Business Development Manager Resume: Sample & 20+ Tips

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Maciej Duszyński, CPRW

Career Expert

Updated: December 16, 2024

Reviewed by:

Roma Kończak, CPRW

Article Helpfulness:

4.67

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You’re the mastermind that takes companies from good to great. You help them embrace groundbreaking business opportunities, conquer new markets, and make big strategic wins.

Sounds good, but how do you actually persuade companies to hire you?

Offer them a business development resume that shows exactly how your strategic decisions, unique insights, and powerful communication skills will deliver long-term value to their specific company.

This guide will show you:

A business development resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
How to write a business development resume that will land you more interviews.
Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a business development resume.
How to describe your experience on a resume for a business development manager to get any job you want.

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Targeting other managerial positions in business? Check out our guides:

Business Development Manager Resume Sample

Alyson Hanger

alyson.hanger@gmail.com

248-866-7428

Objective

Self-motivated and success-driven business development manager with 7+ years of experience in solution selling and new business development. Eager to support Majestic Inc. with superb knowledge of omnichannel processes, including online marketing and value-added services. In previous roles negotiated a $2.5M contract and boosted company sales by 30% among others.

Work Experience

Business Development Manager

Presso, New York, NY

2013–2015

Collaborated with business development, marketing, and product departments on the creation of competitive concept proposals.
Developed new service offerings based on detailed and documented insights of market and client needs.
Managed and maintained a structured analysis of target markets, clients, and documentation in the CRM system.
Provided market intelligence and feedback to global and regional teams on the market, industry, and competitors’ developments.
Built and maintained relationships with key contacts at potential clients, consulting companies and partners in order to get access to new opportunities.

Key achievement:

Negotiated the largest design and production contract to date: 2-year exclusivity agreement worth USD2.5 million.
Boosted company revenue by 30% during the first year of employment

Business Development Manager

Arriva Inc., New York, NY

2011–2013

Prospected for potential new clients and turned them into increased avenues of business.
Developed relationships with senior decision makers (incl. CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, or VPs) within potential clients.
Developed negotiating strategies and positions by examining risks and potentials as well as estimating partners' needs and goals.
Worked closely with SVP and GM to develop customer acquisition strategies to obtain maximum sales volume and profitability.
Developed and oversaw marketing functions to identify key marketing strategies for successful new customer acquisition and sales growth.
Enhanced organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

Key achievements:

Researched and built relationships with 20+ new clients by planning approaches and pitches.
Helped sales representative grow their territory sales by 20% YOY.

Education

MBA

Hunter College, New York, NY

2015

B.A., Marketing

Baruch College, New York, NY

2011

Key Skills

D2C e-commerce solutions
Omnichannel processes
Teamwork
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
MS Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word)
Rapport building
Customer acquisition
Social media

Certifications

PRINCE2
Google eCommerce Analytics Training
Google Analytics

Languages

German—Communicative
French—Communicative

Interests

Mediterranean cuisine
Nordic walking

Here’s how to write a business development resume that builds rapport with the hiring manager without delay.

1. Choose the Best Format for Your Business Development Resume

As a business development manager, you know that the key to successful sales is a great relationship with the client.

Start building a long-lasting relationship with the recruiter by following these tips:

Let your business development resume begin with a resume header. This is where you put your contact details and name on a resume.
Make sure the order of your resume sections is logical and easy to follow.
Your business development resume format matters. Chronological resume layout is the go-to standard as it accentuates your experience and accomplishments.
Be sure to use the right font size for your resume. It must be well visible and readable.
White space is there for you to use. So avoid adding too much information.
Not sure if you should submit your resume in the PDF or Word format? PDFs are the best, but if you’re asked to send an MS Word file, just comply.

2. Write a Business Development Resume Objective or Summary

Here’s the thing—

It is vital to know how to write a profile in your resume.

Your resume profile is a short blurb at the top of your business development resume in the style of an elevator pitch.

