on something new, constantly pushing their learning curve, they are hungry for knowledge and absorb new knowledge like a sponge.
Great problem solvers
They always try to be one step ahead of everyone else and anticipate potential problems, rather than worrying about the problem itself they focus on finding solutions, they can come up with unusual solutions because they always think outside the box.
They think positively and are highly constructive
During the interview, you should always look to identify if the candidate looks for the full or empty half of the glass, candidates who think in a positive manner are more likely to succeed at work than negative employees, the last thing you want is a negative business developer among your team, with time, his negativity will spread to others around like a disease and can lead to demotivating the team members.
If you are reading this and identified a negative business developer among your team or identified a negative employee among your staff, take my advice, let him go, he is probably better off somewhere else, if you cannot let him go, try to isolate him as much as possible from interacting with other team members, his negativity will spread to others around him like a disease.
The reason I used the term ‘Constructive’ after positive thinking is; sometimes positive thinking may imply wishful thinking and hoping, hope includes uncertainty, constructive on the other hand deals with uncertainty and removes it, constructive people know exactly what needs to be achieved, identify what needs to be done to make it happen, point out obstacles and challenges that needs to be addressed and take all necessary measures to get them out of the way, they never accept NO or I CAN'T as an answer and will knock on every door needed until they get things done.
Now that is the type of business developer who you want to be on your team.
All of these qualities of remarkable business developers are rarely found in one individual, but you should always be looking for them all. Do not trust CV when hiring because they can be tricky and deceiving, look for these traits in the interview phase instead, your business development team must comprise of people who possess these qualities or together the complete them.
What other qualities do you think a business developer should have? Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.
References
