Business Developer
End-to-end salesperson: prospects, qualifies and closes — the commercial Swiss army knife of young companies.
Why this hire matters.
The business developer is the sales format of companies that haven't yet specialized their revenue machine: they do everything from prospecting to signature. They're your best market-learning tool — every cycle they run end-to-end produces information on pitch, pricing and objections that no specialized org would capture as fast. The hiring challenge is the 'builder' profile: someone who structures their own playbook rather than executing someone else's, comfortable in ambiguity, able to sell a product that changes monthly. Anticipate the evolution: when volumes justify SDR/AE specialization (often around 5-8 salespeople), your best biz devs become AEs, KAMs or team leads — say so at hiring time, it's an attraction argument.
Key missions.
- Identify and prospect target segments
- Run full sales cycles (demo, negotiation, closing)
- Build and iterate the sales playbook
- Develop referral partnerships
- Maintain pipeline and forecast in the CRM
- Feed market insights back to founders
- Contribute to pricing and positioning
Skills.
Technical skills
- Full-cycle selling
- Multichannel prospecting
- Negotiation
- CRM and pipeline management
Expected qualities
- Autonomy
- Adaptability
- Tenacity
- Entrepreneurial spirit
Common stack
Salaries 2025-2026
| Level | Experience | Annual gross base | Annual gross package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 yrs | 30–40 k€ | 40–55 k€ |
| Mid-level | 2-5 yrs | 38–52 k€ | 55–80 k€ |
| Senior | 5-8 yrs | 50–70 k€ | 75–110 k€ |
Paris market ranges, 2025-2026.
Outside the Paris region, expect 10 to 15 % less.
Sources : Smile Talent 2026 · Uptoo 2026 · Michael Page 2026
Hiring this profile.
Typical background
Business school or field-built career, often with a first startup experience. Comfort with ambiguity distinguishes the good profiles.
When to hire
A startup's first sales hires (pre-seed to Series A), before SDR/AE specialization.
Career path
Senior biz dev → Account Executive, KAM or Head of Sales as the org specializes.