Hiring the right business development manager can mean the difference between stagnant growth and a thriving pipeline of opportunities. But in 2025, companies aren’t just looking across town for talent; they’re looking across borders.
More and more founders, startups, and established businesses are choosing to hire a remote business development manager to expand into new markets, secure strategic partnerships, and generate leads without the overhead of an in-office hire.
The shift to remote hiring is all about access. By tapping into a global pool of skilled professionals, you can find someone who not only understands sales and partnerships but also has the flexibility, cultural awareness, and digital fluency to succeed in today’s distributed business environment.
With the right approach, your next remote business development manager can accelerate growth, strengthen client relationships, and open doors you didn’t even know were there.
What Does a Remote Business Development Manager Do?
At its core, a business development manager (BDM) is responsible for driving growth. They identify opportunities, build relationships, and create strategies that help your company enter new markets, win new clients, and strengthen partnerships.
When hired remotely, the role doesn’t change in purpose, but it does require an added layer of digital communication, independence, and adaptability.
A remote business development manager typically handles:
- Lead generation and prospecting: Researching and identifying potential clients, often using tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or Crunchbase.
- Relationship building: Nurturing strong connections with prospects, partners, and stakeholders across different time zones and cultures.
- Sales strategy execution: Designing and implementing growth strategies aligned with your company’s goals, whether that’s breaking into a new market or upselling existing accounts.
- Partnership development: Seeking out collaborations that can expand your reach, such as channel partners, distributors, or affiliates.
- Pipeline management: Using CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce to track deals, monitor progress, and report on results.
- Market insights: Keeping a pulse on industry trends, competitor activity, and regional nuances to position your offering effectively.
Because they work remotely, top candidates also excel at virtual collaboration. They’re fluent in digital tools, clear communicators in both synchronous and asynchronous settings, and self-motivated enough to deliver results without daily in-person supervision.
In short, a remote business development manager is both a sales strategist and a relationship builder, capable of driving growth for your company while seamlessly operating within a distributed team.
Why Hire Remotely for This Role?
Business development is all about creating connections and opening doors, but those connections don’t have to be limited by geography. In fact, hiring a remote business development manager can give your company a competitive edge by combining global reach with cost efficiency.
Here are the main reasons why companies are turning to remote hiring for this role:
Access to a broader talent pool
Instead of competing for the same few candidates in your local market, remote hiring allows you to tap into a global network of professionals.
This means you can find someone with the exact industry experience, language skills, and market knowledge you need, often in regions where competition for talent is less intense.
Cost savings without touching quality
Hiring locally can come with high salary expectations, office costs, and overhead. Remote business development managers, especially those in nearshore markets like Latin America, offer the same level of skill and expertise at significantly lower costs, while still working in time zones that align with U.S. business hours.
Diversity of perspectives
Expanding your team beyond borders introduces cultural diversity that can strengthen your sales approach. A remote BDM from another region may understand how to position your product more effectively in international markets, helping you scale faster.
Flexibility and growth opportunities
Remote hiring makes it easier to scale your business development function up or down based on your growth goals. Whether you need a single manager or an entire team, you can adapt more quickly when you aren’t tied to local hiring constraints.
Alignment with modern sales practices
Much of business development today happens online through video calls, email, LinkedIn outreach, and virtual events. This makes a remote manager not only practical but also a natural fit for the digital-first world of sales.
In short, hiring remotely is about gaining strategic advantages in reach, flexibility, and market understanding that an in-office role often can’t provide.
Skills and Qualifications to Look For
A remote business development manager needs more than just sales experience; they need the right mix of business acumen, digital fluency, and self-discipline to succeed in a remote environment. When evaluating candidates, here’s what to look for:
Core Business Development Skills
These are the non-negotiables that define success in the role:
- Sales and negotiation expertise: Proven ability to close deals and handle objections with confidence.
- Relationship building: Strong interpersonal skills to create trust with prospects, clients, and partners.
- Strategic thinking: Ability to design and execute growth strategies aligned with company objectives.
- Analytical mindset: Comfortable with KPIs, revenue targets, and using data to guide decision-making.
Remote-Specific Skills
Not every great salesperson thrives remotely. Look for candidates who can adapt to the challenges of distributed work:
- Self-motivation and accountability: The drive to deliver results without daily in-person supervision.
- Clear communication: Proficiency in both written and verbal communication across digital channels.
- Tech-savviness: Comfort using CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce), collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, Asana), and sales automation platforms (Outreach, Apollo).
- Asynchronous collaboration: Ability to work effectively across different time zones and keep momentum without waiting for live updates.
Industry-Specific Expertise
Depending on your company’s focus, it’s often critical to hire someone with relevant background knowledge:
- SaaS or tech sales for software companies.
- Financial services experience for fintech startups.
- Healthcare, e-commerce, or logistics knowledge if you operate in niche markets.
- Language skills and regional insights for companies targeting international markets.
When a candidate demonstrates strength across these three dimensions, they’re much more likely to succeed as a remote business development manager and deliver measurable growth for your business.
Where to Find Remote Business Development Managers
Finding the right remote business development manager starts with knowing where to look. The best candidates aren’t always browsing job boards; they’re often already working in growth-focused roles and open to the right opportunity.
