Business Development Representative / Gap Selling Professional

AXE Engineering; Bellingham (WA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Axe Engineering is a civil engineering firm with offices in Bellingham and Arlington. We are seeking a commission-based Business Development Representative who lives and breathes gap selling to drive the pipeline from first contact through signed contracts.

You will target private builders, developers, and landowners in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties and work outbound while supporting inbound leads.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated gap selling experience and framework in real deployments.
• Proven outbound prospecting and closing track record; built pipeline from zero.
• High emotional intelligence; asks questions to uncover the real problem.
• Comfortable with ambiguity; helps define success in a growing firm.
• Self-directed and disciplined; manages own daily activity.
• Excellent communicator with developers, builders, and county officials.
• Familiarity with local construction, development, or real estate market.

Responsibilities

• Identify and prospect builders, developers, and landowners in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish.
• Execute outbound outreach via calls, emails, site visits, events, and referrals.
• Diagnose prospect problems before pitching solutions.
• Qualify leads ruthlessly to avoid wasted engineering time.
• Support and convert inbound leads needing a closer.
• Own the pipeline from contact to signed contract.
• Maintain accurate pipeline data and notes.
• Represent Axe Engineering at industry events and networks.

Skills

Gap selling

Outbound prospecting

Emotional intelligence

Ambiguity tolerance

Self-discipline

Communication

Local market knowledge

CRM usage

Tools

CRM

Job description

Read this first. If you don't know what gap selling is — stop reading. Seriously. Close the tab. This role isn't for you. Still here? Good. Here's your first assignment: figure out our gap. Research us, study our market, talk to our clients if you can find them, and walk into your interview ready to close us on why hiring you is the answer to a problem we may not have fully named yet. That's the job. Every day. With our prospects. If that sounds like exactly how sales should work — keep reading.

Position Overview

Axe Engineering is a high-performing civil engineering firm with offices in Bellingham and Arlington. We work with private builders and developers across Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties — site civil design, land use entitlements, permitting, and everything it takes to get a project from raw land to construction. We're good at what we do. Our clients come back. Our reputation is strong. And we're leaving revenue on the table. Not because the market isn't there — it is. Not because our services aren't competitive — they are. But because our engineers are engineers. They're not salespeople. They shouldn't have to be. That's where you come in. We are looking for a commission-driven Business Development Representative who lives and breathes gap selling — someone who can identify where a builder or developer is, where they want to be, and exactly why Axe Engineering is the solution to close that gap. Someone who doesn't pitch features and benefits. Someone who diagnoses first, and sells second. This is outbound-first, with support for inbound leads we're already generating but not fully converting. You will own the pipeline from first contact through signed contract. Our engineers take it from there. This role is part-time or full-time — we're flexible for the right person. Compensation is commission-based, structured to reward results aggressively. If you're a producer, this is a significant earning opportunity in a market with a real floor and no ceiling. We don't need a rep who can explain what civil engineering is. We need a closer who can get a developer to admit what's standing between them and their next project — and then show them we're the team to remove that obstacle.

What You'll Actually Be Doing

• Identify, research, and prospect private builders, developers, and land owners in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties who are planning or considering development projects
• Execute outbound outreach — calls, emails, site visits, industry events, referral development — with the discipline of a system and the instincts of a closer
• Diagnose prospect problems before pitching solutions — understand where they are, where they want to be, and what's standing in the way
• Qualify leads ruthlessly — not every project is the right fit, and your job is to know the difference before we spend engineering time on it
• Support and convert inbound leads that are already coming in but need a skilled closer to get across the finish line
• Own the pipeline from first contact to signed contract — then hand off to our engineering team with a complete project brief
• Maintain accurate pipeline data and prospect notes so the team always knows where things stand
• Represent Axe Engineering at industry events, builder associations, and developer networks across the region

What We're Looking For

We don't care what industry you've sold in. We care how you sell.

• Demonstrated experience with gap selling methodology — you've read the book, internalized the framework, and used it in the field
• Proven track record of outbound prospecting and closing — you've built pipeline from scratch, not just managed existing accounts
• High emotional intelligence — you know how to ask the questions that get to the real problem, and you know when to stop talking
• Comfortable with ambiguity — this is a new role at a growing firm; you'll help define what success looks like
• Self-directed and disciplined — no one is going to manage your daily activity; you manage yourself
• Excellent communicator, in person and in writing — you can hold your own in a conversation with a developer, a builder, or a county official
• Familiarity with the local construction, development, or real estate market is a strong plus — but a fast learner beats a slow expert
• CRM experience — you track your pipeline, your notes, and your follow-ups religiously

Who We Are

Big firms have more people. We have better ones. We operate out of Bellingham and Arlington with a lean team of engineers and designers who run circles around the big regional players on local private development. Our land-use practice is deep, our clients keep coming back, and our work shows up in the communities around us. Here's what that means for you as a BDR: you're not selling a commodity. You're selling a high-performing team with a track record, deep local relationships, and a reputation for finding a way when other firms say it-can't be done. That's a story that sells — if you know how to tell it. We're adding a sales professional to this team for the first time — because we're ready to grow, and we know that growth doesn't happen by accident. It happens when the right person decides to make it happen. That person reports directly to ownership. No layers. No bureaucracy. You will have direct access to the people who can say yes to any resource, any strategy, and any deal structure you need to close business.

The Axe Creed Cutting Through Project Barriers

We find a way. Every time. No exceptions. Most projects don't die because of bad engineering. They die because someone accepted “no” from an agency, a neighbor, a jurisdiction, or a process — and stopped pushing. We don't stop pushing. Our pledge to every client: “we treat your project like it has our name on it — because it does.” The words we live by. On every project. Every day. Assumptions are the enemy. Find the truth. Show me your results, not your intentions. How you do anything is how you do everything. Your word is your contract. Winners want pressure. Less words, more meaning. We work the problem until the problem is solved.

Who Thrives Here

You might be a fit if:

• You’ve walked into a sales conversation knowing more about a prospect's problem than they did — and used that to close
• You’ve been told “we're happy with our current provider” and treated it as the beginning of a conversation, not the end
• You’ve built a sales territory or pipeline from zero — no hand‑holding, no warm leads handed to you
• You keep a CRM like it's a weapon, not an administrative burden
• You’ve walked away from a bad‑fit deal because you knew it would cost more than it was worth — and you were right
• You find civil engineering and land development genuinely interesting — or you're confident you will once you understand the market

You're probably not a fit if:

• You pitch before you diagnose
• You rely on inbound leads and referrals to hit your number
• You need a manager to hold you accountable to daily activity
• You think a great product sells itself
• Commission-only compensation makes you nervous instead of excited

Compensation & Structure

This is a commission-based role. We're not going to bury that or dress it up. A strong first-year performer who builds pipeline across both our civil engineering and stormwater design practices can realistically earn $70,000–$90,000 in commission — and that's not the ceiling. Our market is active, our project volume is high, and our SFR stormwater program generates significant repeat business. The upside is real and uncapped. Commission structure is tiered and aggressive. We will design it together with the right candidate to ensure it rewards the behaviors we want and the results we need. Part-time and full-time structures are both on the table. High performers will earn well here. That is not a line — it's a commitment.

Benefits

Benefits are available for full-time team members (Day 1):

• 100% company-paid health, dental, and vision
• PTO, sick time, 7 paid US holidays, and flex-time
• On-time direct deposit bi-weekly
• 401(k) option with company match