“You’re too much of a marketer and not enough of a salesperson.”
“Your profile isn’t 100% sales-oriented.”
These are the kinds of things a business developer with a marketing background and experience might hear constantly during interviews.
Why?
Because in many hiring practices, the distinction between marketing and sales functions persists. Business developers are often viewed as sales executives, while marketing is relegated to strategic, operational or support roles.
This separation, still entrenched in HR practices, is based on a fundamental conceptual error. In academic theory, marketing is not limited to communication or lead generation but it encompasses the entire process of creating, communicating and delivering value, including, explicitly, sales.
Therefore, to consider that a business developer is not part of marketing is to ignore the very foundations of the discipline.
I. Marketing as a global system: a theoretical clarification
a. Sales as a component of marketing
Academic definitions of marketing are unambiguous. According to the American Marketing Association:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Yes, that word! Focus on it! EXCHANGING!
It’s very important because that word alone fully integrates sales into the marketing spectrum.
Within this framework, sales are not a function external to marketing, but rather an essential step in the exchange process.
This idea is also central to the work of Philip Kotler, who describes marketing as a system integrating market analysis, product design, marketing and distribution… including the sales force.
According to Kotler, marketing is founded on a central concept: exchange.
An exchange is:
- an offer (product/service)
- a counter-offer (money, commitment, value)
- an agreement between two parties
So, sales are literally the concrete form of this exchange.
Historically, the distinction between marketing and sales stems more from internal organizational structures within companies than from a theoretical reality.
It has been reinforced by functional specialization strategies, but it does not reflect the integrated nature of marketing.
So, from a purely theoretical standpoint, sales and business development are not separate from marketing at all, but are an integral part of the discipline.
Take the marketing communications mix, for example: Surprise! “Personal selling” and “sales promotion” are fully integrated into the mix, which itself is one of the cornerstones of modern marketing!
b. From transactional logic to relational logic
The evolution of marketing further reinforces this integration. Modern approaches, particularly relationship marketing and value-driven marketing, emphasize the continuity of interactions before, during and after the sale.
The work of Christian Grönroos and the service-dominant logic developed by Stephen Vargo demonstrate that value is co-created in the interaction between the company and the customer.
From this perspective, the sale is no longer an isolated event, but a point of contact in an ongoing relationship process. The business developer then becomes a key player in this relationship, not simply an executor tasked with closing the deal.
II. The business developer IS a marketing player
a. A function at the heart of the value creation process
From an academic and theoretical perspective on marketing, a business developer is not that different from a marketer:
- A business developer uses customer relationship management (CRM) tools to analyze interactions, track opportunities and optimize their pipeline.
- A business developer actively participates in lead generation by identifying, qualifying, and activating prospects.
- A business developer analyzes the needs and motivations of potential clients to tailor their approach.
- A business developer creates compelling messages and compelling pitches that capture attention in crowded environments.
- A business developer leverages knowledge of consumer behavior to refine their sales pitch and improve conversion rates etc…
These activities fall squarely within the realm of marketing. They require a deep understanding of the market, positioning and customer expectations: skills traditionally associated with strategic marketing.
Thus, a high-performing business developer doesn’t simply deliver a sales pitch.. they actively participate in building and refining the value proposition.
In short, a business developer is simply a marketer.
b. The importance of hybrid profiles in modern organizations
Business performance depends heavily on the alignment between marketing and sales. The concept of a “marketing-sales interface” highlights the importance of collaboration between these functions, as well as the need for professionals capable of navigating between the two.
In this context, business developers with a marketing background offer several advantages:
- a better understanding of acquisition dynamics,
- the ability to adapt their messaging based on positioning,
- a more nuanced understanding of market signals,
- and a direct contribution to improving marketing strategies.
Conversely, purely sales-oriented profiles, disconnected from these dimensions, risk limiting their impact to a transactional approach, which is less suited to complex and competitive environments.
Conclusion
The opposition between business development and marketing is based neither on solid theoretical foundations nor on the contemporary realities of organizations. It is primarily a simplification inherited from outdated models that are no longer suitable.
Recognizing that sales is an integral part of marketing leads to a rethinking of the business developer’s role: no longer as a mere sales executor, but as a central player in the value creation process.
From this perspective, companies have every reason to favor hybrid profiles, capable of combining strategic understanding with operational efficiency. For it is precisely at the intersection of these skills that marketing and sales performance is now determined.
