Overview
The Business Development Manager is responsible for driving sustainable new business growth and increasing market share across the corporate and creative agency events sector. The role focuses on engaging clients early in the decision‑making and pitch cycle, positioning the business as a trusted technology production partner.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
- New Business Development
- Proactively identify and engage new corporate and creative agency clients across the UK through targeted outreach, networking, events, and referrals.
- Build and maintain senior‑level relationships across integrated creative, experiential, production, and marketing‑led agencies, as well as corporate clients.
- Drive sustainable growth and increased market share within the corporate events sector by prioritising strategically aligned, repeatable opportunities.
- Embed into early‑stage client and agency conversations, pitch planning, and brief development.
- Monitor market trends, buying behaviours, and competitor activity to inform targeting and opportunity generation.
- Opportunity Ownership & Conversion
- Own new business opportunities from initial engagement through to conversion, maintaining clear responsibility for momentum and stakeholder alignment.
- Qualify opportunities rigorously, ensuring alignment with strategic fit, capability, resource availability, and commercial viability. Confidently decline opportunities that are not commercially aligned.
- Prepare and deliver compelling presentations, pitches, and proposals in collaboration with Account Management and Production teams.
- Attend and contribute to client pitches and chemistry meetings; delivery execution and margin ownership sit outside this role.
- Support high‑level commercial discussions and cost understanding where appropriate.
- Relationship Stewardship & Handover
- Remain involved post‑event as a senior relationship owner, ensuring continuity and clarity during transition into Account Management.
- Support effective internal handovers that preserve client context, objectives, and relationship strength.
- Maintain light‑touch engagement with strategically important clients and agencies to support long‑term growth and repeat business.
- Market Awareness & Insight
- Maintain a strong understanding of the corporate and creative agency landscape and the wider event production ecosystem.
- Track and report on business development activity and pipeline performance using CRM and reporting tools.
- Share relevant market and client insight with Commercial and Account Management leadership to inform pipeline and proposition strategy.
- Defining Success in this Role
- A consistently strong, high‑quality new business pipeline focused on corporate and creative agency clients.
- Increased market presence and share within the corporate events sector.
- Earlier involvement in pitch cycles, reducing reactive, late‑stage engagement.
- Conversion of strategic, repeatable accounts that support sustainable long‑term growth.
- Clear, effective internal handovers that preserve client intent and relationships.
Technical and Commercial Skills
- Strong understanding of the event production ecosystem, with familiarity across audio, video, lighting, and media.
- Proven ability to generate and convert new business within corporate and creative agency markets.
- Sound commercial judgement with confidence to qualify, progress, or decline opportunities appropriately.
- Financial awareness, including working to targets and understanding commercial constraints.
- Confident use of Microsoft Office applications; experience with CRM systems beneficial (Salesforce desirable).
- Awareness of modern productivity and presentation tools, including AI‑enabled tools such as Copilot and design tools such as Canva (advantageous but not critical).
Professional Skills
- Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills, comfortable engaging at senior client and agency level.
- Highly organised, able to manage multiple opportunities while maintaining momentum and attention to detail.
- Strategic and forward‑thinking, with a focus on sustainable, long‑term value creation.
- Proactive, resilient, and self‑directed, with strong ownership and accountability.
- Collaborative approach, working effectively with commercial, production, and wider business teams.
Experience & Qualifications
- Demonstrable experience in a business development or senior sales role within the events, production, creative, or experiential industries.
- Proven track record of winning new business and growing corporate and/or agency relationships.
- Experience working in complex stakeholder environments involving agencies, brands, and delivery teams.
- Event industry experience is required.
We recognise that being a diverse and inclusive employer helps us fulfil our responsibility to make a difference for our staff, our clients, and our industry. Actively valuing differences enhances the way we work and people from different backgrounds and experiences bring valuable insights to the way we operate, generating new ideas and perspectives and making us representative of the community and society.
We want to recruit, and retain the most talented people, regardless of their background.
#J-18808-Ljbffr