What to Look for When Hiring a Business Development Specialist in 2025

What to Look for When Hiring a Business Development Specialist in 2025

Kelly Kennedy: Welcome to Episode 221 of the Business Development Podcast. And if you're a business owner looking to hire your next big business developer, or you're a business developer trying to better understand the skills that are critical in 2025 and beyond, this episode is for you. Today, We're revisiting what to look for in a business development specialist for 2025 and beyond.

Stick with us. You are not going to want to miss this episode.

Intro: The Great Mark Cuban once said business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal. And we couldn't agree more. This is the business development podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and broadcasting to the world.

You'll get expert business development, advice, tips, and experiences. And you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs. And business development reps. You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business brought to you by capital business development, CapitalBD.ca. Let's do it. Welcome to the business development podcast, and now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy: Hello, welcome to episode 221 of the business development podcast way back in episode two, we talked about what to look for in a business development rep. That was well over two years ago at this point. And guys, that was our most popular episode ever. More people have listened to what to look for in a business development rep than any other episode of the business development podcast.

And so. As such, I think it is time for an update. A lot has changed in the last two years. It's actually incredible how fast things change these days, especially in the world of social media, personal branding, the tools we use to do business development. Guys, when I did that episode, episode two, ChatGPT wasn't even released yet.

Like, it is that long ago. So, Things have changed, but so many things have stayed the same. And so today, we're going back into it. We're talking about what to look for in a business development specialist in 2025 and beyond. And guys, I'm sure two years from today, I will have to do another episode just like this, and things will have changed yet again.

And so today, we're kind of revisiting it, guys. We're gonna go back. We're We're going to talk about what to look for in a business development specialist in 2025 and beyond. And while, you know, I outlined high level 15 things today, It is by no means an exhaustive list. If I had to look at every single trait that would be beneficial, we would be here all day.

So remember, this isn't an exhaustive list, but it is a list of 15 things that I think if you get them right, you get an incredible business developer. And while they are not all in a particular order they are all important. Some may be more important than others, but I'm going to leave that up to you guys to decide what is best for yourselves and your organizations, okay?

But ultimately, every single one of these skills is important, and I think if you screen for them and you find people who meet these criterias, You are going to do absolutely incredible and you are going to get a business developer that not only believes in your company, but believes in themselves. And that is going to make a powerful, powerful individual.

I would like to start the show by defining business development. Cause I think it's really important if we're out there looking for a business developer, it makes sense if we have a solid understanding of what it is. And over the years, I have. Find my definition of business development. So this is Kelly Kennedy and the business development podcast take on business development and what it is.

Business development is the strategic process of identifying and pursuing opportunities that drive new business growth by building relationships, generating interest and creating partnerships. It involves researching and targeting the right customers reviewing marketing materials to ensure that they are effective and engaging in proactive outreach through cold calls and emails to generate leads.

Also known as active marketing business development must always focus on new opportunities for an organization. If you stop focusing on new opportunities, your funnels inevitably dry up. Instead, business development specialists act as champions of the company. driving interest and connecting the business to potential clients and strategic partners to secure new business.

The emphasis guys is business development is about building enough interest to secure new clients. We have to be working to secure new clients and all efforts. must be made to make sure that we continue to secure new opportunities for our organizations. So let's just get into it. What traits and skills should we look for to get a top performing team in 2025 and beyond?

Number one. The first skill I want to dive deep in today, guys, is I genuinely think the foundational skill. I think every great, incredible business developer starts with this skill and builds upon it. I don't want to say that it's absolutely critical, but truly, I think it is. I genuinely think it is. I think if you look at the best business developers around, they all tend to have this skill and this skill, you can tell in the first five minutes of any conversation, and that is likeability. And just like way back in episode two, likeability is the founding trait. Of all great business developers and is hard, if not impossible to teach and, you know, soft skills are teachable.

I get it, but I genuinely think some people just have that like ability skill built into them. They're born with it. Born to be likable. I like to say, and it really is. If you have that foundational skill, Almost everything else in business development can be taught. Literally almost everything else in business development can be taught.

