GENERAL INTRODUCTION

In 2026, Account Executives overtook software engineers as the most in-demand remote job title globally, a clear signal that sales and business development have moved to the center of the modern economy. Every company, from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, depends on professionals who can identify opportunities, build relationships, and drive revenue growth. Business Development & Sales is one of the most dynamic, high-impact, and rewarding career paths you can pursue.

Here's why:

• Universal demand. Sales and BD roles exist in every industry, tech, finance, healthcare, energy, FMCG, and beyond. The skills you develop are transferable across sectors and geographies.
• Accelerated earning potential. Unlike most entry-level roles, BD & Sales positions typically include variable compensation (base salary + commission/bonus), often outpacing peers in other functions early in their careers.
• Meritocratic career growth. Sales is one of the few fields where performance is directly measurable. Top performers are promoted faster, regardless of seniority, making it an ideal path for ambitious, results-driven professionals.
• AI is your co-pilot, not your replacement. 70% of top-performing sales teams already use AI in their daily workflows, and sales professionals save an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes per day using AI-powered tools. Rather than eliminating roles, AI is elevating them, automating repetitive tasks so you can focus on strategy, creativity, and human connection.

The 2026 Landscape: A Field Transformed

• AI-powered selling is the new baseline. Only 12% of companies don't use AI for prospecting, meaning AI-assisted sales is now the industry standard, not the exception. Tools like AI-driven lead scoring, conversation intelligence platforms (Gong, Chorus, Clari), and AI roleplay simulators are reshaping how professionals learn and sell.
• Digital-first and hybrid engagement. Remote and hybrid selling have become the norm. Professionals engage clients through a mix of in-person meetings, video calls, and digital touchpoints, expanding your reach far beyond a single geography.
• Data-driven decision making. Modern sales professionals leverage CRM analytics, buyer intent data, and predictive insights to make smarter decisions. The shift is from volume-based selling ("more calls = more deals") to precision-based selling ("right prospect, right message, right time").
• Revenue as a team sport. Business Development, Sales, Customer Success, and Marketing increasingly operate as an integrated revenue engine, often coordinated through Revenue Operations (RevOps) teams. Understanding how these functions interconnect gives you a significant career advantage.

Career Paths Covered in This Guide

This guide serves as your roadmap to building a successful career across the interconnected roles that make up the revenue function:

• Career Path: What you'll do
• Business Development & Sales: Identify new markets and opportunities, build pipeline, negotiate and close deals.
• Key Account Management: Manage and grow relationships with a company's most strategic clients.
• Customer Success & Customer Service: Ensure clients achieve their goals with your product/service, driving retention and expansion

.

MAIN ROLES IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & SALES

Business Development & Sales titles vary across companies and industries, but the underlying functions are consistent. Understanding these roles, and how they connect, will help you navigate job boards, target the right opportunities, and plan your career trajectory.

Business Development & Sales: Understanding the distinction

Before diving into specific roles, it's essential to understand the two core functions that drive revenue in any organization, and how they differ.

How they work together: Think of Business Development as laying the foundation and Sales as constructing the building. BD professionals identify emerging markets, strategic partners, and high-value opportunities. Sales professionals then execute, converting those opportunities into revenue through direct client engagement, negotiation, and closing.

In many organizations, these functions operate as a seamless pipeline: BD generates and qualifies opportunities, then hands them off to Sales for conversion. Companies with well-aligned BD and Sales teams consistently report higher revenue growth and more efficient customer acquisition.

Important Nuance In practice, especially at startups and smaller companies, one person may handle both functions. As organizations scale, these roles tend to specialize. The key takeaway, whether a job title says Business Development or Sales, look at the actual responsibilities to understand where it falls on this spectrum.

How Customer Service & Success fit in?

Business Development & Sales departments are expected to work closely with Customer Service and Customer Success teams, together, they form the complete revenue lifecycle.

Customer Service is reactive and moment-focused. It's about solving specific customer issues, technical problems, or answering questions as they arise. The goal: fast resolution and positive experience. Increasingly, tier-1 queries are handled by AI-powered chatbots, with human agents focusing on complex cases and escalations. 

Customer Success is proactive and strategic. It's about ensuring clients achieve their business goals with your product or service, driving retention, expansion, and upsells. CSMs use data (health scores, usage metrics, NRR targets) to prevent churn and identify growth opportunities. In 2026, Customer Success is recognized as a revenue-generating function, not just a support role. 

