Business Development Associate (Contractor)

Appsumo; Austin (TX); Remote; USD 34,000 - 69,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote

Optional in-person time in Austin

Flexible hours

Side hustle allowed

Access to AppSumo software

Job summary

AppSumo is seeking a Business Development Associate to identify top SaaS products, reach out to founders, and book demos for our marketplace. You’ll work with our Business Development Managers to qualify opportunities and protect customer trust while learning how partnerships are built in a fast-paced, remote-first environment.

You’ll thrive with self-direction, a results-first mindset, and a hands-on approach to building partnerships with strong, data-driven targets.

Qualifications

• 1+ year in sales development or a similar role with clear targets, ideally SaaS/tech.
• Strong writing for short, personalized outreach.
• Comfortable with phone, email and structured outbound cadences.
• Able to manage a high volume of leads and prioritize the right ones.
• Familiarity with CRMs and data cleanliness; comfortable with targets.

Responsibilities

• Source and research SaaS companies, prioritizing high quality fits.
• Run personalized outreach by email, LinkedIn and phone; use AI tools without sounding robotic.
• Book qualified demos for BDMs and hand off with context.
• Qualify inbound founders and route to Select/Launchpad or Radar listings.
• Vet products against AppSumo's quality bar before moving forward.
• Keep lead/deal data accurate in HubSpot for forecasting.
• Hit weekly and monthly targets for outreach and demos.

Skills

Outbound outreach

Communication

Target driven

Time management

Education

1+ year in sales development or related SaaS/tech

Tools

HubSpot

CRM software

AI tools (ChatGPT/Claude)

Job description

Meet AppSumo

AppSumo is the first place entrepreneurs start. We help small businesses become Sumo-sized by promoting great software at awesome prices. We've helped launch thousands of B2B tools like Mailchimp, Evernote, Intercom and Dropbox.

Our culture is built on treating teammates like adults. We trust you to manage your time, own your work and get results. You'll learn how software businesses are built, how partnerships form and how deals get done, alongside a high-performing sales team.

We're on a mission to open the doors of entrepreneurship to everyone. You in?

Why this is your dream job

As a Business Development Associate, you're the first conversation many software founders have with AppSumo. You find the best SaaS products, reach their founders, and book the meetings that turn into launches on our marketplace.

This role is pipeline creation, qualification and execution. You'll work with our Business Development Managers so only strong opportunities move forward, protecting the trust our customers place in AppSumo.

If you're hungry, self-directed and want real SaaS sales reps, this is hands-on exposure to how partnerships get built.

What you'll do

• Source and research SaaS companies, prioritizing our highest quality and fit targets

• Run personalized outreach by email, LinkedIn and phone, using AI tools to research and draft at volume without sounding like a robot

• Book qualified demos for our Business Development Managers and hand them off with clean context

• Qualify inbound founders and route each to the right path: a Select or Launchpad deal with a BDM, or a self-serve Radar listing

• Vet products against AppSumo's quality and customer-value bar before they move forward

• Keep lead and deal data accurate in HubSpot so the team can forecast

• Hit weekly and monthly targets for companies outreached and demos booked

What success looks like

• Hitting ramp targets within your first two months

• Meeting or beating full targets for outreach and booked demos by month three

• BDMs trust your meetings: the founders you book show up, fit, and close

• You log every touch in HubSpot as you go, so the team can trust the pipeline and forecast from it

Past experience

• 1+ year in sales development, business development or another sales role with clear targets, ideally SaaS or tech

• Strong writing: short, specific, personalized outreach

• Comfortable with phone, email and structured outbound cadences

• Able to manage a high volume of leads and prioritize the right ones

• Comfortable using AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude or similar) as part of your daily sales workflow

• Familiarity with CRMs, discipline with process adherence and data cleanliness

• Self-motivated and comfortable with clear, numbers-based targets

• Experience building prompts, custom GPTs, Claude projects or Zapier automations is a plus

• Real interest in startups, SaaS and entrepreneurship

• Your own computer to work from (as a contractor, you use your own equipment)

• Bonus points if you've ever purchased a deal on AppSumo

Why work here

• Competitive contractor compensation

• Fully remote, with optional in-person time with the Austin team if you're local

• Flexible hours and a results-first culture

• Freedom to have a side hustle

• Access to AppSumo software and a front-row seat to how deals are built and scaled

AppSumo is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, veteran status, gender identity or sexual orientation.