What Does a Commercial Development Manager Do in 2023?

A company hires a commercial development manager to boost its growth by adding new product lines and services and finding new customers. Meanwhile, commercial development managers devise and carry out a plan for a company’s growth. 

Once the commercial development plan is in place, the manager must test how well it works and report to the company’s upper management. Thus, many different kinds of businesses need a commercial development manager. 

Further, commercial development managers bring in new clients and make more money for their organization. Most of the time, they change how businesses work and add to their existing services. 

This professional looks at the company’s field to find new ways to make changes and grow the business. However, this role is usually found in companies that are doing well and making profits and in companies that are struggling and trying to change themselves and their products.

If you’re interested in this role but don’t know what a commercial business development manager does or their job description, this guide is for you. Read on as we explore these areas and learn more about a commercial business development manager.

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What is Commercial Development Management?

Every business needs to focus on getting bigger and reaching more customers. Typically, a company will have a person or department dedicated to this task. And this is what commercial development management entails. 

The commercial development manager leads this team, which looks for new ways to boost the business and enter new markets. They consider three different strategies to help grow the company when looking to expand market reach:

• New services
• New customers
• New product lines

While these categories appear simple, putting them into action is more complicated. Commercial development managers must examine the company’s current portfolio of products and services. 

They investigate how the company can implement more services or sell more products without incurring high costs, provide new services or products of the same caliber as the rest of its offerings, and ensure consumer demand. However, the last of these three is crucial to the venture’s success.

New customers must be found while expanding a company’s services. And to maintain profitability and stability in changing markets, a company must continue to grow. Another way the commercial development manager adds value to the company is by increasing the customer base.

Finally, every company must innovate. Successful innovation entails developing a product that is also in high demand. This is the stage at which commercial business development management becomes essential. An excellent commercial business development manager recognizes product ideas with the increased market potential to help improve a company’s growth.

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Commercial Development Manager Job Description

The commercial development manager is in charge of ensuring the business does well. They come up with and put into action plans to boost sales, market share, and profits. 

Furthermore, they work with the marketing, sales, and product development teams to ensure that the company’s products and services are positioned correctly in the market and that the sales team has the tools and resources to succeed. The commercial manager also manages to build and run relationships with key customers.

The best commercial development managers:

• Will have a track record of success in commercial management.
• Know how to create and implement successful sales and marketing strategies. 
• Will be good at managing people and have experience building and managing relationships with key customers. 
• Can come up with creative solutions to problems and be able to think strategically.

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What Does a Commercial Development Manager Do?

Commercial business development managers typically work for corporations across industries to ensure their target markets continue to succeed and evolve. They analyze company data to assess the success of previous projects and make improvements to future initiatives. 

Their job is to oversee business projects, budget expenses, and hire professionals on a contract basis to assist them. They may also review state and federal government regulations to ensure that the company’s actions comply with those regulations.

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Duties & Responsibilities

Other duties and responsibilities of a commercial business development manager are as follows:

• Develop and implement business strategies that help the company reach its business goals.

• Lead and manage a group of commercial managers to reach the goals set.

• Do research and market analysis to find new business opportunities.

• Build and keep relationships with the organization’s most important clients and stakeholders.

• Talk about and sign business contracts. 

• Track and report on business activity and how well it meets goals. 

• Manage budgets and make predictions about future business activity. 

• Identify and deal with risks that could stop you from reaching your business goals.

• Help come up with and carry out marketing campaigns.

• Communicate with other departments to ensure that commercial goals are met smoothly.

• Attend events and conferences in your field to meet people and make connections.

• Keep up with what’s going on in the commercial world.

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Commercial Development Manager Skills and Qualifications

Commercial business development managers usually require specific skills or certifications to qualify for their job role.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field.

• 7–10 years of experience in commercial development management, with at least five years as a leader.

• Proven record of success in creating and implementing business strategies.

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to develop and understand insights based on data.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.

• Very organized and attentive to details, with good project management skills.

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Other Required Commercial Development Manager Skills

• Communication

Most of a commercial business development manager’s workday will be spent talking to others. Therefore, communication with project managers, vendors, contractors, and business executives is vital to finishing the project.

• Project management

These professionals ensure that a project moves forward from the first bid to the end. Thus running multiple projects requires good organizational and project management skills.

