The Business Development Manager role today
This guide draws on 3,353 Business Development Manager postings from 2,065 companies, published from March to September 2026.
Hardly any Business Development Manager postings make building or applying AI the job itself.
AI Tools Literacy appears in 38% of Business Development Manager postings, and AI Sales Tools in 32%.
Automation exposure averages 44 out of 100 across these postings, which is moderate: parts of the routine work can be automated, which makes AI skills more valuable in the role.
Senior positions make up 36% of postings, entry-level 36%. The most common way of working is hybrid, in 41% of postings.
Common skill gaps
The AI skills our analysis of Business Development Manager job descriptions most often flags as a gap, with the share of postings where each one comes up.
- Generative AI Fundamentals38%
- Prompt Engineering30%
- AI Lead Scoring29%
- Prompt Engineering for Sales15%
- AI Ethics Awareness13%
- AI Sales Tools12%
Business Development Manager salary
Pay comes only from postings that quote it: 183 of the 3,353 Business Development Manager postings. Each country uses the pay period its employers quote most.
Netherlands
based on 69 postings quoting pay per month€5,400
median per month
The middle half of advertised salaries, with the line at the median.
Australia
based on 81 postings quoting pay per yearA$140,000
median per year
The middle half of advertised salaries, with the line at the median.
Essential Business Development Manager skills
The skills employers ask for in Business Development Manager job descriptions, from the most requested down.
Core skills
- Data Analysis
Often requested
- CRM Automation
- AI Tools Literacy
- AI Sales Tools
- Prompt Engineering
- CRM Analytics
Also valued
- Data Driven Prospecting
- AI Market Intelligence
- AI Lead Scoring
- AI Proposal Generation
How the Business Development Manager role is evolving
The directions employers are taking this role as they adopt AI, with the skills and responsibilities each one adds.
Most common direction
Toward AI sales
Typical focus
AI-enabled sales and AI-enhanced sales
Skills to add
- Predictive Analytics
- AI Sales Analytics
New responsibilities
- Utilize AI-powered sales intelligence platforms to identify and prioritize high-value prospects
- Utilize AI-powered lead scoring to prioritize high-value prospects
- Leverage predictive analytics to forecast sales trends and optimize pipeline management
- Leverage AI-powered lead scoring to prioritize high-value prospects and improve conversion rates
Other directions
Toward AI transformation
Typical focus
Digital transformation and Digital sales transformation
Skills to add
- Change Management
- AI Change Management
- AI Adoption Strategy
- AI Solution Selling
- AI Transformation Strategy
- AI Strategy
New responsibilities
- Lead AI adoption initiatives within the business development team
- Lead the adoption of AI tools across the sales team, providing training and best practices
- Measure and report on the impact of AI initiatives on sales performance
- Collaborate with AI product teams to tailor solutions to client needs
Toward AI customer experience
Typical focus
Customer experience & AI, Client experience & AI and Customer experience AI
Skills to add
- AI Customer Insights
- Sentiment Analysis
- AI Personalization
- Conversational AI
- Customer Journey Analytics
- Personalization Engines
New responsibilities
- Use AI to analyze customer feedback and personalize engagement strategies
- Analyze customer interaction data to identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities
- Collaborate with product teams to provide feedback on AI features based on client needs
- Deploy AI chatbots for initial client inquiries to improve response times and capture leads
Toward AI marketing
Typical focus
AI-driven growth, AI-enhanced marketing and AI marketing solutions
Skills to add
- AI Content Generation
- AI Campaign Analytics
- AI Marketing Analytics
- AI Campaign Optimization
- Marketing Automation
New responsibilities
- Advise clients on AI-powered marketing automation tools to enhance their digital presence
- Develop and pitch AI-enhanced digital marketing strategies to clients
- Use AI tools to analyze campaign performance and provide data-driven recommendations to clients
- Advise clients on integrating AI tools into their marketing strategies to improve ROI
Business Development Manager FAQ
Will AI replace Business Development Manager jobs?
Automation exposure averages 44 out of 100 across these postings, which is moderate: parts of the routine work can be automated, which makes AI skills more valuable in the role. Employers are mostly reshaping the role toward AI sales, adding skills such as CRM Automation and AI Sales Tools.
What skills do Business Development Manager roles require?
The skills employers ask for most are Data Analysis, CRM Automation, AI Tools Literacy, AI Sales Tools and Prompt Engineering.
Which AI skills should Business Development Manager candidates learn next?
CRM Automation, AI Sales Tools and Data Analysis are the AI skills employers most often want to add. The most common skill gaps are Generative AI Fundamentals and Prompt Engineering.
How is the Business Development Manager role changing?
The most common direction is AI sales. Other directions include AI transformation, AI customer experience and AI marketing.
How much do Business Development Manager roles pay in Australia?
Advertised salaries typically range from A$108,000 to A$155,000 per year, with the median around A$140,000, based on 81 postings that quote pay per year.
How much do Business Development Manager roles pay in the Netherlands?
Advertised salaries typically range from €4,600 to €6,100 per month, with the median around €5,400, based on 69 postings that quote pay per month.
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This guide is built from public job descriptions for Business Development Manager roles classified as Core AI or AI-enabled. Skills, automation exposure and career directions are extracted from each job description and compared across the market. Postings are deduplicated, so a job listed on several boards or by several agencies counts once. Salaries are advertised ranges from Australia and the Netherlands, taken only from the 183 postings that quote pay. How we collect and deduplicate postings.