What Is A Business Advisor? (With Skills And Duties)

By Indeed Editorial Team

Published 3 January 2022

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

A business advisor helps business professionals and entrepreneurs by planning and executing various business strategies to improve their business and reach goals. A career as a business advisor can be rewarding and satisfying. Understanding the skills and responsibilities of a business advisor can help you determine if this is a suitable career for you. In this article, we discuss what a business advisor is, explore the essential skills and steps to become a business advisor.

What is a business advisor?

For many business professionals, understanding the answer to "What is a business advisor" may be beneficial. A business advisor plays an important role in helping entrepreneurs make their businesses successful by providing them with effective strategies and solutions. They research market trends and customer reviews to find useful strategies for reaching organisational goals. Business advisors help companies to stimulate long-term growth.

Duties of a business advisor

Here are the duties and responsibilities of a business advisor:

educating staff members and clients with IT knowledge, sales and marketing, company goals and relationship with clients
researching and analysing financial records
preparing budgets for the company
analysing the marketing performance of the company
evaluating and improving current business strategies
identifying opportunities for future business expansion
advising and guiding employees, suppliers, contractors and vendors
studying consumer behaviour and making significant changes to the company policies related to the products and customer services
arranging meetings with clients, customers and employees
discussing the company's performance and what changes can be suitable for better sales
improving communication strategies with the collaborating agencies and investors for a better relationship
performing tests on product's quality and implementing methods to improve the product according to the customer's response

How to become a business advisor

Here are the steps to become a business advisor:

1. Earn a bachelor's degree

Having a bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement to become a business advisor. Many interested candidates prefer pursuing a bachelor's degree in business, finance and economics. Educational qualifications for hiring a business advisor can be subjective to the requirements of an employer. A bachelor's degree in any major related to business can help you during the hiring process.

2. Join an internship

Candidates can complete their internships while pursuing their bachelor's degree or after completing it. Internships can enhance your portfolio and help you get knowledge of how things work in the business field. Many academic institutions offer business internships. You can also search for relevant internship opportunities on online platforms.

3. Earn a certification

Certification can help candidates learn the basic steps of gathering information about the market and how to start a career in business advising. If you are unsure about which certification to do, you can talk to your seniors and your academic advisor for recommendations. These certification programmes include teaching students about the business software on which business advisors work such as word and excel. This helps business advisors to have a knowledge of common modern technology. Enrolling in a certification course can help you gain practical knowledge.

You can earn any of these certifications to become a business advisor:

Certified management accountant
Certified sales professional
Sales management
Project management professional

4. Apply for business advisor jobs

Many recruiters prefer hiring candidates with some working experience. Before applying for any specific job, you can customise your resume accordingly and mention all of your internships and professional work experience. Candidates often start applying for the companies just after completing their bachelor's degrees. In entry-level business advisor jobs, employers look for candidates who are able to take responsibility for delivering services to the clients like corporate filings, tax services and business registration.

Skills for a business advisor

Here are some essential skills for a business advisor:

Business strategies

Business advisors research and gather information for making strategic plans that help in achieving clients' business goals and milestones. Effective business strategies help companies to secure a competitive and prominent status in the competitive market. With the help of this skill, business advisors lead strategies and implement them in the company's policies for achieving the overall growth of the organisation.

Consulting

Business advisors use their consulting skills to increase the impact of project implementation and the final quality of the products. They provide technical, administrative and management teams with information about the transmission of working and other necessary technical data for creating a bigger project impact in the market. Consulting also includes giving advice on budget preparation and cost analysis.

Performance management

Business advisors use this skill for assisting the company with various services such as expense management, recruitment and HR department. It also includes achieving sustainable revenue ratios by developing organisational and performance management. They educate every single employee about the performance of the company in the market and how each one of them can contribute to increasing it.

Client relationships

Business advisors contact the existing clients to establish better relationships by contract renewals. They use good communication skills to make client relationships last longer. Business advisors look for potential problems in the past with the clients and resolve them. Business advisors lead the design team and guide them to improve relationships with the clients.

Research skills

Researching skills allow business advisors to gather information about the market and performance of the products. They further use this information to analyse data on the needs of customers and implement policies to fulfil their needs. Business advisors also guide employees to conduct a market research approach to make the research process fast.

Sales skills

Business advisors use their sales skills to set objectives and goals and achieve them in a given time frame. With the help of this skill, they assist the sales team in achieving goals. Business advisors encourage each employee to complete sales goals which in return increases profit ratios for the company.

Planning

Business advisors create and implement necessary action plans for treating loss figures. They use their planning skills and correct organisational and departmental issues. From reducing sales issues to the realignment of the budget, business advisors develop action plans for all issues. With the help of planning skills, they schedule tasks and set deadlines for the project.

Average salary of a business advisor

The average salary of a business advisor is ₹17,214 per month. This salary may vary depending on the skills and experience level of business advisors. Candidates can advance their education level by gaining a master's degree and expect a higher salary than other professionals. The salary of business advisors also depends on their job location.

For example, the average salary of a business advisor in Hyderabad, Telangana is ₹54,466 per month. The average salary of a business advisor in Delhi is ₹17,182 per month. Different companies offer different salaries to the business advisor. IndiaFilings Private Limited offers an average salary of ₹15,009 per month to business advisors.

Related job roles

Here are some related job roles with their national average salaries and primary duties:

1. Business analyst

National average salary: ₹44,286 per month

Primary duties: Business analysts find areas of improvement in the current business processes and find effective solutions. They train and coach staff members in the organisation. Business analysts are responsible for collaborating with clients and stakeholders and developing initiatives. They also develop projects and monitor project performance.

2. Finance manager

National average salary: ₹46,520 per year

Primary duties: Finance managers are responsible for overseeing the financial processes of an organisation. They develop and prepare financial reports and create long-term financial goals for the organisation. Finance managers also oversee the budgeting of the organisation and maintain cash flow. From developing financial models to interpreting databases, finance managers are responsible for the overall financial health of the organisation.

3. Business development manager

National average salary: ₹25,737 per month

Primary duties: Business development managers help businesses by researching leads and finding new opportunities. They research the targeted market and develop marketing strategies. Business development managers work with the design and sales team to reach the company's goals. They are also responsible for building healthy relationships with clients and identifying new prospects. Business development managers develop innovative ideas to increase the profit of the business.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.