Sales Development Intern

Gardner; Cincinnati (OH); Hybrid; USD 22,000 - 30,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship from SDR

Academic credit eligible

Full exposure to B2B sales

Hands-on training in outbound sales

Potential full-time path after grad

Job summary

Gardner Business Media is hiring a part-time Sales Development Intern in Cincinnati, OH, offering 15-20 hours weekly and $19.00 per hour. The role is academic credit eligible and spans a fall/spring semester, with renewal possible.

You’ll build target lists, research manufacturers, and set qualified meetings as part of a hands-on sales motion. You’ll learn how a modern sales development process works, from target account identification to pipeline conversion, while working alongside an SDR.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a bachelor’s or associate program; professional selling, marketing or business preferred.
• Strong phone outreach and written communication ability.
• Organized, self-directed, and capable of meeting targets.

Responsibilities

• Prospect research and list building to identify manufacturers that fit target profiles.
• Account intelligence: research target companies and summarize for the sales team.
• Outbound execution: emails, LinkedIn, and phone touches.
• CRM hygiene: update records and maintain clean data for pipeline accuracy.
• Event support: cross-reference trade show lists to surface targets before shows.
• Reporting: track outreach volumes, responses, and meetings set.

Skills

Prospect research

Outbound outreach

Communication

Organization

Education

Bachelor's or Associate degree program

Tools

Excel

LinkedIn

CRM

Job description

Part-Time | Paid | Cincinnati, Ohio | Academic credit eligible |We are hiring a Sales Development Intern to work directly alongside our Sales Development Representative. This is a hands-on, revenue-facing role. You will build target lists, research manufacturing companies, run outbound touches, and help set qualified meetings for our sales team. You will not be fetching coffee or reformatting slide decks.You will learn how a modern sales development motion actually runs: how a target account is identified, how a prospect is researched, how outreach gets written and sequenced, and how a meeting becomes a pipeline opportunity.

Hours:15-20 per week|Pay:$19.00 per hour|Term:One semester, renewable

ABOUT GARDNER BUSINESS MEDIA

Gardner Business Media is an independent, family-owned B2B media company founded in Cincinnati in 1928. We serve the North American manufacturing industry through a portfolio of trusted brands including Modern Machine Shop, Plastics Technology, CompositesWorld, Products Finishing, MoldMaking Technology, Production Machining, Additive Manufacturing and Manufacturing Connected, along with a growing slate of owned trade events.

Our advertisers are the companies that build the machines, materials and processes behind everything from aerospace components to medical devices. We help them reach the engineers, plant managers and owners who actually make buying decisions. It is real B2B selling with real data behind it, in an industry most people never get to see up close.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Prospect research and list building. Build and clean prospect lists using our audience database and industry directories, identifying manufacturers that fit target profiles for each brand.
• Account intelligence. Research target companies before outreach - what they make, what markets they serve, recent news, who the marketing decision maker is - and package that into a short brief the sales team can actually use.
• Outbound execution. Execute email, LinkedIn and phone touches under the SDR's direction, following approved messaging and sequencing.
• CRM hygiene. Log activity, update contact records and keep the pipeline accurate in our CRM. Clean data is a real deliverable here, not an afterthought.
• Event and show support. Cross-reference trade show exhibitor lists against our advertiser base to surface companies we should be talking to before the show.
• Reporting. Track outreach volume, response rates and meetings set, and report on what is working.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Currently enrolled in a bachelor's or associate program - professional selling, sales management, marketing, business or communications preferred. Students from engineering, IT or other technical majors with a sales interest are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Comfortable picking up the phone and talking to strangers. This is the single most important qualification.
• Clear, concise written communication. You will be drafting outreach that goes to real prospects.
• Organized and self-directed. You will be given targets and trusted to work through them.
• Genuine curiosity. The best people in this role get interested in how things get made.
• Working knowledge of Excel and LinkedIn. CRM experience is a plus but not required - we will train you.

WHAT YOU WILL GET

• Direct mentorship from an experienced SDR and exposure to a full B2B sales leadership team.
• Real skills you can put on a resume: prospecting, account research, CRM management, outbound sequencing, and pipeline reporting.
• A portfolio of measurable results - meetings set, accounts sourced, pipeline influenced.
• Exposure to the manufacturing industry and the option to attend a live trade show.
• A clear path to consideration for a full-time sales role after graduation.

LOGISTICS

• Schedule: 15-20 hours per week during the fall or spring semester; full-time available over the summer.
• Location: Hybrid, based out of our Cincinnati office. In-office time matters early on - you learn this job by sitting near people doing it.
• Compensation: $19.00 per hour.
• Duration: One semester with the option to renew.
• Academic credit: This position qualifies for academic credit at most partner institutions. We will complete any paperwork your school requires.

Gardner Business Media is an equal opportunity employer.