25 of the Highest Paying Business Development Jobs in 2026

The best Business Development jobs can pay up to $193,000 per year.

High Paying Business Development Jobs

• Vice President of Business Development

  Salary range: $119,000 - $193,000

  A vice president of business development is responsible for setting company sales targets and marketing goals. Their job duties include developing production and sales goals, consulting with management about the overall monetary health of the organization, getting new contracts, and overseeing salespeople. Qualifications to be the VP of business development include a bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics, business, or a related subject, and many years of experience in a sales job. Strong written and verbal communication, leadership, and math skills are useful for this career.

• Channel Development Manager

  Salary range: $116,000 - $134,500

  A channel development manager partners with sales marketers and business associates to develop marketing techniques and strategies to reach customers in a specific channel. You are the link between businesses and customers, and your job duties include recruiting candidates, creating resources to reach customers, and managing or teaching other channel managers. A career as a channel developer requires you have some formal qualifications and education, typically at least a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field, and a minimum of five years of experience in sales or marketing and management. Developing relationships with channel partners is necessarily interpersonal, so you should emphasize skills in communication, organization, and developing messaging strategies.

• Dealer Development Manager

  Salary range: $56,500 - $128,000

  As a dealer development manager, your job is to coordinate the establishment and growth of new dealerships on behalf of the primary company. In this context, a dealership is a branded store, such as a fast food restaurant or a bank branch, that is allowed some autonomy in its operations. For example, as a dealer development manager in the automotive industry, you may help a new owner decide where to place a car dealership, what vehicles to stock, what management structure to have, and what sales techniques the staff should learn. In this career, you frequently help develop business plans and sales strategies, monitor the performance of early employees, act as a liaison between the dealership and a dealer service center, and ensure the new dealership adheres to all company policies. Dealer development managers typically train and work with dealership employees at all levels, not just management and executives.

• Chief Business Officer

  Salary range: $81,000 - $121,000

  As a chief business officer (CBO), your responsibilities include coordinating with the CEO, finance committee, and other leaders of a company or university to precisely allocate resources to meet strategic and financial goals. You follow various strategies, such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), to make sure the company meets federal and state regulatory standards. In the information technology industry, you provide executive leadership and assist with strategic planning. You also oversee contracts, human resources, procurement, compliance, risk management, and more. Other duties include serving as an internal consultant on financial matters and suggesting strategies that keep the business aligned with budgeting and growth goals.

• Proposal Manager

  Salary range: $80,500 - $118,000

  As a proposal manager, your primary responsibilities involve preparing company proposals and working to ensure you meet goals on time. Your duties require you to collaborate with marketing, operations, business development, and other departments to review information and assess the most efficient and effective plan. You write a draft, prepare a presentation, and bring your recommendations to clients. You manage the request for proposal (RFP) from start to finish and assist along the way. You maintain the resource materials, check that you are following proper procedures and standards, and communicate with outside vendors as needed.

• Corporate Development Analyst

  Salary range: $77,500 - $117,500

  The function of a corporate development analyst is to research business decisions and information to determine how to improve these decisions in a way that supports corporate development. Your duties and responsibilities in this career include monitoring business information, conducting data interpretation, and coming up with recommendations for improving business processes that help grow the business and expand its reach into new customer segments. You may focus on specific aspects of corporate development, such as employee performance improvement, asset and risk management, productivity and efficiency gains, or cost-cutting measures.

• Sba Business Development Officer

  Salary range: $83,500 - $115,000

  The job duties of an SBA business development officer include working to provide financial product and business services advice and helping with the loan application process for business customers who are eligible for programs run by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Your responsibilities include working with small and medium-sized businesses; you may offer banking services from your employer, solicit new small business customers, and work to develop a relationship with existing clients. This job may include working with the SBA to research and understand the available programs, services, and eligibility requirements.

• Business Developer

  Salary range: $51,500 - $111,500

  A business developer is an executive or high-level sales rep whose primary goal is to help their company or clients increase revenue. In this role, you develop strategies to attract new customers and engage existing ones. You may work through a development agency or be retained in-house. Regardless of where you work, your goals are to determine customer choices, add value to the company, and improve consumer engagement. You work closely with the marketing and advertising departments as well as product design if your job is in the manufacturing industry. Business developers work in business-to-business, business-to-customer, and non-profit sectors.

• Capture Manager

  Salary range: $58,500 - $107,500

  A capture manager works in sales development on behalf of a company or business. Their job is to convince any sales leads to sign contracts with the company. Duties include making a proposal for the customer to consider and overseeing the sales team as they complete negotiations. A capture manager may also be responsible for hiring and training new team members. Qualifications often include a bachelor’s degree in business administration or a related field.

• Bid Manager

  Salary range: $35,000 - $107,000

  The job of a bid manager is to oversee the bid process for goods or services. As the manager, you direct a group of bid specialists to analyze budgetary and financial concerns, assess the needs of the company, and research pricing for a service or product. You and your team then develop a request for a proposal outlining the technical and financial requirements, which is sent out to potential bidders for a contract. After receiving the proposals, you assess the bids and move on to the procurement stage.

• RFP Writer

  Salary range: $48,500 - $106,000

  An RFP writer is responsible for producing documents known as Requests for Proposal or RFP. These request documents are sent out to vendors so that they can bid on the proposal. Your job duties include researching the requirements for the bid, writing the RFP document, and researching laws associated with the bid process. The qualifications for this career include a bachelor’s degree, although some employers may prefer a master’s degree in business, English, or communications. You need strong writing skills and must have experience with proposals.