Here are the most effective sourcing channels:
Specialized Recruitment Agencies
Agencies that focus on remote and nearshore hiring (like South) can help you access vetted candidates quickly. For U.S. companies, nearshore recruitment in Latin America has become a powerful option.
You get highly skilled professionals in your time zone, cultural compatibility, and salaries that are 50–70% lower than U.S. equivalents.
Professional Networks and LinkedIn
LinkedIn remains the go-to platform for identifying and engaging sales talent. Use advanced filters to target candidates by title, industry, and location.
Posting in relevant groups or leveraging InMail outreach can surface high-quality professionals who may not be actively applying elsewhere.
Talent Marketplaces
Platforms like Upwork, Toptal, or Deel can connect you with business development talent, though they often work on a freelance or contract basis.
These are good for project-based needs but may not be ideal if you’re looking for a long-term hire.
Referrals and Networks
Your own network can be a goldmine. Ask employees, partners, or investors for introductions to proven sales professionals. Many of the best BDMs are referred rather than recruited.
Industry Events and Virtual Communities
Remote-first professionals often gather in niche online communities, Slack groups, and virtual events focused on sales, SaaS, or startup growth.
These can be excellent hunting grounds for proactive candidates who stay on top of industry trends.
If speed and efficiency matter, Latin America is one of the most cost-effective regions to hire from.
The time-zone alignment with the U.S. means your business development manager can join sales calls and team meetings in real-time, something that’s harder to achieve with offshore regions like Asia or Eastern Europe.
How to Structure the Hiring Process
A clear, repeatable process helps you hire a remote business development manager who can actually move the needle. Use this step-by-step playbook to go from role definition to signed offer confidently.
Step 1: Define outcomes and KPIs (before you post)
- Clarify ICP, target markets, and territory.
- Set 90-day outcomes (e.g., “qualify 60 SQLs,” “open 10 partner conversations,” “build a $500k pipeline”).
- Choose KPIs: SQLs, meetings booked, win rate, cycle time, pipeline coverage, partner-sourced revenue.
Step 2: Craft a role-aligned, remote-ready job description
- Responsibilities tied to outcomes (lead gen, partnership building, pipeline mgmt., market research).
- Required skills (negotiation, CRM mastery, async communication) + nice-to-haves (industry knowledge, languages).
- Compensation structure: base + variable + clear commission plan; note ramp period and quota timeline.
- Tools you use (HubSpot/Salesforce, Sales Navigator, Apollo, Zoom, Slack) and time-zone expectations.
Step 3: Sourcing + first-pass screening
- Mix channels: LinkedIn searches, referrals, nearshore recruiters, and curated communities.
- 10-minute screen (video or audio): confirm market fit, comp alignment, English/Spanish (if relevant), time-zone overlap.
Step 4: Structured interviews (scorecard-driven)
Create a consistent loop so every candidate is measured on the same rubric.
- Competency Interview (45–60 min)
- Map to core competencies: prospecting, discovery, objection handling, negotiation, and account planning.
- Sample questions:
- “Walk me through your prospecting system; daily inputs → weekly outputs.”
- “Tell me about a deal you rescued late-stage. What changed?”
- “How do you prioritize markets when you’re greenfield?”
- Practical Exercise / Role-Play (30–45 min)
- Provide a one-page brief (your ICP, 2 buyer personas, product bullets).
- Ask for a 10-email/5-LinkedIn touch sequence and a 5-minute live discovery role-play.
- Score on clarity, personalization, call control, and next-step setting.
- Tools & Process Deep-Dive (30 min)
- Have them share screen (redact personal data) to walk through their CRM hygiene: stages, notes, tasks, reporting.
- Evaluate pipeline discipline and forecasting logic.
- Values & Remote Collaboration Interview (30 min)
- Probe async habits: written updates, weekly forecasting, cross-functional comms with Marketing/CS.
- Ask, “Show me a recent written update you sent to leadership (redacted).”
Step 5: Work sample (time-boxed, 48 hours)
- Deliverables:
- A short market entry plan for a niche (2–3 pages).
- A list of 30 target accounts with rationale.
- A first-call discovery script and two objection responses.
- Keep it light (2–3 hours of effort). Score for thinking, not polish.
Step 6: Reference checks (15 minutes each, 2–3 refs)
- Ask managers and cross-functional partners:
- “What results did they deliver in the first 90 days?”
- “How did they handle slow quarters?”
- “Would you rehire them? Under what conditions?”
Step 7: Final alignment + offer
- Review compensation, quota, ramp, territory, tool access, and enablement.
- Share a draft 30-60-90 day plan and confirm mutual expectations.
- Send a written offer with variable comp mechanics, crystal-clear (how/when commissions are calculated and paid).
The Takeaway
Hiring a remote business development manager is one of the smartest growth moves a company can make.
With the right person in place, you’ll have someone dedicated to building your pipeline, forging partnerships, and creating new revenue opportunities, all without the overhead and limitations of hiring locally.
The key is to be intentional: define your outcomes and structure a clear hiring process. If you want to simplify the process and tap into top-tier talent from Latin America, professionals who work in your time zone, understand U.S. markets, and cost up to 70% less than domestic hires, South can help.
We specialize in connecting U.S. companies with vetted, experienced business development managers and other remote professionals across the region.
Ready to hire your next remote business development manager? Contact us today and start scaling your growth team with the right talent, at the right cost!