Likeability. I genuinely think is one of the skills that. Maybe you can teach it, but I genuinely think you're born with it. I really do. And so using likeability as a qualifying trait, I genuinely think is really important when you guys are interviewing business developers, you really can tell, I think in the first five minutes, whether or not this person is going to be great with other people.

And so I always do recommend that you. Interview business developers in person and you interview them in a neutral location. I always like to say, go for lunch with your business developers, take them out for coffee, sit down at a table and just test for likability. See how that goes. Like I said, almost every other skill in business development can be taught either intrinsically by themselves or through external sources.

But likeability is really just It's a part of who they are. So we have to screen for this, and we have to test them in a neutral location. Don't necessarily test for this in your office, test for this in a neutral location. Coffee, lunch, somewhere where the power dynamic can be limited. The next thing that I want to touch on Is formal education.

Okay. I always get asked this. Well, do they need to have a bachelor's degree? Do they need to have an MBA? The answer is it is a nice to have, and I would potentially use it as a screening, but understand that it is not necessarily the be all end all. Business development is more about skills than degrees.

And I stand by this 110%. Once again, if the base qualification is likability, can you get along with this person? Do they make a good impression? Does it feel good to be around them? That skill translates across the entire position to anybody they are talking about throughout their entire career. While a degree is nice.

and does give them a base set of skills and understanding of business, it may not translate into a great business developer. Don't turn down a great candidate because they do not have a formal education. That candidate could become your best business developer, if not your business development director over time.

Number three, we have to talk about mental resilience, okay? Mental resilience is an absolutely critical skill for all business developers. We must not take rejection personally, and we must be able to move forward in the face of adversity. Guys, business development is all about adversity. No's is what we're going for.

And so if we take everything personally, if we take that bad call personally, if we take the no to the meeting personally and we let it wreck our day, We are not going to be great business developers. Fortunately, this skill is built over time. And almost everybody starts hating rejection. But over time, when you've done this job for years and years and years, you start to realize, that's just par for the course.

No's are what we gotta get through to get to the yes's. And so now I hunt for no's. But if I look back to the beginning of my career, I really hated it. I hated making calls because I didn't want to get rejected. It's the ability to differentiate and have mental resilience and be able to say, it's not a no to me.

It's no to this product only right now. That's the other thing I know is just a no in the moment. And once we realize that we recognize that, Hey, it might be a no right now. But two months from now, six months from now, it could be a yes. Okay. We have to be able to understand and differentiate a no as a no in the moment from a rejection of us individually.

And every business developer has to come to this on their own terms, which is why you have the ones that have been in the trenches for a while. They tend to be a little bit better than having to train somebody from ground zero just simply because They have gotten over that fear of rejection. We must not take rejection personally, okay?

And this is where a strong intrinsic drive to succeed can come in and make a business developer head of the pack, okay? People that are driven intrinsically, who don't take no's personally, who are able to just keep going forward, they win over time. The great business developers Don't hate rejection.

They don't take it personally. In fact, they welcome it as a way to move forward to the yes. If you get someone who gives you an explanation like that, knows you're just a part of the journey, they are on the right track. Number four. Self motivation. All great business developers are not only motivated by a paycheck.

They must also believe in the company It's products, it's services, and they desire to achieve success both personally and on behalf of the company. It is intrinsic. They are self motivated to win. Guys, I've done great at business development because I flippin hate losing. I hate losing. I'm driven to win, whether that's for me and my business, whether that's for a client, whether that's for a student.

I am driven to win. I want to see them win, the companies win, the students win, me win. And that internal drive has pushed me through the hard times, has been motivating beyond the paycheck. We have to find people who are driven to win internally. This is easier said than done. I get it. But if you can find those people who are driven.

To succeed for something greater than a paycheck. They are the ones who are absolutely going to crush it at business development. They have to be aligned to your company. They have to truly believe in the products and services. They have to believe they work. They have to believe they'll be the right things for the customer.

