Business development managers’ responsibilities is to improve and grow a business. A key task is to develop relationships with stakeholders, customers and partners.
Job Interview Guidelines
The guidelines below will explain the type of answer the interviewer is looking for. After you have read the question, start by reading the explanation and then think about the organsiation you are applying for a position with; what are the job criteria they deem important? Tweak your job interview answer using the guidelines to ensure that your answer will highlight your skills set during your forthcoming interview and set you apart from other unprepared candidates.
Job Interview Questions and Answers
Tell me about yourself and why you applied for the position as a business development manager.
At the start of the job interview, you are going to be asked to give a summary of your experience as a business development manager.
This question gives you the opportunity to deliver a short statement about your experiences and skills relevant to the job position you are applying for.
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- Open strongly by stating the years you have worked as a business development manager and explain one of your key successes or mention a high-level qualification
- Talk about 3 different strengths and/or qualities – not the generic ” I’m a good communicator” instead, make it industry-relevant; the ability to think strategically or the ability to analyse sales figures and write reports
- Keep each point brief as you can explain each point again in more detail throughout the interview – remember this opening answer is a tease – get the interviewer to find you interesting
- End this answer with a reason why you’re looking for a new job
What experience do you have in this field?
This interview question, if it follows the question above means that the employer requires more specific detail from you. They are giving you a chance to sell yourself – remember to discuss your unique selling points
For this question, you need to have fully prepared. Each employer and orgnaisation, even though they are recruiting for the same position, have a list of criteria they deem important. The same job doesn’t mean the same job duties. You need your answer, your experience to match the required duties you will be competing with this new organisation.
Your answer should relate your experience and achievements to that of the job role.
You can use the following structure and edit it to match your skillset and the criteria the employer is looking for.
“I have over 6 years experience in (sector and niche) and I am qualified to (add highest industry qualification) My experience is key to my success, as someone who has spent the last (add duration in industry or specialism) as a (add specialist role) I am able to (add a unique selling point making reference to the specialist role) An example of this is (add a real-life example that will highlight the above)
Are you applying for any other jobs?
Most applicants will be applying for other positions, so why is the interviewer asking this question? What the employer is really asking is “why are you applying for this job?” They want to understand if you are applying for any job or if you are really interested in gaining a position within their organsiation. Why? Because of retention. Recruitment is a costly business.
The employer is looking to employ someone that they believe will stay with the organisation. This explains the importance of this question and your reply.
“I have applied for several positions, including roles with some of your competitors. But after researching your company and from knowing your reputation, I know that I would be happy here and my experience and skill set would add value to your team If I am offered a position where I see myself working here for a long time. So, in short, I am applying for other roles but I am very keen to gain a position with you.”
How do you identify new business opportunities – including new markets?
Ok, the interviewer is getting into the details of the job. Every question from now on will be designed to uncover if you have the skills to complete the day to day duties of the job role.
For these “how” questions you need to answer with assertiveness and follow this up with a real-life example.
“Sourcing profitable new business is a strength of mine, and something I have always done in all of my previous positions. Last month I secured new business worth (add value) To secure this I (give a 3 step answer; how you spotted the opportunity, how you made contact and how you closed the deal)”
Are you willing to work overtime?
There are certain interview questions that will give you, the applicant, an insight into life in this organisation. The interview is a two-way street where the employer is deciding of you are a good fit for the organisation and where you the applicant are deciding if the organisation is a good fit for you.
In the business development industry, you have to be flexible due to the nature of the work. You know this, the employer knows this, so why do they asked these interview questions. When obvious interview questions are asked, it is often because the employer is having an issue with the said question, in this example getting staff to work overtime or to be flexible with their hours, so they are checking if you too will have an issue?
Make it clear that this isn’t an issue for you:
“yes, in my previous role I had to be very flexible with the working hours, meeting potential clients at times that suited them. For me overtime is part of the job.”
Don’t put up any barriers or start to confuse the employer by saying “I can work overtime on a Monday 6-8, Wednesday 8-9 etc..” keep it simple.
