Business Development Internship
A business developer internship involves some responsibilities. As its name suggests, the business developer is in charge of increasing his company’s sales. To do so, he can use various channels and spend a significant part of his time prospecting. His objective is to secure new contracts with existing clients or convince new clients. Then, he is in charge of managing those customers in order to retain them.
A business internship is very valuable for a student as they can turn into practice what they have learned at the university.
Tasks of an Business Development Intern
Here are the main tasks that a business development intern can undertake:
- Prospecting potential customers: by phone, by email, physically…
- Selling products or services to those clients.
- Managing a client’s portfolio.
- Managing sales process.
- Identifying new development channels.
- Follow-up of sales.
- Promoting the company and its product/service.
Available internships
Education
The business development internship is mainly accessible to students who are in the last years of their education because it demands a certain oral confidence.
In general, it is attractive for people following courses related to trade, sales or business administration in general. Students may be enrolled in an education leading to a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree. Those programs are proposed in business schools and universities.
Obviously, the further you are in your education, the more responsibilities you can have during your internship. For instance, going from an internship as an assistant to an internship where you could manage your own client’s portfolio.
Skills and Qualities
Several qualities can make your application attractive for recruiters.
First, having a strong commercial character and being customer oriented are determining. It is actually a mix between innate behaviors such as interpersonal skills, instinct, the willingness to convince… and also techniques acquired thanks to experience like negotiation. In general, if you feel confident and care about your presentation, you already fulfill a significant part of the requirements.
Then, you must have a rigorous and systematic organization. This allows you to manage several customers or sales processes simultaneously. The idea is to let nothing behind in order to offer a high quality service to customers.
Finally, your English level must be one of your strengths. Developing a market abroad requires to master the international business language. You will converse with your team and customers on a daily basis and it is mandatory to understand everything.
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Business Sense
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English
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Interpersonal Skills
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Local language (if required)
Skills developed during a business development internship abroad
A business development internship abroad teaches many lessons on various aspects.
First, you will improve in your commercial and sales abilities. By being in touch with your customers on a daily basis, you will gain confidence in facing them. You will learn more about negotiation techniques and customer management.
Given that the internship takes place abroad, you will have the opportunity to improve your language skills. English, Spanish, German… it will depend on your destination. Nowadays, it is important to fluently master English, or even a second language. Working in a team and in contact with clients will allow you to exchange and interact with foreign people daily. In the field, your ability to speak would improve rapidly. Of course, it will also allow you to add a new asset to your CV. Companies are more and more internationalized and their target markets are spread worldwide. It is a mandatory competency on the job market.
Finally, you will be able to develop a whole new set of cross-disciplinary skills for your future career. Adaptability, as you will live in a country with a different culture and working methods. But also, your interpersonal skills, negotiation skills, organization… just to mention a few. All these values will be useful for your future, professionally as well as personally.
Available internships
More Information
- Our business development internships are available all year long. You can be in the end of your studies, in a gap year or in-between two academic years, we can find what you’re looking for!
- It is better to apply about 2 months before the start of your internship. The idea is to have as many internship options and destinations to your disposal as possible.
- Most of our business development internships are available for 6 months. As tasks need a proper training, companies are looking for students for a longer period. Yet, it is sometimes possible to negotiate 5 months internships with some partners. Occasionally, we have this kind of internship for a duration of 3 to 6 months.
- You could be a business developer consultant in your next internship, find it now !
- Create a new business development strategy thanks to the help of a professional during your internship.
This is just general information and trends, the best in order to have a full feedback on what you are looking for, is to contact one of our consultants via: [email protected]