They have to believe that the mission of the company. Is worth getting behind. If you can get alignment between your business developers and your company, they will shout your name from the rooftops forever. Try to build intrinsic drive. Try to find people who are intrinsically motivated to win. It can be a game changer for both you, them.

And your business overtime number five business detectives. I've talked about this so much on the show. If you've just caught up, you've been listening to the show. I talk about it all the time. Business developers are really detectives. Modern business development has made it easier than ever to track down the right information for a perspective client.

However, it is also introduced the need to track down the right information. And know where and how to look and then obviously trial and error that information until we succeed. Modern business developers must hone their detective skills to be successful as failure is not an option. If we just get the wrong information and say, Oh, no good and quit.

We lose, we fail. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten so far down the path and then got the wrong email, gotten so far down the path and then found the wrong phone number. If I would have just given up at that moment, I would have never got the meeting. Sometimes we got to dig deep. Sometimes we got to hunt multiple sources to get the right information.

Sometimes we've got to hunt multiple sources to get the right contact. At a company, but that is business development. That is what it is all about. We have to be curious. We have to be willing to dive deep. We have to be willing to be a detective, to track down that information that separates the good business developers from the great.

And so. Being curious, being willing to follow the clues, being driven to find that information is part of being a successful business developer in 2025 and beyond. It has never been easier, the information has never been more available, but sifting through that information, finding the right connections, the right contacts, is part of the job.

Number six, trustworthiness, okay? Trustworthiness is crucial. You must be able to rely on your business development team as they are the lifeblood of your company. And their consistent performance, good or bad, will either make or break your company. You must be able to trust them. And if that trust is broken, you must be willing to let them go.

Okay. This is tough. This is tough. I get it. You have to put a lot of faith in your business developers. Okay. Which is why picking people who are trustworthy, who are driven, who are committed to your vision, your mission, your values, your company is absolutely critical. And if you see any waiver in this. If they are no longer driven, if they are no longer doing the job you hired them for, if you are not seeing the results you need, it is absolutely mandatory that you nip this in the butt and you nip this in the butt quick, even if that means removing that individual and replacing them with somebody who can get behind your mission, your vision, your values, your company, and shout it from the rooftops.

Great business development. is the difference between success or failure for your business. You cannot afford to get this wrong. Make sure that you find people who are aligned, driven, and want to see both you and your business succeed. When this is no longer in alignment, It is time to part ways. I hate to do that to my fellow business developers, but guys, we have to care.

We have to be invested in the companies we work for. And I've talked about this from the very beginning, the moment you no longer believe in the company, the vision, the mission, the products, the services. That's the time to find someplace you do fit. You don't do the company any good to stick around if you can't give it 110 percent and vice versa.

There's probably somewhere you could give it 110 percent and be an insanely great asset to an organization. Belief in the product and service is absolutely critical and when this no longer aligns. It's time to find something you can align with. And this applies to both sides. It's best for both the individual and the company.

Number seven, they must prioritize strong, authentic connection and relationships over all else. Trust and authenticity are key to their ability to make connections that lead to both new business. And friendships that lead to mutually beneficial relationships over time. Authenticity is key in 2025 and beyond.

We have to want to create genuine connection with our prospects, okay? It's that genuine connection, that genuine want to help them, that genuine desire to help the client succeed that makes all the difference. Number eight, we must have strong written and verbal communication skills, okay? The business developer's voice is the most powerful tool they have, and the ability to articulate, question, and type are the difference between success and failure.

They must be able to think fast and articulate well, okay? Being able to communicate the value of your product and service to a customer in a way that they can understand, Is priceless, priceless. If you can learn to speak and articulate well, and be able to communicate the value of your product and service in a way that the customer can connect with.

It is the game changing difference between a great business developer and a mediocre one. Okay. Being able to speak to a customer in a way that they can understand with our marketing materials, with our voice, with our pitches, with our brochures, it makes the difference between success and failure in business development.

