Business Development Lead

About us

Be the Business is an independent charity dedicated to improving business productivity in the UK.

Through its initiatives, it has helped generate an additional £2.1bn in sales, create 15,000 new jobs, and boost productivity by £915 million in the businesses it has supported.

We focus on testing, learning, and scaling what works for businesses, offering a range of services to help them adopt technology and enhance management and leadership capabilities. Additionally, we publish the Productive Business Index, a flagship data-driven report that provides key insights into UK productivity.

"Boosting productivity is the greatest economic challenge of our generation and is the route to economic growth and improved standards of living." Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chair of Be the Business.

More details about Be the Business can be found on our website .

The Team

You'll be part of a fast-moving, start-up-style team - lean, agile, and hands-on. We operate as a cross-functional team, working collaboratively to get things done efficiently.

Our mission is to make a real impact on UK productivity. That's why we set high standards, embrace innovation, and aim for ambitious goals.

Our values are:

• Be Bold - Challenge the status quo.
• Be Purposeful - Move with energy and intent.
• Be the Change - Small, consistent improvements lead to big results.

The role

We're rapidly refining our value proposition, service offering, and market positioning to maximise our impact.

You'll start your journey with us by developing our database of prospective customers, supporting top-of-funnel activities, and generating qualified leads within large corporates.

But we won't stop there - we'll invest in your growth and development, helping you build strategic sales skills so you can take on a more active role in closing deals with large corporates.

Our buyers typically work in:

• Supply Chain Management
• Social Value & ESG
• Small Business Engagement & Value Proposition Development
• Leadership Development & Training Programmes

This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while driving real impact in the UK business landscape.

Job Purpose

• You will drive the early stages of our sales pipeline by focusing on lead generation and top-of-funnel prospecting, including identifying, engaging, and qualifying potential leads to create a robust pipeline and sustainable flow of incoming opportunities.
• You'll contribute to our overall sales strategy, ensure activity meets customer needs, and shape the wider direction of the team.

Key responsibilities

Team Collaboration

• Meet and exceed your sales targets.
• Work with CEO and Head of Innovation Lab to establish this distinct sales function, particularly responsible for the lead generation, qualification and prospecting elements of the sales cycle.
• Identify and qualify new opportunities for sales.
• Generate new business through prospecting activity and qualified lead generation to reach new accounts.
• Develop a strategic view and personal sales operating plan.

Lead Generation & Prospecting

• Identify and research potential leads through a variety of channels, including market analysis, referrals, and digital outreach.
• Initiate contact with prospects via targeted email campaigns, social media engagement, running events and outreach, and some cold calling where required to spark initial interest.
• Qualify leads against established criteria to ensure they align with our ideal customer profile and business objectives.
• Ensure lead nurturing to the point of lead conversion (sales call booked / proposal request).

Pipeline Management

• Maintain an accurate, up-to-date pipeline of prospects using CRM tools, tracking each lead's progress from initial contact to qualification.
• Work closely with other team members to ensure a smooth handoff of qualified leads, enabling them to focus on closing deals.
• Provide regular market feedback and insights to help refine targeting strategies and messaging.

Data Reporting & Process Improvement

• Track and report on lead generation metrics to measure success and identify opportunities for process enhancements.
• Use data-driven insights to continuously improve outreach strategies and pipeline efficiency, suggesting adjustments where needed.

Professional Growth & Market Awareness

• Stay updated on industry trends, competitor activities, and best practices in lead generation to keep our strategies fresh and effective.
• Act as a trusted advisor for your prospects, which will require you to keep up to date with productivity improvement best practice, the UK small and medium size business market, and key current business priorities and challenges.

What skills does the role require:

• Proven track record of top of the funnel activity to generate sales at this scale, meeting ambitious targets and managing your own sales pipeline.
• Proficient in using sales tech tools and CRMs (Sales Navigator, Salesforce) for efficient prospecting, pipeline management, and sales automation.
• Expertise in running personalised outbound campaigns at scale.
• Extensive experience managing relationships with high level internal and external stakeholders.
• Extensive experience working in a team to meet ambitious targets on demanding deadlines.
• Experience in product / programme / service ideation, innovation and set up - with confidence in ideating on and then setting up lead generation activity to support this.
• Experience in leveraging sales data to optimise outreach and improve conversions.
• Ability to work flexibly and responsively whilst still maintaining the highest levels of performance.
• A growth mindset, evidenced by investment in your professional development.
• Alignment with Be the Business's values.

Important things to know

When does the job start? We're looking for someone to get stuck in right away.

What is a working week? This is a full-time role (35 hours a week).

What is the contract duration? This is a permanent contract.

What is the salary? For this role, we're offering a basic salary of c.£50,000-£60,000 per annum plus commission (structure to be discussed at interview).

The closing date for applications is midday on Friday 14th March 2025.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early once a successful candidate is appointed.