Business Development Representative
Business development representatives find and qualify new sales leads, turning cold contacts into meetings the rest of the sales team can close.
- Median salary*
- $65,000
3.7%vs last year, before tax
- People employed*
- 18,500
0.5%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Business development representatives work inside a sales team, most often in professional services, IT, financial services or property businesses, and spend the bulk of the day on outbound calls, emails and LinkedIn messages to people who have not dealt with the company before. Unlike an account manager, who looks after clients already on the books, a business development representative hands a lead over once it is qualified and a meeting is booked. Most of the job runs through a CRM such as Salesforce or HubSpot, which tracks every contact and shows where each prospect sits in the pipeline.
How much do business development representatives earn?
The median full-time salary for a business development representative is $65,000 per annum, before tax, up $13,400 since 2018.
Most employers pay a base salary plus commission or a bonus tied to meetings booked, qualified leads or closed deals, so total earnings move with how well you work the pipeline. A large technology firm usually sets a clear base with a published target, while a smaller business may lean more heavily on the variable side. A track record of hitting targets moves pay faster than time in the role, and the step into account management or a business development manager position is where it rises most.
What does a business development representative do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Researching target accounts and finding the right contact using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, company reports and the CRM
- Sending sequences of cold emails and follow-up calls, usually against a daily or weekly activity target
- Cold-calling prospects to test interest and book meetings, handling objections as they come up
- Keeping the pipeline accurate in Salesforce or HubSpot, logging every call, email and agreed next step
- Handing qualified leads to account executives with the context they need to run the first meeting
What skills do business development representatives need?
Employers look for selling and negotiation, data analysis, account and relationship management, backed by Salesforce fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Selling and negotiation
- Data analysis
- Account and relationship management
Software and tools
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Microsoft Excel
- Outreach or Salesloft
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Written communication
- Problem solving
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 18,500 people work as business development representatives in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a business development representative?
Here's the path most business development representatives take, step by step.
- 1Build a customer-facing work history
Retail, hospitality, call centre or fundraising work counts, because employers are looking for someone who has already handled a stranger saying no. Two years of phone-based work also gives you real examples to draw on at interview.
- 2Study business, marketing or communications if it suits you
Around 38% of people in the role hold a bachelor's degree, but a diploma or certificate in business or marketing is accepted by plenty of employers, and a strong sales record can carry more weight than the qualification itself.
- 3Learn the tools before you apply
Salesforce Trailhead and HubSpot Academy both run free certifications that employers read as evidence you can run a pipeline. Familiarity with LinkedIn Sales Navigator and a sequencing tool such as Outreach or Salesloft comes up at interview.
- 4Apply for a graduate or entry-level sales intake
Larger technology and professional services firms run structured intakes with several weeks of product and pitch training. Many people enter through inside sales or appointment setting first and move across once they have a record of booked meetings.
- 5Treat the first two years as an apprenticeship
Managers watch for consistent target attainment over several quarters before moving someone onto the account executive path, so ask early what the promotion criteria are and keep your pipeline notes clean.
Ready to apply as a business development representative?
Whether you're working toward becoming a business development representative or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a business development representative move to?
Moving into Account Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $39,200 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Manager Business development representatives bring lead qualification and pipeline knowledge into managing existing client accounts and uncovering fresh revenue. | +$39,200 | 63% | minimal |
| Business Development Manager Business development representatives bring proven prospecting and relationship skills to a more senior role with strategic oversight. | +$39,200 | 55% | short course |
| Key Account Manager Business development representatives bring relationship building and needs analysis to managing high value clients and expanding accounts. | +$22,400 | 71% | minimal |
| Territory Manager Business development representatives bring territory planning and acquisition skills to managing a sales area and growing accounts. | +$19,200 | 71% | minimal |
| Customer Success Manager Business development representatives bring client onboarding and retention habits from lead generation to customer success work. | +$5,200 | 100% | minimal |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a business development representative?
The typical business development representative is 31 years old; 58% are men, 88% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 31
- Median age
- 42%
- Female share
- 88%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a business development representative?
The work is rhythmic and measurable: a business development representative works a list, logs every touch and is judged on activity and meetings booked rather than on deals closed. Days run in blocks of calling and emailing with research in between, so the role suits someone who can hear a no without carrying it into the next call. It is a training ground for sales, and most people treat it as a first step rather than a long-term home.