So articulation, it is critical. And so when screening for this. Look at the words your business developer chooses in the interview. Look at the way that they speak and articulate. Heck, have them articulate a pitch for a previous product. It'll give you a great example of what they might say. And the funny thing is, in 2025 and beyond, especially with attention spans getting shorter and shorter and shorter, The ability to craft not just a great pitch, but a short great pitch, one that hooks immediately, is all the more powerful.

The funny thing is, is that right now, most buying positions are actually millennials. So right now, you're dealing with people with typically a 12 second attention span. When we move to Gen Z, That reduces down to eight seconds. And I always like to say this for fun, a goldfish's attention span is nine seconds.

So as business developers evolve, we have to evolve to market to the target audience, which means that being able to articulate something in a powerful way. Right off the bat is going to become more and more critical over time. Number nine. They must be willing to provide weekly reports and attend a weekly business development meeting.

The best business development specialists hold themselves accountable and are more than willing to submit weekly reports for their own benefit. Transparency and teamwork are key to BD success and the best know this. Okay. The best business developers do their own reports for themselves, whether they are asked to do them or not, because they want to improve over time, they want to understand their metrics, they want to understand how many calls it takes to close a meeting, how many digital introductions it takes to get to a new prospect, how many meetings they've had over the last six months, and how they can improve upon that they're always looking to improve and so the best business developers have no issue submitting reports if your business development team is reluctant to send reports it's because they are not performing at a level they are proud of understand that if they don't want to submit reports.

It's because they are not performing at a level that they are proud of. They are afraid of what the results of those reports might show to the management team. Okay, it's not just about submitting reports to management for all of my business developers listening right now. It's about how do you improve week over week, month over month, year over year, even if nobody's watching.

Especially when nobody's watching. Number 10. They understand that consistency over time is a secret weapon to business development success. They understand that success comes from the little things you do every week consistently. We must hold ourselves accountable and have a weekly routine that leads to meetings over time.

The small things in business development, the repeatable things we do every week. They matter, okay? It's small, consistent things over time that move mountains over a year. Understand that. It's not the big, grand gesture, the hundred calls you made on a Wednesday that are gonna make the difference. It's the ten calls you make every day that make the difference.

It's the five emails you send every day that make the difference. Not the thousand emails your bulk emailers sent last week, okay? It's consistency over time. Small consistency over time makes a huge, huge impact in business development. So understanding this and seeing that your business developers understand this is critical.

Number 11, they measure success. In meetings, okay, business development, success is measured in meetings. It is the thing your business developer can control. The funny thing is we can measure revenue growth in meetings. We can measure success in meetings. There's a lot of things we can do if we measure in meetings.

Okay. You don't sell over LinkedIn. You don't sell over LinkedIn, you don't sell over email, and you typically don't sell over the phone. Meetings are where the magic happens. We must measure success here. Everything we do is to get to a meeting, period. The best know this. The calls, emails, social media, are just tools to help us accomplish our goal.

The goal is meetings. Number 12. Organization is key. We must be able to implement, utilize, and manage a CRM effectively to keep organized and on task. This is not a nice to have in 2025 and beyond. It is mandatory to our success. We must also prioritize time management and value our time greatly. There is nothing more powerful than focused time, focused work, and we must work to perfect this skill always, especially in a time of so much distraction as business developers were kind of asked to walk between worlds, right? And a big part of our job now is utilizing social media, but we have to be able to disconnect as well. We have to be able to focus time when it's time to focus. Okay. That means we have to be able to. Make the calls every week, do our digital introductions every week, have our meetings every week, and try not to get distracted by all the noise, okay?

Focused work is powerful. A focused hour of phone calls is powerful. We have to relearn how to focus. And so being able to focus our time, utilize calendars, effectively schedule time slots is a powerful skill that I've learned along the way, but getting really good at doing focused work makes all the difference in great business development or not.

Number 13, social media and personal branding is no longer a nice to have guys. I can't even teach business development anymore without teaching social media skills and personal branding. Okay, in 2025 and beyond, social media and brand building skills are part of the job. We must learn how to leverage these tools both personally and professionally to build credibility on behalf of ourselves.

