The Skills and Traits Every Business Development Manager Needs

Built In Chicago sat down with a business development leader from Fusion Risk Management to learn how he measures success.
Written by Brendan Meyer
August 6, 2021Updated: February 23, 2022

Part coach. Part mentor. Part hype-person.

These are the necessary traits for the manager of your favorite baseball team. And they’re also likely descriptors for your favorite business development manager.

Just ask Jonathan Hartmann. He’s the senior director of marketing and business development at Fusion Risk Management, and he knows that keeping his team inspired and motivated is the key to their success.

“Whether that’s offering opportunities for growth, sharing strategies for overcoming objections, developing a short-term contest to see who can set the most appointments, or pumping the team up in meetings and over Slack, high morale is important to keeping the team productive and motivated,” Hartmann said

There are a few other secrets and skills that make for a great business development manager. That’s why Built In Chicago sat down with Hartmann to learn more about how he measures success, and what he’s most proud of in his career so far.

 

Jonathan Hartmann
Sr. Director, Marketing & Business Development • Fusion Risk Management

 

What they do: Fusion Risk Management provides a cloud-based enterprise software for business continuity risk management, IT disaster recovery and crisis management.

 

How do you measure success in your role?

If the appointments set for the sales teams convert into sales opportunities, as in, the prospect is interested in doing business with our company and discussing things like pricing, contract terms and software configuration, that’s a success. 

As a manager, my goals include enabling and coaching my team, developing their knowledge and ability to position our software solutions, and training them to graduate to another role at Fusion — whether in sales or another department.

 

What skills do you need to develop in order to be successful in your role?

Active listening and patience are the most important skills to me as a business development manager. Our team is often the entry point for people interested in a sales career, so they typically require more development and training to be successful. It’s also important for me to coach to different learning styles. Also, being able to keep my team inspired and motivated is key to my success. 

Active listening and patience are the most important skills to me as a business development manager.’’

 

What are your career goals, and what are you most proud of in your career to date?

In the short-term, I’d like to continue growing my team and contributing to the bottom-line revenue growth of the company. That includes contributing to more strategic marketing and sales initiatives, as well as improving our training and internal processes to enable the team to be successful. 

I’m most proud of launching and growing the business development team at Fusion and graduating three BDRs into successful sales roles. For me, mentoring and helping them progress in their careers is the truest sign of my success as a manager.

 

 

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Jobs at Fusion Risk Management

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