What does a business development professional do?

A Business Development Professional, also known as a Business Development Specialist, is responsible for a variety of tasks geared toward a business's growth and development. Specifically, they may be responsible for identifying and creating business growth opportunities, as well as optimizing marketing plans and strategies. Business Development Professionals also help review finances and business processes, create and implement business plans, and establish meaningful community network connections. They may also be involved with seeking out and facilitating mergers and acquisitions when they make fiscal sense for the company. A successful Business Development Professional will have customer service and communication skills, experience or skills in marketing, forecasting and data analysis skills, project planning and management skills, and sales experience.