How they connect to BD & Sales: Customer insights from CS and CSM teams inform BD strategy (what products to develop, what markets to enter) and Sales execution (objection handling, competitive positioning). In turn, BD and Sales set the right client expectations that CS and CSM fulfill, creating a feedback loop that drives growth.

Career Progression Map

Go back up

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY
Get to know the market

Now that you have learned more about the Business Development & Sales job function, make a list of the Top 10 companies you would like to work for. This is the minimum number of companies you should have on your radar, as getting a job is a job in itself, and you need to put in the effort to secure the best opportunities!

Get started:

• Visit the company website to gain insights into how their business works.
• Check out their LinkedIn page and start following them.
• Speak with at least 3 Alumni working in your area(s) of interest. You can use LinkedIn or your personal network to connect with people working in those companies, sectors, or functions.

For each company on your list, identify:

• The sub-sector it belongs to.
• Two roles you would like to apply for. Search on the IE Career Portal, the company's careers page, LinkedIn, JobTeaser, and other job search platforms.
• One industry trend the company is applying. This will be especially useful when preparing for interviews and applications.
• Interview insights and candidate experiences on platforms such as Glassdoor or WikiJob.

LinkedIn Tip: Save your job searches to receive notifications when new opportunities are posted.

Once you have the target list, expand your research. You can download this spreadsheet and fill it out! This will help you organize your internship or job search, track the opportunities you're interested in, and prepare effectively for each stage of the application process.

Go back up

DESIRED STUDENT PROFILE

Good news: You don't need prior sales experience or a specific personality type to succeed in BD & Sales. What matters most is curiosity, resilience, strong communication skills, and a willingness to learn. Sales is one of the most meritocratic fields, your performance and potential matter deeply. Companies hire for attitude and aptitude, then train for skills.

Your IE education provides a strong commercial foundation, now it's about developing the specific capabilities that drive revenue.

CORE SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

How to develop your own skills

• Commercial Skills: Participate in sales simulations, take negotiation courses (LinkedIn Learning, Coursera), read foundational sales books like The Challenger Sale or SPIN Selling.
• Interpersonal Skills: Join IE clubs, practice public speaking (Toastmasters, class presentations), conduct informational interviews with professionals in your target industry.
• Technical Skills: Get free certifications (HubSpot Academy, Salesforce Trailhead), experiment with CRM demos, explore AI tools like ChatGPT for sales use cases, practice video messaging with tools like Loom.
• Mindset: Set personal stretch goals, track your progress, seek feedback early and often, reflect on failures as learning opportunities.

What you don't need

• A business degree: Any major works. Tech, humanities, science backgrounds are all valued.
• To be an extrovert: Many top salespeople are introverts who excel at deep listening and thoughtful questioning. Prior sales experience — Most companies have structured training programs and expect to develop you from scratch.
• Prior sales experience: Most companies have structured training programs and expect to develop you from scratch.

What companies actually look for

When hiring for BD & Sales roles, recruiters prioritize:

• Coachability: Willing to learn, adapt, and take feedback
• Curiosity: Asks great questions and genuinely wants to understand the customer
• Resilience: Bounces back from rejection without losing motivation
• Clear Communication: Articulates ideas concisely and compellingly
• Results Orientation: Driven by goals, metrics, and measurable outcomes
• Customer Obsession: Focused on solving customer problems, not just hitting quota

Remember: Sales is a learnable skill set. The best salespeople aren't born, they're developed through practice, coaching, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY 
CV customization

This is the moment to apply the knowledge acquired in the previous sections and boost your applications!

• Tailor your CV using the keywords and key insights from the previous sections. Use the IE CV Template (Template for JMR or Template for EC) as your base. You can incorporate these keywords mainly into your professional summary, but you can also use them in the following sections: Relevant Subjects, Thesis Project, Relevant Experience, and Extracurricular Activities.
• Review the descriptions of your experiences mentioned in your CV. Make sure you rephrase them using keywords from the specific sector of the company and the job description.
• Upload your CV as a one-page PDF to the IE Career Portal so you can use it for your applications. We have direct connections with many excellent companies, so don't miss the opportunity to apply for the positions they publish on the portal.

Go back up

STEPS OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Applications are usually submitted online through the company’s website. Check with your Career Advisor first to see if you can get a referral before applying.

