What is a Director of Business Development (DBD)?
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering… “Is there really a difference between a DBD and a BDM?” We get it. There’s confusion and overlap between various sales titles used at different organizations. What’s more, titles are often changing and adapting to industry trends.
The fast-growing, competitive nature of the SaaS industry has created an environment where new titles are needed to accommodate for completely new positions. What’s more, (slightly) different titles – à la Sales Development Rep instead of Business Development Rep – are created to sound more relevant, modern, and in line with company values and culture.
If you’re new to all this sales jargon, look no further! We’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find out exactly what a director of business development does, average salary for DBDs, career outlook, and available DBD jobs.
In sales, the acronym DBD usually stands for Director of Business Development. DBDs are responsible for outbound sales teams, meaning they lead sales outreach efforts to find and qualify new leads.
What does a DBD do?
Directors of Business Development (DBD) lead outbound sales teams. Many companies and industries including tech, telecommunications, shipping and logistics, consumer packaged goods, and more employ DBDs to grow more clients, start the conversation with new leads, and encourage interest about the company’s products and services.
DBDs may also mentor their team to prospect cold leads – in other words, finding consumers that meet the company’s ideal customer profile, and contacting them via phone, email, and SMS.
Directors of Business Development spend a lot of time networking, making new connections with ideal customers, and managing people on their team to meet sales goals. DBDs and their staff spend a lot of time on the phone: calling, texting, and emailing leads that marketing has qualified. Each marketing department has a different process for vetting top of funnel leads, but once they are sent to sales, outbound sales reps are the first line of contact - following up with someone who has, for example, filled out a form on the website or downloaded a piece of marketing content.
Directors of Business Development hold a high position within their organizations, and often report to VP of Sales or C-suite members. They are responsible for reaching outbound sales quotas and developing outbound sales strategies for their team in order to reach established goals.
DBD Salary
The average base salary for Directors of Business Development in the United States is $102,380 annually (source: Glassdoor). But remember, sales roles often come with an additional performance-based bonus, commonly up to $31,657 a year for DBDs if sales KPIs are met.
DBD Career Outlook
With the abundance of automation, software, and marketing tools available on the market today, it may be worth wondering if sales positions will still be growing in a few years.
If you’re looking to start your career in the sales industry, don’t worry - as the market outlook for sales executives is positive! The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 8% growth for sales leader roles through 2030.
Open DBD Positions
Looking for available DBD jobs? Here are a few resources to help your search:
- Director of Business Development Jobs on LinkedIn
- Director of Business Development Jobs on Indeed
- Director of Business Development Jobs on Glassdoor
Which sales role is right for me?
The right sales role for you depends on your experience and expertise, but sales can be a good industry to get your start if you are entering the job market for the first time!
Some key characteristics of great sales and customer support professionals include:
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Great communicators
- Passion for what they are selling
- Willingness to roll up their sleeves and get the job done
- No fear calling and following-up with potential clients
- Positive attitude
- Creative and passionate about helping others
- Ability to multi-task across different platforms and forms of communication
- Ability to work well under pressure and with a team
Does this sound like you? Kixie is hiring, and we’d love to hear from you! We are looking for jovial, hard-working colleagues to share our journey as we change the landscape of business telephony. Check out our open positions.
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