And the companies we represent, okay. Personal brands build corporate brands in this new world. It is absolutely, absolutely true. If you look at how to grow in 2025 and beyond, almost everybody will tell you, you have to work on building both the corporate brand and the personal brands of your business developers in unison.

Why? Because. As the brands grow, both personally and corporately, we all know this. Corporate brand posts don't get a ton of attention, right? But personal brand posts do. And so our business developers are constantly connecting with potential prospects for our organizations. Which means eyes on our business developers become eyes on our businesses, okay?

They are one. And so as we move forward into this new age, It is absolutely critical that we are balancing both personal brands and corporate brands. And we are encouraging our business developers, our high level executives to build their personal brands because the more their brands grow, the more eyes are on them.

The more eyes are also on our organizations. It is a win win scenario, and we have to be building both personal brands and corporate brands in 2025 and beyond, and this is very new. This is a very, very new concept that I did not talk about when I launched this show. Number 14, content creation. Attention is the new currency, and the ability to get eyes on the information we need people to see is.

Absolutely critical. Modern business developers must learn how to create and leverage content if they want to be the best and stand out. This goes back to the personal branding, right? If we're going to be doing social posts on a personal level, we have to learn how to create great content. We have to learn what great content is.

What are people engaging with? How can we emulate that? How can we share parts of ourselves in a way that? Resonate with our potential audiences, guys. And the funny thing is, as we move forward, people connect with people. We've forgotten that somewhere along the line, but the smart haven't forgotten that, and they are utilizing social media to share personal challenges, to share personal wins.

To share life in a way that people can relate to. And as they do this, they build personal brands. And as they build personal brands, they build corporate brands right alongside them. But learning how to leverage tools, tools like Canva, you know, tools like Photoshop video editing tools like Descript, learning how to leverage all of these tools, use these tools is a powerful, powerful skill for business developers as we move forward.

So. I say, at this point, it is no longer okay to just say, I don't want to learn that. We have to, have to, have to learn how to create content to become the best of the best in business development moving forward. Number 15, balance both team and individual dynamics. The modern business developer must learn to work well both alone, And as part of a team balancing these well leads to greater success long term, right?

We know it. Business development is a team sport. And an individual sport, we have to learn how to work well with people, but we also have to learn how to work well alone and learning how to balance these things and do both well is an absolute crucial skill to our success long term and to be able to achieve the greatest possible outcomes for our organizations.

Once again, guys, this is just 15 traits that are really great and powerful and things to look for when you guys are hiring your business development teams or building your own skills if you are a business developer. But understand there's a lot more, you know, I mean, I would have been at this all day if I would have touched on every single skill, right?

But I did want to add just a couple of additional tips to consider that I didn't think deserve necessarily their own line items here. But are also really important when hiring, training or aspiring to be the best of the best in business development for my employers. Always check references of both companies they work, but also client references where possible.

Okay, this is something we tend to neglect when we're hiring business development, but where does it really matter? What did their clients think of them? Okay, ask for both corporate. And client references when hiring a business developer to get both sides of the story. To be able to see how were they with their clients?

Did they like them? Did they feel well represented? Did they feel well looked after? This is a really good indicator of how they will be with your clients. Always watch for the one trick pony. Okay. The one trick pony is the business developer who comes and says, yeah, I've been in this industry for 20 years and I have all the contacts.

I got this. Here's the thing. Contacts always run out. Real business development is about the ability to make new connections. Don't forget that real business developers. Don't need to rely on their past connections. Yes, we do. And absolutely we should, but it is a one trick pony. If when they get to the end, it's over, right?

We have to be able to find new connections. That is true business development. It's about the new business development and account management are separate positions. Keep them this way. Okay. I get it. We're always trying to cut costs and combine positions. Okay. But combining business development and account management is a mistake I see happening everywhere.

Here's the thing, account management is a completely different job. And when done effectively, they're out looking after your clients, building friendships, doing fun things that lead to repeat business over time. Business development is about finding new connections. There needs to be a handoff. From business development to account management.

Once they become a buying customer. Okay. It is absolutely critical that we are separating business development and account management to get the most out of both positions. Don't forget that when you combine them, neither position gets done. Right. Modern business development is about adaptability and never ending learning.

