The Best Business Development Courses

Read our Advertiser Disclosure.
Contributor, Benzinga
April 19, 2021

FREE Trial with Benzinga Pro happening right now!

Whether you’re starting a new business or struggling to grow your existing one, a business development course can be a great idea. There are so many aspects of business development that you need to cover, so it’s no surprise that many entrepreneurs have trouble with this.

Almost all business owners have something they’d like to change about their business. However, they might lack the necessary skills to do this. If you wish to overcome the obstacles that this puts in front of you, an online course is the most convenient way of doing it.

And if you’re able to find the right ones out of the thousands of courses, this may arm you with the tools needed to take your business where you’d like it to go.

Quick Look: Best Business Development Courses

What Makes a Great Business Development Course?

Since business development is a broad term that encompasses many different areas, there are a number of things that you need to consider when looking for courses that match your needs. In general, there are three main things that you should focus on:

Skills taught

You might be amazing at resource planning and product design but only to lack knowledge in marketing and customer research. There will always be things that you excel at and things that you need to work on. This is the first thing to consider when looking up business development courses.

Try to grade yourself on your knowledge of and experience in core business development concepts. With that in mind, take a look at what any given course offers and see if it matches your needs.

Instructor knowledge

You’ll hear many entrepreneurs brag about how successful they are and how great their experience has been. But you wouldn’t want to take their words for it. It’s one thing being an entrepreneur, but it can be a whole other thing to know how to transfer one’s knowledge, if it’s even worth transferring.

Your instructor needs to be an expert in their field and has the ability to deliver the right information in a way that makes it easy to learn and apply the newly acquired knowledge. Before you enroll in a course, pay close attention to whether this is the case.

Price

Business development costs a lot of money, so the last thing that you want to do is to invest in vain. When it comes to online courses, a high price doesn’t always reflect the quality.

To make sure that you can get the knowledge you’re looking for without overspending, always compare the syllabus of the course vis-à-vis its price. If you see a lot of valuable information there, it might be worth your money.

The Best Online Business Development Courses

To save you the time you’d have to spend researching business development courses, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best options out there. After taking into account the above factors, here are the courses that check all the boxes:

Best Online Business Development Courses for Beginners

Are you new to business development? Consider one of these top rated courses.

Business Development: 11 Steps to Start your First Business

Beginner • 12 videos • 2.9 hours
Business Development: 11 Steps to Start your First Business
securely through Business Development: 11 Steps to Start your First Business's website

1. Business Development: 11 Steps to Start Your First Business

If you’re thinking of starting your first business endeavor and you’re feeling a bit confused, this course can be a great starting point. It teaches the basics of business development in a way that makes it understandable to new entrepreneurs.

You’ll learn what it takes to create a viable business development strategy and how to put your plan in motion. You’ll get the clarity you need to build a strong foundation for your business.

The instructor is Miha Matlievski, an American entrepreneur with 22 years of experience behind him. After building 9 businesses and scaling them to seven or eight figures, he’s a credible source of business knowledge.

Get this course

The Ultimate Guide to Startup Business Development

All Levels • 23 videos • 1.5 hours
The Ultimate Guide to Startup Business Development
securely through The Ultimate Guide to Startup Business Development's website

2. The Ultimate Guide to Startup Business Development

Whether you’re building your own business or planning to work as a business developer in a large corporation, this course should give you all the necessary knowledge to get started. It covers all major aspects of business development.

There are no requirements in terms of knowledge or skills, as this course aims to teach you the very basic concepts that you can build on.

The author of the course is Andrew Dumont, an entrepreneur and marketer that made the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2014. With more than 3,300 students, this course has already helped many people understand what business development is really about.

Get this course

Business Development Masterclass: Learn To Build Businesses

All Levels • 123 videos • 13.7 hours
Business Development Masterclass: Learn To Build Businesses
securely through Business Development Masterclass: Learn To Build Businesses's website

3. Business Development Masterclass: Learn To Build Businesses

With 13.5 hours of content, this course is one of the most comprehensive beginner business development courses. If you’re serious about this and you’re willing to invest a bit more money, this course may prove a worthy investment.

You’ll learn near everything there is to know about developing a successful business in this class and then some.

Leon Chaudhari, the course’s instructor, is one of Udemy’s bestselling coaches and a successful entrepreneur who has helped thousands of people build their business. You’ll find that he has a myriad of useful information to share in this course.

Get this course

Best Intermediate Online Business Development Courses

Do you have business development experience, consider one of these courses.

