Business Development Associate (B2B Events Industry)

Business Show Media; West of England; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Uncapped commission

Structured onboarding and coaching

Office-based role in Bristol

Job summary

Business Show Media in Bristol, England is hiring a Business Development Associate to join its growing commercial team. You'll start at the beginning of our sales process, researching prospects, initiating conversations and helping create new opportunities for our events.

No extensive experience is required; you’ll receive fast-track training, mentorship and clear progression into closing and account management as you develop your commercial skills and confidence.

Qualifications

• Looking for your first opportunity in sales, business development, or a commercial environment?
• Fast-track progression & full sales training
• You’ll receive structured training and regular coaching to help you become confident in prospecting, communication, objection handling and commercial conversations.

Responsibilities

• Identify interesting businesses, starting conversations with potential clients and helping create new commercial opportunities for our events.
• Research companies and identify potential prospects
• Contact businesses through LinkedIn, email and telephone
• Introduce our events and understand potential client needs
• Speak with founders, business owners and marketing professionals
• Identify companies that could benefit from exhibiting or sponsoring
• Qualify potential opportunities for the sales team
• Arrange introductory meetings with prospective clients
• Keep accurate records of your activity within our CRM
• Follow up with prospects and maintain professional relationships
• Work towards achievable daily and weekly activity targets
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing and Events teams
• Attend selected business events and gain first-hand commercial experience

Job description

Bristol, England

Monday – Friday | 8:30am – 5:30pm | Office-based

£26,000 – £29,000 Base Salary + Uncapped Commission

Year 1 OTE: £50,000 – £70,000

Fast-track progression & full sales training

Looking for your first opportunity in sales, business development, or a commercial environment?

Business Show Media is growing its commercial team and is looking for enthusiastic, driven individuals to join us as Business Development Associates.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who wants to build a career in sales but may not have extensive experience yet. Whether you're a recent graduate, have experience in customer-facing roles, or simply have the confidence and determination to succeed, we'll provide the training and support to help you develop.

Business Show Media operates a portfolio of large-scale business events connecting entrepreneurs, founders, executives, and growing companies around the world.

With events across the globe, you'll be joining an international business with plenty of opportunity to learn, progress and grow.

What You’ll Be Doing

As a Business Development Associate, you'll work at the beginning of our commercial sales process.

Your role will be focused on identifying interesting businesses, starting conversations with potential clients and helping create new commercial opportunities for our events.

• Research companies and identify potential prospects
• Contact businesses through LinkedIn, email and telephone
• Introduce our events and understand potential client needs
• Speak with founders, business owners and marketing professionals
• Identify companies that could benefit from exhibiting or sponsoring
• Qualify potential opportunities for the sales team
• Arrange introductory meetings with prospective clients
• Keep accurate records of your activity within our CRM
• Follow up with prospects and maintain professional relationships
• Work towards achievable daily and weekly activity targets
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing and Events teams
• Attend selected business events and gain first-hand commercial experience

You won’t be expected to know everything on day one.

You'll receive structured training and regular coaching to help you become confident in prospecting, communication, objection handling and commercial conversations.

Who Would Suit This Role?

We're looking for someone with the attitude and potential to become a great salesperson.

You could be:

• A recent graduate looking for a commercial career
• Working in retail, hospitality, recruitment or customer service
• In an entry-level role and ready for your next challenge
• Someone with some sales experience looking to develop further
• Naturally competitive and motivated by achieving goals
• Confident speaking to new people
• Curious about how businesses operate
• Comfortable picking up the phone and starting conversations
• Organised and willing to learn
• Resilient when things don’t go your way
• Motivated by financial and career progression

Most importantly, you should be hungry to learn, willing to work hard and excited by the opportunity to build something for yourself.

Previous B2B Sales Experience Isn't Required.

From your first weeks, you'll receive hands‑on training covering areas such as:

Prospecting → Communication → Qualification → Objection Handling → Relationship Building → Sales

A potential career path could look like:

Business Development Associate → Business Development Executive → Sales Executive → Senior Sales Executive → Sales Leadership

Our aim is to develop people internally, meaning strong performers can progress significantly as their skills and responsibilities grow.

What You Can Expect

• £24,000 – £27,000 starting salary, depending on experience
• Uncapped commission
• Year 1 OTE of £40,000 – £50,000
• Structured onboarding and sales training
• Regular one-to-one coaching
• Ongoing professional development
• Clear internal progression opportunities
• Opportunities to move into closing and account management
• Exposure to senior business leaders and decision-makers
• Opportunities to attend major UK and international events
• Team incentives, competitions and rewards
• Regular social activities
• A collaborative, energetic office environment
• The chance to develop valuable commercial skills from the ground up

Why Business Show Media?

We're a fast-growing events business operating across multiple international markets.

That means there's plenty to learn and plenty of room to progress.

You’ll be surrounded by experienced sales professionals who can help you develop your communication, commercial awareness and confidence while giving you the opportunity to take ownership of your own results.

For the right person, this isn’t simply an entry-level job.

It’s an opportunity to learn a valuable skillset, build a strong professional network and create a long-term career in sales.

Ready to Take the First Step?

If you’re looking for your first serious opportunity in business development and want to join a company where your development and performance are recognised, we’d love to hear from you.

Join Business Show Media as a Business Development Associate and start building your commercial career.