What people like
- Feedback every day. Activity dashboards show calls made, emails sent and meetings booked, so you know by the end of the week whether your approach is landing.
- You learn how companies actually buy. Researching target accounts across different industries builds a working knowledge of budgets, priorities and who signs off on a purchase.
- A structured route into sales. Teams usually train new representatives on the product, the pitch and the CRM, and the account executive path runs off the same pipeline you are already feeding.
- You are not carrying the deal alone. Once a meeting is booked, an account executive takes it over, and sitting among other representatives means the pitch gets sharper through listening to each other.
What people find hard
- Rejection is the default. Most calls and emails lead nowhere, and a solid day might mean one meeting booked from dozens of attempts.
- Activity targets. Daily or weekly quotas for calls, emails and meetings are standard, and the research that makes a call good still counts against that time.
- The repetition. You run versions of the same pitch and the same follow-up sequence many times a week, adjusting it each time to the industry and the person.
- Credit sits with the closer. The representative finds and qualifies the lead, but the account executive works the deal and tends to get the recognition when it signs.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ business development representatives?
Professional Services employs the largest share of business development representatives, followed by Information Technology and Telecommunications.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional Services
- 2Information Technology and Telecommunications
- 3Financial Services
- 4Manufacturing and Supply
- 5Real Estate and Property Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 38% | |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 24% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 20% | |
| Postgraduate | 10% | |
| Other | 8% |
Will AI replace business development representatives?
AI and automation reach the administrative half of this job rather than the relational half, which is why the exposure sits around the middle. Prospect list building, first-draft outreach emails and CRM note taking are already partly automated, and that trend continues. The calls themselves, the judgement about which leads are worth passing on and the relationship with the account executive remain human work.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Cold calls and discovery conversationsReading hesitation, handling an objection and persuading someone to give up half an hour is live work, and prospects can tell quickly when they are talking to an automated system.40%low
- Logging calls and updating the pipelineCRMs now capture emails and calls automatically and summarise them, but the representative still decides what stage a lead has reached and what the account executive needs to know before the first meeting.30%moderate
- Building prospect lists and researching accountsEnrichment tools and LinkedIn Sales Navigator can assemble and score a contact list in minutes, though someone still has to check each company fits the target profile and find a reason to make contact.15%high
- Writing cold email sequencesGenerative tools draft the first version of a sequence and personalise the opening line, leaving the representative to fact-check claims and adjust the tone for the industry.15%high
Common questions about becoming a business development representative
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a business development representative earn in Australia?
$65,000 per year before tax for full-time work, with a base salary plus commission or a bonus on top in most sales teams. Total earnings move with how consistently you book meetings and qualify leads, so the variable part matters as much as the base. Sector and company size shift the split between the two.
How do you become a business development representative?
Most people get in through a customer-facing job, a business or marketing qualification, and a working knowledge of a CRM. Employers hiring for this role care more about phone confidence and evidence you can research a prospect than about a specific degree. Free certifications from Salesforce Trailhead or HubSpot Academy help you stand out at entry level.
Are business development representatives in demand?
Business development representatives are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 8% over the decade to 2035 over the decade to 2035. Because the role sits at the front of the sales pipeline, hiring follows how much companies are investing in new business, and teams lean on existing accounts when budgets tighten. Skills you build here transfer into account management, so a slower patch does not close off the next step.
Will AI replace business development representatives?
Not the whole job. AI tools already draft outreach emails, assemble prospect lists and summarise calls into CRM notes, which is thinning out the administrative half of the role. Live conversations remain the part that decides whether a meeting gets booked, and reading hesitation, handling an objection and earning thirty minutes of someone's time still needs a person.
What can a business development representative move into?
Account management is a natural next step, since you already know how the clients were won, and the move to account manager carries a pay difference of $39,200 more. Customer success manager is a shorter jump again at $5,200 more, while business development manager adds team or territory responsibility and $39,200 more. All three lean on the same prospecting, CRM and relationship skills. If the role you want is running your own sales agency, that usually comes after several years on the account executive side.
What is the difference between a business development representative and a sales representative?
A business development representative works only on new business, finding prospects and qualifying them until a meeting is booked. A sales representative, often called an account executive, runs the meetings and negotiations that follow and may also look after accounts the company already has. The two roles sit next to each other in the same team, which is why the step between them is common.
Related roles
- Account Manager
- Business Development Manager
- Customer Success Manager
- Territory Manager
- Key Account Manager
- Appointment Setter
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