Wondering what goes into drafting a great business development cover letter?
Click here to directly go to the complete business development cover letter sample.
You’ve landed at the right place.
Given the fact that recruiters spend about only about 6 to 7 seconds reading an applicant’s resume, it’s obvious that they don’t spend a lot of time reading a cover letter either.
And yes, this means that your business development representative cover letter has to leave a good impression on the recruiters in this short time if you want to get shortlisted.
That sounds quite nerve wracking, doesn’t it?
Fret not! Once you get the basics right, drafting a compelling business development cover letter will be a piece of cake.
So who are business development professionals, and what do they do?
Business development professionals are responsible for the long-term, overall growth of an organization or business. They work to improve the business’ revenue, sales, customer service, products, and services.
From building business partnerships to devising effective marketing strategies and catapulting business growth, all these are the factors of business development.
And to efficiently execute these duties, business development professionals need to possess excellent communication, interpersonal and critical thinking skills that you must demonstrate on your business development cover letter.
Read on to get clarity on the following FAQs related to the business development cover letter:
- What is a business development cover letter?
- What should a business cover letter include?
- What should I write for business development skills?
- How to write an entry-level business development cover letter?
What is a Business Development Cover Letter?
A business development cover letter is a document that serves as an extension of your business development resume.
Unlike your resume wherein it's not possible to explain certain things like your reasons for having a career gap (if any) or other loopholes in your resume, a cover letter allows you to provide a better insight to recruiters on the same.
Even if your career trajectory doesn't have aspects that require further explanation, a well-written business development cover letter can help recruiters envision you as the perfect candidate.
All you need to do is align your skills, experiences, and achievements to the company's requirements in your cover letter and follow the tips from this blog.
Business Development Cover Letter Must-haves
Since your business development representative cover letter has to make a good impression within a few seconds, you need to make sure that it ticks all the boxes of cover letter must-haves.
The following are some guidelines and tips that will help you understand what you need to include in your business development cover letter:
The Right Format
The format of your business development cover letter must have:
- 1" margin on all sides
- 1 or 1.5 spacing
- Double spacing between paragraphs
- 11-12 points font size
- A professional cover letter font such as Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Verdana, Cambria, Times New Roman, or Helvetica
Also, ensure to save your cover letter in PDF format to keep the layout intact.
A Suitable Header
The header of your business development cover letter must comprise of:
- Your full name
- A reachable contact number
- A professional email address
- Your current location (city and state)
- Your current designation
When you provide your personal details right at the top of your business development cover letter, it makes it easy for recruiters to spot them.
Also read: Cover Letter Heading
Personalized Greeting
Following the traditional approach, your business development cover letter has to start with:
- The current date
- Hiring manager’s name
- Full address of the company
- A subject line
- A personalized salutation
Yes, you need to do your research on the company to find out the hiring manager’s name and other important details like the company work culture, etc.
When you make it a point to personalize your cover letter by addressing the hiring manager by their name, you immediately draw the recruiter’s attention, thereby increasing the chances of them reading your cover letter by threefold.
Also, you’ll earn some brownie points for your sincere effort to learn more about the company and for actually taking the time to tailor your cover letter for the particular job vacancy.
Instead of going for a general salutation like “To whom it may concern”, consider writing “Dear ms./mr. XYZ”.
Also read: How to address a cover letter
Industry-related Keywords
Since the majority of employers use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to select the most suitable resumes and cover letters, it is important to ensure that your business development cover letter is ATS-compliant.
Incorporating industry-related keywords in your cover letter will help you rank high in the ATS system and get you shortlisted.
To identify the relevant keywords, you can research the job profile of business development professionals and read the job listing thoroughly.
Highlights of Your Professional Trajectory
Rather than repeating the same detailed narration about your skills and experiences, which are already present in your business development resume, consider highlighting particular skills and accomplishments that show your ability to meet the company’s requirements for business development and growth.
The core purpose of your business development cover letter is to help you portray yourself as someone who can develop and implement growth opportunities within the company and be considered as the most suitable candidate for the vacancy.
Thus, you need to identify the needs and requirements of the company to highlight those skills and experiences that vouch for your ability to fulfill them.
Only then will the recruiters be compelled to hire you.
Also read: How to write a cover letter
Achievement Figures and Short Paragraphs
To make your business development cover letter impactful, providing a vague description of your achievements is not enough.
Therefore, to emphasize and draw the recruiters’ attention to your accomplishments, you must use numbers and figures to talk about the same.
And as stated earlier, recruiters don’t spend a lot of time on a single application. So it makes sense to shorten your paragraphs and make them concise.
A Call-to-Action
Rather than ending your business development cover letter with a cliche line like “thankyou for your consideration”, wrap up your letter by urging the recruiters for a callback.
You can write a strong call to action line like so:
“I’d appreciate the opportunity to further discuss my suitability and qualifications with you on call or in person.”
You can then go on to close your cover letter with a proper salutation such as:
- Sincerely
- With regards
- Respectfully
- Thanking you
Business Development Skills for Cover Letter and Resumes
As stated earlier, including keywords in your business development cover letter is key for making it ATS compliant.
And it so happens that most industry-related keywords are nothing but general skills of a given job profile.
Thus, by highlighting the relevant business development skills in your cover letter, you can make it ATS-friendly, and at the same time, you can demonstrate your suitability for the job.
Here are some of the general skills of a business development professional that you can highlight in your cover letter:
| Sales & Business Development | Client Relationship Management |
| Team Management | Product Development |
| Marketing | Rapport Building |
| Budgeting & Cost Management | Negotiation & Portfolio Management |
Irrespective of whether you are writing a business development manager cover letter or a cover letter for a business development associate, you need to highlight these key skills and don’t forget to tailor them according to the job listing.
Business Development Cover Letter for Freshers
Cover letters are all the more important if you are a fresher with no experience or making a career switch to business development job profiles.
This is because, through your entry-level business development cover letter, you can emphasize your soft skills (since soft skills are crucial for business development professionals) and potential.
You can highlight your academic achievements, special certification or training courses that you may have taken, and volunteer experiences relevant to business development.
Ensure that you always keep the company in the loop and research the company before you sit down to write your entry-level business development cover letter.
And be extra careful to avoid any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes while writing the cover letter.
Business Development Cover Letter Sample
Also read: 20+ Cover letter examples for your resume
Key Points
- Business development professionals are responsible for the long-term, overall growth of an organization or business.
- The header of your business development cover letter must consist of your full name, contact details, location, and current designation.
- You must personalize your business development cover letter by addressing the letter with the hiring manager’s name.
- Research the company well before you write your business development cover letter and tailor it according to the job listing.
- Include industry-related keywords in your business development cover letter and highlight the crucial skills and achievement figures.
- Make your business development cover letter concise and end it with a call-to-action.
- Strong communication skills, marketing skills, and interpersonal skills are a few of the important requirements in business development job profiles.
- Your entry-level business development cover letter should highlight your academic achievements, certifications, and volunteer experiences relevant to business development.
Skip the trouble of drafting a business development cover letter yourself and leave it to the experts. Use Hiration’s AI-powered cover letter builder and reach out to us at support@hiration.com to resolve any queries that you may have.