If you stop learning. Like a shark stops swimming, you're dead in the water, okay? The business development landscape is shifting so rapidly. The tools available, the skills needed are changing on a yearly basis at this point. You have to always be open to the possibility that you don't have all the answers, and there's a better way to do it.

If we approach business development with this idea, that there might be a better way to do it, and we trial and error all of the new tools that are available to us, We are always going to be ahead of the curve instead of behind the curve. And we are going to be able to continue to do business development effectively into the future.

Never stop learning. I don't have all the answers. I will never stop learning about business development. And I was only an expert until yesterday, and you need to keep that mindset as well. The old ways are still the best ways. Okay. The old ways are still the best ways. Your phone is still the most powerful tool you have.

Brochures are not dead. Your website is still your 20 story skyscraper. Don't get lost in the fluff when in doubt, when you don't know what to do, when nothing's working, pick up the phone. Book a meeting or send a direct email. Direct connection, active marketing is still the most powerful way to build a business in 2025 and beyond.

Do not forget that. Do not get lost in all of these passive marketing strategies. Active direct contact is still the way to go. The modern business developer is a mix of both old and new skills. Over time, the tools available change, but we must always remember the goal. The goal is to build business. This is done best through authentic human connection.

And guys, I do not see this changing, okay? All of the tools, they make it more efficient. They make it easier to book meetings than ever, but getting meetings that lead to repeat business over time is still the goal. Find people who prioritize meetings, who are authentic, who believe in your business. This is the recipe for success.

Wow, I I absolutely love this episode, guys. I love chatting about this. This is something I'm incredibly passionate about, and I really do want business developers to continue to evolve and continue to get the best performance possible. And remember that tools are just that they're tools. And as all of these things change, that's amazing.

But the old ways are still the right ways. Always prioritize authentic human connection. If you are prioritizing authentic human connection, you are always going to be going in the right direction for business development. If you have not had a chance to do so yet, please do follow us on Apple podcasts and Spotify.

Follow us on LinkedIn guys. LinkedIn is where everything is happening for the business development podcast. We do have an Instagram as well, but LinkedIn is where it is at. We share our monthly guest list. We have our communications. We share clips from the show. It's all there. Follow us on LinkedIn. If you have a question for the show, please submit it for a future community questions episode.

You can submit that either directly to me over LinkedIn or podcast@capitalbd.ca that is podcast@capitalbd.ca and we will get it answered on a future community questions episode as soon as we have an appropriate number of questions and last but not least, if you love this show, if you need help for your business development, whether that's you individually.

Whether that's your business development team, I would absolutely love to help. I have a three month business development mastery program that is perfect for individuals or teams looking to really up their game here in 2025 and beyond. We will implement an effective goal driven process for your organization to not just help you achieve your revenue goals.

But help your business developers know what to do and when to do it. You can book a discovery call directly with me over LinkedIn or visit www.capitalbd.ca to follow the coaching session and learn more.

Shoutouts this week, Rikin Bhavsar, Jillian Schecher, Tara Behrens, Iryna Horyacheva, ZULQ Malik,, Marnie Williams, Jason Garner. Jamie Moffat, Chris Yeung, Tatsiana Zametalina, Rodney Lover, Colin Harms, Jesse Schewchuk, Cathiusca Arauz-Barley, Jessica Tibbetts, Jamar Jones, Jan Hnat, Mike Mack, Aaron Haberman. Rudy a Zacharias, Ali Zein, Nathan Plumb. Michelle Sami Wehbe, Sherri Allen, Cam Lawson, Lauren Graff, Susan Poseika, John Pelley, Stuart Morawski and Colin Fagnan. Until next time, you've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.

Outro: This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy. Kelly has 15 years in sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry, and founded his own business development firm in 2020.

His passion and his specialization. Is in customer relationship generation and business development. The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your Business Development Specialists. For more, we invite you to the website @ www.capitalbd.ca. See you next time on the Business Development Podcast.