What is a Business Development Specialist (BDS)?
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering… “Is there really a difference between a BDS and a BDR?” 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 business development specialist does, average salary for BDSs, career outlook, and available BDS jobs.
In sales, the acronym BDS generally stands for Business Development Specialist. BDSs work in outbound sales, reaching out to leads who are cold or that have been qualified by marketing, to move them closer to purchase.
What does a BDS do?
Business Development Specialists (BDS) are pivotal players in outbound sales. Many companies and industries including tech, telecommunications, shipping and logistics, consumer packaged goods, and more employ BDSs to start the conversation with new leads, and encourage interest about the company’s products and services.
BDS job descriptions may also include prospecting cold leads – in other words, finding consumers that meet the company’s ideal customer profile, and contacting them via phone, email, and SMS.
Business development specialists 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, BDSs 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.
BDS Salary
The average base salary for Business Development Specialists in the United States is $52,603 annually (source: Indeed). This number differs based on the company you work at (for example, the average salary for a BDS at Microsoft is $110,369). But remember, sales roles often come with an additional performance-based bonus, commonly up to $10,000 a year if sales KPIs are met.
BDS 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 professionals is positive! The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 4.5% growth for sales specialist roles through 2030.
Open BDS Positions
Looking for available BDS jobs? Here are a few resources to help your search:
- Business Development Specialist Jobs on LinkedIn
- Business Development Specialist Jobs on Indeed
- Business Development Specialist 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.
