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Business Development Manager

​A business development manager (BDM) is the person in charge of generating new business for a company. Essentially a sales professional, a BDM’s day-to-day role involves pitching the business to potential new partners, managing client relations, and being the key contact for partnerships. A BDM is usually adept at seeking new business collaboration opportunities, and there can be multiple BDMs within a single company.

What Does a Day in the Life of a Business Development Manager Look Like?

Depending on the company, a BDM’s key responsibilities can vary widely. BDMs often participate in plenty of meetings, which could be organized around pitching the company to new partnerships, researching new partners, or liaising with existing collaborations. When working remotely, a BDM’s role will rely heavily on phone calls and video conferences. Exploring new collaboration opportunities involves a lot of research, making this one of the more independent aspects of the role. A BDM’s other tasks are typically more dynamic and socially oriented, involving a lot of speaking to both partners and clients.

What Responsibilities Does a Business Development Manager Have?

The main responsibilities of business development managers involve liaising with existing partners and securing new partnerships to maintain business flow. BDM’s explore multiple sources of business in order to maintain a wide range of opportunities. One of the key aspects of a BDM role is the ability to maintain strong relationships. This involves keeping partners motivated, happy, and incentivized. Finding the right partners is paramount, as a BDM needs to ensure their products are being shown to the right kind of clients.

What Qualifications Do You Need to Be a Business Development Manager? 

While there are no formal qualifications required to be a BDM, industry-specific experience can give you a leg up. University graduates may struggle to jump straight into a BDM role and may benefit from starting at the ground level to prepare for the more challenging aspects of the job. Certain personal skills, such as presentation skills, attention to detail, and communication skills, will help a lot. Additionally, proficiency in programs like Word and Excel will always be a benefit.

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Business Development Manager?

Communication is the most important skill for a BDM role, as BDMs are constantly communicating with partners, clients, and new contacts. It is also important to have good interpersonal skills and be adept at presenting and pitching. Attention to detail is also crucial, especially when juggling multiple client relationships. A personal touch goes a long way for a BDM, as being personable and transparent in your communication is a great way of gaining trust and building confidence. Replying to contacts promptly, following up on new contacts, and keeping in touch with your existing network are all fundamental as well.

What Does a Business Development Manager Earn?

Depending on the company, some BDM roles will pay a salary plus a commission based on certain targets. In companies like MT-finance, the BDM team works together to meet specific targets every month.

​Ipswich (/ˈɪpswɪtʃ/ (About this soundlisten)) is a historic county town in Suffolk, England. The town is located in East Anglia about 10 miles away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line railway and the A12 road, it is 66 miles (106 km) north-east of London, 54 miles (89 km) east-southeast of Cambridge, and 45 miles (72 km) south of Norwich. Ipswich is surrounded by two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); Suffolk Coast and Heaths and Dedham Vale.

Ipswich's modern name is derived from the medieval name Gippeswic, likely taken either from an Old Saxon personal name or from an earlier name given to the Orwell Estuary (although unrelated to the name of the River Gipping).[1][2] It has also been known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche.[3] The town has been continuously occupied since the Saxon period,[3] and is contested to be one of the oldest towns in the United Kingdom.[4] Ipswich was a settlement of great economic importance to England throughout its history, particularly in trade.[5] The town's historical dock, present-day Ipswich Waterfront, was known as the largest and most important dock in the kingdom.[5][6]

Ipswich is a non-metropolitan district and is a large settlement despite its town status. The urban development of Ipswich overspills the borough boundaries significantly, with 75% of the town's population living within the borough at the time of the 2011 Census, when it was the fourth-largest urban area in the United Kingdom's East of England region, and the 42nd-largest urban area in England and Wales.[7] In 2011, the town of Ipswich was found to have a population of 133,384,[8][9] while the Ipswich built-up area is estimated to have a population of approximately 180,000 in 2011.[7]

The town is split into various quarters, with central and the waterfront drawing the most footfall.[10] Central is home to the town's retail shopping and the historical town square, the Cornhill. The waterfront is located south of the town centre on the bend of the River Orwell and is a picturesque setting housing the town's impressive marina. The waterfront was historically an industrial port but has since been transformed into a trendy area lined with high-rise apartment buildings, restaurants, bars and cafés. The waterfront is also home to one of the UK's newest universities, the University of Suffolk, which was formed in 2016.[11]

Ipswich has become a tourist hotspot in the UK with 3.5 million people reported to have visited the county town in 2016.[12] In 2020, Ipswich was ranked as an emerging global tourist destination by TripAdvisor.[13] Ipswich was voted as the 7th most desirable place to live and work in England by the Royal Mail in 2017.[14] In 2007, Ipswich was awarded the cleanest town award,[15] and in 2015, Ipswich was rated as the third happiest place to live in the UK.[16]

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