What does a Business Development Analyst do?

Hi Guys,

I just saw a posting on my college's career site for a business development analyst position (Undergrad level) at Microsoft. The job description talks a lot about working on product partnerships, but was pretty vague. I was wondering if anyone had any insights on this role, like what exactly you do, pay, day to day work, etc. Any information would be very helpful.

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

This is an educated guess...but I probably have a bit more insight than someone in undergrad as I've been around the block for a few years now. I remember when I was in undergrad first looking at job postings I had no idea what any of these vague titles meant. Business development? debt capital markets (what the fuck is that)?, etc.

Say Microsoft comes out with a new xbox and wants strategic partnerships. Hey Pak BD analyst go fucking figure out who we should partner with, crunch some numbers to make the case as to why we should partner with them, and go put together a presentation so I can take it to VP boss man of business development and pass it off as my idea. Pay? no fucking idea. Day-to-day? If you read this far you'll get the idea. Working BD for a solid company (microsoft is definitely in that category) in a cool group (product partnership sounds decent) could be a lot of fun and decent pay.

All about what you want in life and what gets you going. Good luck.

 
Best Response

Pak24 I'm currently a Business Development Analyst working for an O&G equipment and services company so I can shed some light on this.

My focus is sales related in that the overall objective is to increase sales, revenue, and market penetration for our services business. In addition I am also part of our ad hoc M&A team which sources deals and makes a business case for acquisitions which is then sent off to the corporate M&A team for valuations and consideration with the CFO.

capratecompression has the right idea but in terms of pay it depends. Working for Microsoft should command a higher pay than Bob's Solar Supply. In addition your day-to-day will differ whereas Microsoft will be a combination of macro and micro-level work versus Bob's Solar Supply which will be a sales role (focus on generating sales in untapped markets).

The only other insight worth mentioning is that you should focus on your F500s, especially companies like Microsoft, Apple, GE, etc. Also if this is an entry level positions for someone straight out of undergrad really hone in on what's required of you because you want your role to be a mix of market research, analysis, and business development rather than working as part of the sales group (Business Development within Sales is different than Business Development under a VP of Product Development).

I'm happy to answer more questions if Pak24 you have any.

 

Having worked with (not for) tech companies earlier in my career, I suspect business development finance would be a role modeling pricing terms and structures for bids, RFP's and sales calls. A lot of tech (especially on the hardware side) will structure payment to find the needs and preferences of the customer. That requires some analysis to ensure the company is hitting their overall return margin number while making explicit what downside risks are present in the deal.

Or I could be absolutely wrong. Feel free to correct.

 

Business dev't finance involves looking ways to build the company's sales/marketing objectives and also making strategies on how to close deals for the company. It really depends on your company's objectives or long-term goals but it should have explained to you during the hiring process.

 

Is there an opening for this position? If so, what does the listing say? Just from the phrase "business development" I would assume you'll get hitting the phones and sourcing new business, keeping track of pipeline, fostering connections, and essential developing new business (like the title suggests). I would say it differs from a Financial Analyst as once you find the deal, they'll go ahead and underwrite it, compile DD, and give it to a SA/VP/EVP to list.

 

That's what I thought too when I saw the position title. However, the listing says the following: Perform due diligence and competitive analyses on business opportunities, Build financial models to assess projects and portfolios, Develop analyses concerning client business challenges and corporate trends, Create presentations, proposals, and other client facing materials, Support all aspects of client engagements

I assume hitting the phones still to be part of it as any brokerage position. Just wondering how this may differ from a financial analyst position.

 

way different than financial analyst in the Capital Markets Group. In that instance, you would be underwriting cashflowing properties, working with lenders, putting together OMs, gathering comps, etc.

I've never heard of a BD position at a big brokerage cap markets group, but I'm willing to bet you are aggregating data on potential clients and their fee potential. For example, looking at the portfolio for big institutional users like pension funds, big local developers, etc. and seeing where the best opportunities lie for the cap markets group to pitch new business. The JLLs and CBREs of the world are commission-driven machines, so they like to selectively target the opportunities they pursue...ie where they can generate the most future commissions. probably a good way to learn the market and players, but sounds more like corporate finance than bricks and mortar underwriting.

 

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