Sales & Business Development Manager

IT Answers LLC; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Uncapped commission

Company laptop

Workplace pension

Holiday entitlement

Job summary

IT Answers LLC seeks a confident Sales & Business Development Manager to grow our managed IT, cybersecurity, connectivity and cloud-services business in the North West. You will build relationships with local businesses, attend networking events, conduct discovery meetings and turn opportunities into long-term customers.

The role involves initial direct business development and, as the pipeline grows, more meetings, proposals, negotiation and closing. It is not a high-volume telesales position.

Qualifications

• Previous B2B sales experience with progress and close of opportunities.
• Confidence engaging business owners, directors and senior decision-makers.
• Strong discovery, questioning and listening skills to identify commercial impact.

Responsibilities

• Manage sales opportunities from initial conversation through discovery, proposal and negotiation to a signed agreement.
• Meet business owners and decision-makers to understand requirements and priorities.
• Present IT, cybersecurity, connectivity and cloud solutions in clear commercial language.
• Work with technical colleagues to develop appropriate, deliverable solutions.
• Prepare and present proposals, quotations and service recommendations.
• Follow up opportunities, handle objections and maintain momentum toward a decision.
• Develop opportunities involving multiple services for genuine customer value.
• Achieve recurring revenue, gross margin and new customers while handing over to delivery team.

Skills

B2B sales

business development

CRM

networking

proposal & negotiation

customer relationship

Job description

About the role

We are looking for a confident and commercially driven Sales & Business Development Manager to help grow our managed IT, cybersecurity, connectivity and cloud-services business.

The role will focus on developing relationships with local businesses, attending networking events, conducting discovery meetings and converting opportunities into long-term customers.

During the initial stage, the successful candidate will also undertake direct business-development activity and generate some of their own pipeline. As our marketing and outreach activities develop, the balance of the role will increasingly move towards qualified meetings, relationship development, proposals, negotiation and closing.

This is not intended to be a high-volume telesales position. We are looking for someone who can represent a small, growing technology business professionally, build trust with business owners and turn genuine customer requirements into commercially valuable relationships.

Key responsibilities

Sales and closing

• Manage sales opportunities from initial conversation through discovery, proposal and negotiation to a signed agreement.
• Meet business owners, directors and other decision-makers to understand their requirements, risks and commercial priorities.
• Present suitable IT, cybersecurity, connectivity and cloud solutions in clear commercial language.
• Work with technical colleagues to develop solutions that are appropriate, accurate and deliverable.
• Prepare and present proposals, quotations and service recommendations.
• Follow up opportunities consistently, handle objections and maintain momentum towards a clear decision.
• Develop opportunities involving multiple complementary services where these provide genuine customer value.
• Achieve agreed recurring-revenue, gross-margin and new-customer targets while ensuring an effective handover to the service-delivery team.

Early-stage business development

• Identify and research suitable target businesses and maintain a focused prospect list.
• Contact prospective customers through telephone, email, LinkedIn and other appropriate channels.
• Generate meetings through direct outreach, networking, referrals and campaign activity.
• Follow up inbound enquiries and re-engage previous prospects or dormant opportunities.
• Represent the company at business events, networking groups, exhibitions and local meetings.

The role will continue to require a proactive approach to business development, but the balance should progressively move towards networking, customer meetings and closing as the pipeline develops.

Services you will sell

The role will involve selling managed IT support, Microsoft 365 and cloud services, cybersecurity monitoring and assessments, Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001 support, backup and business continuity, managed networks, wireless infrastructure, internet connectivity, telecommunications, hosting and technology projects.

Detailed technical knowledge of every service is not required from the outset. However, the successful candidate must be able to learn the core propositions, understand their commercial value and involve technical specialists at the appropriate stage.

Essential experience and skills

• Previous business-to-business sales experience with evidence of successfully progressing and closing opportunities.
• Confidence engaging business owners, directors and senior decision-makers.
• Strong discovery, questioning and listening skills, with the ability to identify the commercial impact behind a customer’s requirements.
• Experience preparing and presenting proposals, handling objections and negotiating commercial terms.
• Strong relationship-building, professional-networking and business-development ability.
• Clear communication, strong organisation, consistent follow-up habits and experience maintaining an accurate CRM pipeline.

The successful candidate must be able to work independently, remain accountable for results and understand revenue, margin and contract value. A full UK driving licence and willingness to attend meetings and events across the North West are required.

Desirable experience

Experience selling managed IT, cybersecurity, telecommunications, cloud services or other recurring B2B services would be advantageous. We would also value existing relationships within the Liverpool or wider North West business community, experience developing referral partnerships and previous work within a small or growing company.

Knowledge of Microsoft 365, managed IT support, cybersecurity, compliance or risk-management services would be useful but is not essential.

Personal qualities

We are looking for someone confident, commercially ambitious and comfortable asking for the business. You should be able to build trust without becoming passive, network naturally and remain persistent without relying on aggressive sales tactics.

You will be expected to take ownership of your pipeline, follow up consistently, keep commitments and work collaboratively with technical and operational colleagues. You should also be comfortable working within a small business where everyone contributes and responsibilities develop as the company grows.

Measures of success

• New monthly recurring revenue, total contract value and gross margin secured.
• Number and quality of qualified opportunities and new customers created.
• Proposal-to-close conversion rate and effectiveness of customer handovers.
• Networking relationships, introductions, referrals and appropriate existing-customer opportunities developed.

Activity levels will be monitored, particularly during the initial pipeline-development stage. However, success will ultimately be judged by qualified opportunities, profitable revenue and customers won—not simply by the number of calls made.

What we offer

• Uncapped commission with realistic and achievable earning potential.
• Support from experienced technical specialists throughout the sales process.
• Access to marketing activities and developing lead-generation resources.
• Flexibility to attend networking events and build local commercial relationships.
• Business mileage reimbursement and a company laptop.
• Workplace pension, holiday entitlement and relevant professional-development opportunities.
• The opportunity to influence the sales process and take greater commercial responsibility as the business grows