You can choose between:

A business development resume summary. It’s a great option if you have at least 2 years of professional experience. It’s a short 2- or 3-sentence paragraph presenting your experience and key accomplishments.

A business development resume objective works great for entry-level positions and career changers. It’s a short paragraph whose main focus is on your transferable skills that make you a great fit for the role.

In each case, your business development resume will become more impressive if you include numbers and percentages that show how capable you really are.

Pro Tip: You can write this section of your business development manager resume at the very end. Once you’ve got the full version, it will be much easier to pick out the highlights.

3. Create the Perfect Business Development Resume Job Description Section

Listen:

It’s not enough to know how to mention your experience in a resume.

Your new business development resume must clearly show—

You’re simply the best.

So—

Tailor your resume to show off your relevant experience and skills:

Start off with your current position. Then mention the previous ones.
Put company names, locations, dates worked, and job titles in all entries.
Describe your experience on a bullet point list. Stay under 7 bullet points in each entry.
Make sure each bullet contains the right words to use on a resume, e.g. managed, built, negotiated, enhanced, etc.
Try to quantify your experience as much as you can with numbers and percentages.
Focus on the relevant experience. Don’t list everything you’ve ever done.

Pro Tip: Put your most impressive accomplishments in a key achievements subsection.

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4. Make Your Business Development Resume Education Section Deliver

Just like all the other sections—

Your business development resume education section can’t be underdeveloped.

Here’s what to put under education on a resume:

If you have over 5 years of experience, list the school name, location, graduation year, and degree earned. That’s about it.
Under 5 years of experience? Consider adding info on your GPA (if you scored above 3.5), relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, as well as academic achievements.

Wondering how to list certifications on your resume?

It’s best to put them in a separate section, so they’re clearly visible.

Pro Tip: If you’re writing your resume within 3 years of graduation, consider adding info on your GPA if it’s above 3.5.

5. Highlight Your Business Development Skills

Show the hiring manager you’ve got what it takes to take the company to new heights.

Use the list below as a source of inspiration and a list of business development resume keywords you may want to include

Business Development Manager Resume—Skills

Customer acquisition
D2C e-commerce solutions
Financial planning
Logistics requirements
MS Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word)
Omnichannel processes
Presentation skills
Product development
Sales management
Sales marketing budget
Social media
Team management

Remember: Don’t clutter your business development resume with every single skill you have. Pick out the ones relevant to the job.

This is how to do it right:

Start with preparing a list of all your skills and abilities (include your hard skills, and list your technical skills as well).
Take another look at the job posting to see what skills are mentioned there specifically.
Look at your own skill list and pick out the skills you see in the job ad.
Focus on the skills you’re proficient at. Pick out up to 10 for your key skills section.
Sprinkle your entire business development resume with your top skills. Your resume profile and experience sections are great places.

Insights from 11 million resumes crafted with our builder show that:

On average, the typical resume for a Business Developer Representative includes 18 skills.
Skills such as business development, lead generation, marketing, and relationship building are top choices for Business Development Reps.
The average resume length for Business Development Representative is 2.9 pages.

6. Add Other Sections to Your Business Development Resume

Impress the recruiter even more by adding extra sections to your business development resume:

7. Attach a Business Development Resume Cover Letter

Keep asking yourself:

Do I need a cover letter for my resume?

Well, you do.

If you write a cover letter, you’ll be instantly better than half of the candidates because that many of them don’t do that.

And half of the recruiters do expect a cover letter from you.

Follow the tips below and learn how to write a good cover letter in a flash:

First of all, learn the cover letter formatting rules.
Next, find out how to start cover letter so it’s riveting.
Demonstrate how your experience translates into their success.
Make sure your cover letter closing calls them to action.

See to it that the length of your cover letter isn’t discouraging.

Pro Tip: Send a follow up email after application to show you’re seriously interested.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

You’ve done it!

This is how you make a job-winning resume for business development positions.

Are you writing a new business development resume for the first time? Or perhaps you’re a seasoned pro eager to help the rookies out? We’d love to hear from you, leave your comment below!

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