Why do you want to work in business development?
What the interviewer wants to hear
- Genuine interest in solving customer problems
- Enjoys building relationships and opening new opportunities
- Comfortable with targets and measurable results
- Resilience and curiosity
- Link to the company's market or product
Model answer
I like work where I can see the impact directly, and business development connects my effort to new revenue and new relationships. What I enjoy most is the early stage: researching a market, finding companies that have a real problem, and starting a conversation that turns into a partnership. I am comfortable with targets because they make progress clear, and I have learned that rejection is part of the job rather than a personal judgement. In my last role I set up a referral partnership with two accounting firms that brought in a steady flow of qualified leads, and that taught me how much value a well-structured partner relationship can create. Your company is entering new regions, so I see a strong match between that challenge and what I enjoy doing.
Can you answer it under time pressure?
Take a timed easy round and get scored on every answer.
More easy Business Development Manager questions
- In your own words, what does a Business Development Manager do, and how is it different from a sales executive?
- How do you research a company before your first call with them?
- Prospecting involves a lot of rejection. How do you stay motivated and productive?
- Which metrics would you track to understand if your business development work is going well?
- Walk me through how you structure a discovery call.
- How do you write a cold email that gets replies?
- How do you build trust with a prospect you have just met?
- How do you use LinkedIn in your prospecting?
- Tell me about a deal you are proud of winning.