• Business Development Executive

  Salary range: $63,000 - $100,000

  A business development executive is responsible for developing growth in the company through increased sales and customer acquisition. Your job duties as a business development executive are to generate sales leads, contact potential clients, and nurture existing customer relationships. You also promote products and services, represent the company at networking events and conferences, travel to events and meetings with key clients, conduct online research via social media platforms to discover leads and new target markets, and help plan and oversee marketing and advertising initiatives. This career requires excellent sales, management, and interpersonal skills.

• Business Development Manager

  Salary range: $61,000 - $100,000

  A business development manager (BDM) works to develop business relationships or strategic partnerships on behalf of an organization. They work with existing clients or use their contacts to find and develop sales leads. A business development manager is typically considered a marketing executive that is tasked with facilitating company growth. Career qualifications for a BDM include a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration as well as marketing or sales experience.

• Business Development Analyst

  Salary range: $65,000 - $99,500

  As a business development analyst, your primary responsibilities include maintaining business relationships and handling the growth and success of a business, reporting all the details of the company back to your supervisor. Your duties involve researching market insights, opportunities for new growth, industry trends, and more. You work on the administrative side to give insight on pricing and develop a model to guide the organization towards the best future. You interpret your findings and propose a course of action. You are also responsible for keeping records and gathering data on retention of clients and finances.

• Franchise Development Manager

  Salary range: $68,000 - $99,000

  A franchise development manager works for a franchise company, seeks out prospective franchise owners, and lays the groundwork for completing a contract with a new franchise owner. Your duties and responsibilities are to collaborate with the sales and marketing departments of your business and identify growth strategies, plans, and goals for increasing the number of franchises in a region or district. You then carry out those strategies, recruiting candidates to become new franchise owners and negotiating a contract. You also inform new franchise owners on contractual agreements, sales expectations, and branding.

• Business Development Officer

  Salary range: $67,500 - $98,000

  A business development officer is responsible for increasing company sales through marketing, research, and lead generation. As a business development officer, your job duties may include performing market research to improve products and services, identifying methods to increase productivity and company operations, and communicating potential changes with shareholders and other business leaders. The career typically requires a bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, or a related field and relevant work experience. Additional qualifications include excellent analytical, research, and communication skills, as well as leadership ability and business savvy.

• Proposal Writer

  Salary range: $63,500 - $90,500

  Proposal writers compose documents to gain support for a project, enter into a business agreement, or convince clients to buy products and services. To complete the proposal, they usually work with a team to research a specific issue, conduct interviews, collect information, and organize the data before submitting the application or sending the contract to a client. Proposal writers may work for non-profit organizations or private companies, or they may be freelancers who work for many different businesses. Some proposal writers specialize in a specific industry, such as grant writing for non-profit organizations.

• Business Development Professional

  Salary range: $50,000 - $89,500

  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.

• Proposal Specialist

  Salary range: $51,000 - $80,000

  A proposal specialist coordinates contracts for potential clients to generate new business. As a proposal specialist, you collaborate with the sales and design departments to develop accurate descriptions of how the company can provide the goods or services the client needs. Your job duties may include researching market rates, writing copy for the proposal, and determining pricing and timelines for the project. To become a proposal specialist, you need a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field, and have excellent writing skills.

• Business Development Specialist

  Salary range: $47,000 - $78,500

  A business development specialist is a sales professional who sells products or services for a particular company. As a business development specialist, your job duties include making cold calls and email pitches to leads and potential clients, traveling to meet with existing clients or make in-person sales pitches, and providing training sessions or consultations. These sessions explain how your company’s products or services can meet the your clients’ needs. You also follow up with clients on a regular basis to share new information or answer questions.

• Event Sales Manager

  Salary range: $52,500 - $75,000

  An event sales manager supervises an event space for a hotel, concert venue, business building, or conference center. Your duties include being the chief contact for all customer inquiries and requests about the space, consulting with clients about every detail of an event to ensure that it runs smoothly, prospecting new sales, and managing revenue documentation. The qualifications for a career as an event sales manager include job experience in event planning and management, customer service skills, and, in some cases, a bachelor’s degree and certification. Other useful skills include strong scheduling and organizational awareness and the ability to market the space to new clients.

• Proposal Coordinator

  Salary range: $55,000 - $73,000

  The responsibilities of a proposal coordinator include the preparation and revision of each job bid or submission on behalf of a company. They typically prepare a bid based on a request for proposal (RFP) from a prospective client. They may assign the task to members of the marketing staff and then create a revision that serves as the final proposal. A successful proposal coordinator researches each potential business or client before submitting a bid specific to their needs. Qualifications include a degree and experience drafting project proposals in a particular industry, such as construction or advertising.

• Bid Writer

  Salary range: $64,000 - $72,000

  A bid writer prepares proposals for services to try to win contracts for their company or clients. As a bid writer, you may work directly for a business or write bids for clients in a variety of fields through a bid or proposal writing agency. Your job duties include discovering business opportunities, researching the industry or service you are bidding for, and collecting evidence to respond to bid pre-qualification questions. You also gather documents and information for bid proposals and follow up with bids through the submission process.

• Business Development Coordinator

  Salary range: $43,000 - $66,000

  A business development coordinator performs a variety of duties related to improving sales and client services. You are tasked with continually improving relationships and communication with existing clients and seeking out new clients. Coordinators work in a variety of fields, including finance, manufacturing, and services. A career as a business development coordinator requires you have some formal job qualifications and education, typically a bachelor’s degree in business or a related field. You should have strong written and verbal communication skills, excellent customer service, and prior experience in sales or account management.

• Business Development Consultant

  Salary range: $46,500 - $65,500

  As a business development consultant, you provide advice and analytical services to an organization or company, particularly new businesses in need of a solid operational foundation. You analyze and assess current (or proposed) business practices and provide insight into how to change policies and strategies to improve efficiency, marketing, or sales opportunities. You help new or struggling businesses develop solid strategies based on data-driven research and proven best practices.