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Business Development Foundations

4.5(2,000) on LinkedIn Learning·70K enrolled
Beginner 3 hours English Course Certificate
SkillsBusiness developmentPartnershipsPipelineDeal structuringStrategyNegotiation

Is this course right for you?

Our take
A LinkedIn Learning course that treats business development as its own discipline — not, as it's often mistaken for, a synonym for sales.

Good for: A grounding in business development and partnerships.

Skip if: You want direct-sales training or deal law.

It covers identifying and evaluating strategic partnerships, building a BD pipeline, and structuring partnership deals — the relationship-and-partnership work that grows a business through others rather than through direct selling. Drawing that line clearly is the real value, because teams that conflate BD with sales tend to do neither well.

It's a solid grounding for people moving into BD or partnerships roles, and the wrong course if you want direct-sales training or the law of deals. It comes with a LinkedIn Learning subscription (usually a free trial first; free via many libraries), and it adds a completion certificate that marks the learning, not a credential (as of 2026).

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About this course

This LinkedIn Learning course covers business development as a distinct discipline from sales: identifying and evaluating strategic partnership opportunities, building a partnership pipeline, structuring partnership proposals and term sheets, managing relationship development over long cycles, and measuring its impact on business growth.

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Instructor

RK
Robbie Kellman Baxter
LinkedIn Learning instructor
70K+ learners5 courses4.5 instructor rating

Taught by business development practitioners on LinkedIn Learning with experience closing strategic partnerships at technology and media companies.

Frequently asked questions

They overlap but aim at different things. Sales focuses on closing deals with prospects who are already potential buyers. Business development is broader and longer-term — identifying new markets, building partnerships, and creating the relationships and opportunities that sales then converts. The course draws that distinction clearly, since people often conflate the two, and it frames BD as growth strategy rather than just selling.

The foundations of building growth for a business: identifying opportunities and new markets, qualifying and prioritising them, building strategic partnerships and relationships, and the mindset and communication skills a BD role relies on. It is an introductory grounding in how organisations expand beyond direct selling, aimed at giving you the vocabulary and approach rather than a deep, sector-specific playbook.

People moving into or curious about business-development roles, plus founders, salespeople, and professionals who want to think more strategically about growth and partnerships. It assumes no prior BD background, so it works as an entry point. Anyone whose job touches finding and developing new opportunities — not just closing existing ones — will find the framing useful.

Not by default — it runs on LinkedIn Learning, which is subscription-based — but a free trial is common, and many public libraries and universities give members full access at no cost. Check whether a library card or an institution you belong to already provides LinkedIn Learning before paying, since that quietly unlocks this course and the whole catalogue.

Yes, you earn a LinkedIn Learning completion certificate that attaches to your LinkedIn profile. Treat it as a signal of professional development rather than a formal qualification — business development is judged on results, like partnerships built and pipeline created. The real value is the strategic framing and vocabulary, which show up in how you approach growth, not in the certificate itself.
Paid
LinkedIn Learning subscription
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