How do you meet your targets through cold calls?
Your job essentially is to make the orgnaisation a nice profit. Part of your role will be cold call, networking and even using social media for generating leads. The employer wants to know your strategy, they want to understand that you have techniques that actually work. This is the type of interview question where you blow your trumpet …and blow it hard!
“In all my previous roles I have consistently excelled and overachieved my targets time and time again. Cold calling is a particular skill of mine. The reason I am so successful with cold calling is that I make ‘warm’ cold calls. I research the business I will be approaching to check compatibility, I use my large network to understand what the need of the business is and use this knowledge to match our services and products to solve their solutions. This has worked time and time again for me ” Make sure you discuss your own technique and strategy
Why should we hire you?
A great question because it is so open. You can talk about anything you want. That’s the problem here. Don’t fall into the trap of talking about irrelevant skills and experiences. Instead, focus on saying you have the skills and experiences to complete the job duties recorded on the job specification.
“You should hire me because I have 3 key strengths that are highly relevant in this job. The first is my ability to work strategically to carry out necessary planning in order to implement operational changes successfully. I am able to draw up client contracts accurately understanding of the businesses’ products and services. My final skill is the ability to ensure staff are on board throughout the organisation making them aware for the need for the change. This saves both time and money”
Tell me about a suggestion you have made?
The business development role is about improving and growing a business. You need to talk about a suggestion you have made relevant to growing the business. Don’t talk about suggesting bright red paint for the office! Your suggestion has to be strategic. Explain how you saw the bigger picture and made a suggestion that had a positive outcome.
Here is an example answer.
Break the answer down into his structure:
“While working at X They had a process for X. This was outdated. The problem was (state the problem clearly but simply) I suggested (add a suggestion in detail) which resulted in (give positive outcome)
Do you have any weaknesses?
I hate it when interviewers ask negative questions. What’s the point? The applicant, unless they are blindly honest, isn’t going to list all their negatives.
So, what is the interviewer looking for with this negative question? They want to see that the applicant has the skill to develop, to reflect, to improve. To answer this question, you can mention a past weakness but you need to follow this up with the actions you took to improve this area of development.
A frequent mistake many make when answering this question is to frame the answer negatively “I can sometimes let things get on top of me”.
Remember to positive overall by turning a negative into a positive. For example,
“What are my weaknesses? Well, I remember in my previous position one of my tasks was (name a duty you had to perform) and I hadn’t completed this task before, so this was a perceived weakness. When I ever find an area of development I am keen to improve this. In this example I (add the action you too to develop yourself). We all have weaknesses, but when I recognise my weaknesses I always take action to improve them.”
Why do you want to work for this organisation?
Interviewees often forget that the job interview process is a two-way street. An employer, when they meet a perfect applicant, doesn’t want a competitor to steal them.
The employer understands that you will be applying for other positions, but they want to offer the position to someone who will be committed to their organisation. When answering this question show the interviewer how enthusiastic you are about the job, industry and their company.
“I have been applying for several positions recently. I applied for this position because the organisation has a very good reputation. I like the values and the company mission, this is something I can relate to. I have over X years of experience and specialize in X. I know together we can achieve (add something industry related)
Do you have any questions?
Every interviewer will ask this final job interview question. Remember to prepare for this question but don’t ask about salaries or holidays until you have been offered a job position. Instead, ask;
- “Do you have any future plans to expand the company?”
- “Does your team work well together?”
- “Have you put in any new bids for any new contracts?”
- “What is the company’s policy on personal development and training?”
- “Where do you see the company being in 5 years time”
- “What are you looking for in an employee?”
- “What would my first day/week look like?”
- “Why did you choose this job/company?”
- “What made you choose to work here?”
- “What is it like to work here on a day-to-day basis?”
- “How are advancements in technology going to affect the organisation?”
If you are struggling with questions you can end with “I did have several questions planned to ask you, but you have answered these throughout the interview.”