• Leadership

They will also need leadership skills to build relationships, manage contractors, and put together bids for new projects. To sell the services of the company where they work, commercial business development managers need to be good leaders.

• Problem-solving

Because problems are common, commercial business development managers will also need strong problem-solving skills to recognize a problem and take the steps required to solve it while keeping vendor and financial limits in mind.

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Commercial Development Manager Salary

A commercial business development manager’s salary depends on their education level, the number of years they’ve been on the job, and the size and type of company they work for. 

They might also get bonuses or commissions that give them extra money. Nevertheless, the salary information for a commercial business development manager is as follows:

• Median Annual Salary: $85,000 ($40.87/hour)
• Top 10% Annual Salary: $215,000 ($103.37/hour)

Over the next ten years, the number of jobs for commercial development managers is expected to grow steadily. Moreover, improving efficiency and productivity in retail and wholesale trade will drive the need for commercial development managers. 

As e-commerce grows, businesses must find ways to make their operations more efficient and cut costs.

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How to Become a Commercial Manager

To become a commercial development manager, you should do these five things:

1. Acquire a foundational education.

Some commercial business development managers have a master’s degree. Most business development managers have at least a bachelor’s degree in business or a related field. 

Further, the coursework for a business degree can teach you the basics of making decisions, analyzing data, bringing up new ideas, and starting your own business. You can also learn essential ideas about business development’s “people element” by taking more communication, marketing, and psychology classes.

2. Gain relevant experience.

It helps to have some experience with how to sell. For example, as a retail salesperson starting, one of your jobs might be to help customers decide what to buy up to the point of sale. 

As an outside sales representative, you might have to reach out to potential customers, show them how the products work, and get them to sign up as new customers. Other essential areas of experience include strategic planning, running a business, and making deals.

So, consider taking a course to learn more about advanced sales ideas and techniques and to round out your hands-on experience. For instance, the Art of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process specialization is a great way to learn more about customers and make sales pitches that work.

3. Develop your technical skills.

As a commercial business development manager, you can do well if you know how to manage projects, use Microsoft 365, and do research using search engines. Thus, having specialized cybersecurity and data analytics training gives you an edge. 

Businesses need more secure information systems and better data to make decisions.

Also, knowing how to use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software can help you get a job as a business development manager, especially in more prominent companies.

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4. Enhance your resume.

It’s essential to keep your resume up-to-date as you gain experience, skills, and education. Look at job ads for business development managers to determine what companies want. Then showcase the skills that match the job requirements and put them in a prominent place on your resume.

Use action verbs to discuss the tasks you did in your past jobs and highlight any measurable results.

5. Find your first business development manager job.

With your qualifications and updated resume, the final step is to search for jobs as a commercial business development manager. Which ones will help you live the way you want to? 

Again, which of these jobs will allow you to work on projects and tasks that interest you? What do you like about commercial businesses looking for business development managers?

Also, take the time to improve your interviewing skills, as recruiters and hiring managers will reach out to you to set up job interviews.

Additionally, you should be able to answer behavioral questions well using the STAR method and be ready to ask your interviewer intelligent questions so you can make the best career decision.

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Commercial Development Manager Work Environment

Commercial development managers work in factories, warehouses, and office buildings. They usually work during regular business hours, but sometimes they must work longer to meet deadlines or fix problems. 

Some business managers go out of town to meet with clients or suppliers. So, work can sometimes be stressful, especially when deadlines are close or problems arise. 

But most commercial managers like their jobs because they are challenging and rewarding. They often can use their creativity and problem-solving abilities to develop new products or processes and improve their work.

Conclusion

As a commercial business development manager, it’s your job to do market research to seek new business opportunities and leads on potential clients, work with the company’s leaders to do risk assessments, and keep good relationships with clients, suppliers, and other business partners.

Many companies need someone to have at least an undergraduate degree before they can hire them as a business development manager. However, a master’s degree in business administration is a plus for many companies. 

Working in entry-level jobs under development managers with more experience can help you learn about commercial development management. For senior-level positions in development management, it may be necessary to have a long history of successfully growing businesses.

FAQs

References

zippia.com – What is the difference between a sales manager and a commercial

goconstruct.org – Business Development Manager Job Description

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