2026 Reality: Many companies now use AI-powered screening tools, video interview platforms, and sales simulation software. Being comfortable on camera and articulating yourself clearly in digital formats is essential.

WHERE TO APPLY

Build Your LAMP List (The 2-Hour Job Search Strategy)

Based on Steve Dalton's The 2-Hour Job Search, use the LAMP method to prioritize your target companies. LAMP = List, Alumni, Motivation, Posting

• How to build your list: Start with a handful of dream employers (5–10 companies from the Tech, Finance, FMCG, or Industry sectors featured in this guide).
• Use AI to generate similar companies: Ask ChatGPT or Claude: "I'm interested in [Company X, Y, Z]. Suggest 30–35 similar companies in [sector] that hire for BD & Sales roles." Give feedback and refine the list until you have around 40 companies in total.

Score each company on a spreadsheet:

• A (Alumni): Do they have IE alumni? (Check LinkedIn, IE Alumni Directory) — Y/N
• M (Motivation): How interested are you? (Rate 1-3)
• P (Posting): Do they have relevant job postings? (Rate 1-3)

Focus your outreach on the Top 6–10 companies with the highest LAMP scores.

Why this works: AI can reduce LAMP list creation from 40 minutes to 10 minutes, while scoring helps you prioritize strategically rather than applying randomly.

Company Careers Pages

Use the lists from the sector sections above (Tech, Finance, Industry, FMCG). Check their careers pages regularly and set up job alerts.

LinkedIn (Your Most Powerful Tool)

• Follow target companies and engage with their content (like and comment thoughtfully).
• Connect with recruiters and sales leaders: personalize your connection requests.
• Set up job alerts for specific roles and companies.
• Build your personal brand: share insights, comment on industry trends, and showcase your learning.
• Research before applying: see who works there, what they post about, and what the company culture is like.

Graduate Programs

Structured 1–2-year programs with rotations, training, and fast-tracked progression. Examples of top programs include P&G, Unilever, and L'Oréal (FMCG); Google and Salesforce (Tech); and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (Finance). Apply 12–18 months before the start date, as deadlines often fall between October and December. Find these programs on company careers pages or sites like GraduateJobs.com.

Referral Programs

Many companies, especially in Tech and Finance, have referral programs that reward employees for recommending candidates. Reach out to IE Alumni working at your target companies for insights and potential referrals.

Important: Apply through official channels first unless the company explicitly encourages referrals before submitting an application.

IE Career Portal

Upload your CV and apply to opportunities posted by Talent & Careers. IE has direct relationships with many companies, giving you an advantage.

Graduate Programs

A fast-tracked 1-, 2-, or even 3-year career pathway with a specific organization or within a particular industry. Usually, you are offered industry-specific training, professional development, and networking opportunities.

Many graduate programs also offer the opportunity to work in multiple roles within an organization on a rotating basis, giving you exposure to a range of different jobs within your chosen field. These programs usually start in September, and the application process can begin up to one year in advance. For example, Graduate Jobs & Schemes. Remember to make use of these resources from Talent & Careers:

• Talent Forum and other specific recruiting events organized virtually or on campus.
• Talent & Careers Weekly Newsletter: Email sent by Talent & Careers every week, featuring events, competitions, internship opportunities, graduate programs, and more.
• IE Career Portal: Talent & Careers' job platform, where you can upload your CV and apply for opportunities.

Go back up

Make sure to check all Talent & Careers communications in order to see more options how to gain experience.

INTERNSHIPS IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & SALES

Carrying out an internship to gain more experience in this area will be a plus. It can be an internship in sales, customer service, public relations, business development, or other related areas.

You can start applying for internships as early as your first year of studies (but remember to check the Internship Periods calendar with your Academic Department first). Keep in mind that companies usually offer long-term internships to penultimate- or final-year students.

That is why it is important to gain more experience through extracurricular activities, virtual internships (like those mentioned above), or summer and part-time internships at smaller companies or startups during your first years of study.

.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY 
Gain experience and enrich your CV

Here you have your To-Do List of actions to strengthen your professional profile:

• Join IE Clubs and make sure you actively participate.
• Complete at least 1 virtual experience.
• Attend at least 5 sector-specific events per year, including the IE Talent Forum and sector-specific recruitment events.
• Network with at least a couple of IE alumni working in your sector of interest.

Go back up

Other guides:

• Client Service Managers
• Sales Engineers
• Sales Managers
• Sales Representatives

Go back up