Business Strategy: 8 Best Strategies For Business Growth

All Levels • 34 videos • 5.3 hours
Business Strategy: 8 Best Strategies For Business Growth
securely through Business Strategy: 8 Best Strategies For Business Growth's website

1. Business Strategy: 8 Best Strategies For Business Growth by Udemy

Those who already have a basic understanding of business development but need to grow their skillset even further will likely find this course useful. It can teach you how to overcome some of the more serious challenges in the way of your business growth.

Although there isn’t any prerequisite, it’s best if you’re already familiar with the basics of business development before taking this course.

It was created by Business Training Solutions, a team of business advisors with more than 13,000 Udemy students among them. They are experts in various fields who have valuable information to share.

Get this course

Create your first strategy: masterclass on strategy planning

All levels • 37 videos • 2 hours
Create your first strategy: masterclass on strategy planning
securely through Create your first strategy: masterclass on strategy planning's website

2. Create Your First Strategy: Masterclass on Strategy Planning

Strategic planning is at the core of business development. Those who want to learn about strategic planning will find all kinds of useful information in this masterclass.

While the course offers some basic knowledge, the main focus of the masterclass in on more complicated processes like situational and risk analysis. If these are the areas that you plan to explore, make sure you have the basic math and statistical skills, and the course will do the rest.

The creator of the course is personal development and business effectiveness specialist Julia Barbosa. She specializes in a few fields that are hugely important to business development, such as change management and strategic planning.

Get this course

Entrepreneurship: How To Start A Business From Business Idea

Intermediate • 125 videos • 7.9 hours
Entrepreneurship: How To Start A Business From Business Idea
securely through Entrepreneurship: How To Start A Business From Business Idea's website

3. Entrepreneurship: How to Start a Business from Business Idea

This is another comprehensive course that offers 8 hours’ worth of information related to business development. It covers some basic concepts, but its main focus is on more demanding topics such as intellectual property protection and fundraising.

The course’s creator, Alex Genadinik, has more than 10 years of experience in entrepreneurship, SEO, and Marketing. The knowledge that he’ll share with you has helped thousands of people develop viable business strategies.

Get this course

Best Advanced Online Business Development Courses

Business development expert, looking to sharpen your skills? Consider one of these advanced level business development courses.

Business Strategy Development: The Art of Differentiation

All Levels • 30 videos • 1.5 hours
Business Strategy Development: The Art of Differentiation
securely through Business Strategy Development: The Art of Differentiation's website

1. Business Strategy: Learn the Art of Differentiation

Now we’re getting into courses that are aimed at those who want to master the more advanced yet essential aspects of business development. This course focuses on differentiation as one of the crucial steps to scaling your business.

You’ll learn various strategic tools that can help you stand out from the competition and increase the value of your business.

The instructor is Tony Prouse, a well-known business strategy coach with over 30 years of experience in business development. His approach is unique and highly effective, which is reflected in this course.

Get this course

Business Development Strategies for Beginners

All Levels • 10 videos • 0.8 hours
Business Development Strategies for Beginners
securely through Business Development Strategies for Beginners's website

2. Advanced Business Development Strategies: Business Tools

This course is designed for those who are open to using innovative tools for growing their business and tracking its progress. It covers topics like growth-enhancing strategies, performance tracking, and financial performance optimization.

The author Gaby I is a prominent entrepreneur and business coach with more than 20,000 students worldwide. Her advanced methods have helped business owners in many different industries thrive and develop successful businesses.

Get this course

Sales and Business Case Development

Intermediate • 43 videos • 2.9 hours
Sales and Business Case Development
securely through Sales and Business Case Development's website

3. Sales and Business Case Development

This course can be of great value to business developers who are looking to get the most out of their marketing and sales departments. As the two departments often intertwine, many business owners may struggle to delineate the two, which can result in conflicts and inefficiency.

This course will teach you how to use the key competencies of these departments to ensure business growth. Over the course of 3 hours, you’ll be able to tap into the full potential of your marketing and sales teams.

The instructor is Sorin Dumitrascu, a management trainer with more than 10 years of managerial experience. Having successfully managed teams in various industries, he knows how to get the most out of them.

Get this course

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many high-quality courses that any given business developer can take to expand their knowledge.

One could say that business development is always a work in progress, so it’s a good idea to update and compare your knowledge every once in a while.

Want to learn more business, marketing or finance skills? Check out Benzinga's guides for the best online business management course, best branding classes and best public relations courses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

What are some good business development skills?

A

Some excellent business development skills include collaboration, negotiation, project management and research.

Q

What should you look for in an outstanding business development course?

A

You need to consider the material, skills, price and instructor.

Southern New Hampshire University Online

SNHU Online Offers:

  1. Flexible schedules
  2. Affordable tuition
  3. Online tutoring
  4. Access to electronic research materials
  5. Specialized academic advising
  6. Supportive online community

Learn more at SNHU.