VP Business Development

Freeman Company; Texas; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition Reimbursement

Life Insurance

Retirement Match

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Sparks is seeking a VP, Business Development – Exhibits to lead a team selling and managing high-profile experiential exhibit programs for major brands. The role sets strategy, drives revenue, retention, and profit targets while overseeing budgets, pipeline, and proposals.

The position supports the Account Direction team with a hybrid in-office/show-site schedule 2–3 days per week. Dallas, TX-area preferred; travel up to 25% is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university required.
• 10+ years related sales/account management experience, incl. 5+ years in sales leadership.
• Track record leading a team to $15M+ in profitable revenue.
• Experience selling/managing experiential exhibit, trade show, or large-market event programs.
• Strong customer service, coaching, and organizational skills.
• Willingness to travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead the team's pursuit and management of profitable exhibit revenue opportunities.
• Set and execute short- and long-term sales strategy for the exhibits portfolio.
• Serve as lead on major/strategic accounts, partnering directly with clients.
• Run regular sales and pipeline-review meetings.
• Collaborate consistently with creative, fabrication, and operations leadership.
• Grow pipeline through net-new logos and expansion within the exhibit portfolio.
• Identify cross-sell opportunities across Sparks' broader portfolio (events, activations, retail).
• Build account/territory growth strategies with Account Directors and Business Developers.
• Review proposals to confirm pricing aligns with scope and margin targets.
• Track competitive landscape and market trends in experiential/trade show exhibits.
• Maintain strong senior-level client relationships supporting growth and renewal.
• Align client solutions to objectives, budget, and brand with Creative, Strategy, and Fabrication.
• Ensure smooth sale-to-delivery transitions and client satisfaction.
• Support major proposals, pricing strategy, and client presentations.
• Set and meet sales/profit goals for the exhibit portfolio.
• Maintain accurate account-level budgets.
• Manage team operating budget.
• Manage, coach, and develop Account Directors and Business Developers.
• Set and track individual revenue, retention, and profit goals.
• Deliver training on portfolio knowledge, sales technique, and account management.
• Oversee account assignment, workload balance, and succession planning.
• Maintain Salesforce data integrity across the team.
• Report monthly on pipeline, new business, renewals, and at-risk accounts.
• Report on program execution and financials (budgets, job costs, margin).
• Represent Sparks at industry events (national/local); participate in industry orgs.
• Other duties as assigned

Skills

Sales leadership

Account management

Strategic selling

Education

Bachelor's degree

10+ years in sales/account management

Team leadership experience

Experiential/exhibits or large events experience

Customer service/coaching skills

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Career Opportunities: VP Business Development (94615)

Requisition ID94615-Posted09/21/2026-Sparks- Country (1) - Location (1) - Function (1) - Job Type (1)

Sparks is a leading global brand experience agency, specializing in the design and execution of award-winning experiences that forge deep connections between brands and audiences. Recognized by Adweek as Experiential Agency of the Year, we bring a unique blend of strategic insight and execution excellence to every brand activation, corporate event, trade show exhibit, and immersive experience. Our commitment to creativity, innovation, and flawless execution drives us to craft impactful experiential marketing solutions that deepen relationships, inspire action, and build trust—all around the world.

Summary

Sparks is hiring a VP, Business Development – Exhibits to lead a team of Account Directors and Business Developers selling and managing experiential exhibit programs for major brands. This leader sets team goals, manages performance, and drives sales, retention, and profit targets across an assigned client portfolio — while also acting as a lead on strategic accounts and overseeing team budgets, pipeline, and proposal standards.

This position will support our Account Direction team. It is eligible to work a hybrid schedule, generally requiring work in-office and/or show-site 2-3 days per week. The ideal candidate will be located in Dallas, TX; however, we are open to considering qualified candidates located outside of this market.

Leadership

• Lead the team's pursuit and management of profitable exhibit revenue opportunities
• Set and execute short- and long-term sales strategy for the exhibits portfolio
• Serve as lead on major/strategic accounts, partnering directly with clients
• Run regular sales and pipeline-review meetings
• Collaborate consistently with creative, fabrication, and operations leadership

Business Development

• Grow pipeline through net-new logos and expansion within the exhibit portfolio
• Identify cross-sell opportunities across Sparks' broader portfolio (events, activations, retail)
• Build account/territory growth strategies with Account Directors and Business Developers
• Review proposals to confirm pricing aligns with scope and margin targets
• Track competitive landscape and market trends in experiential/trade show exhibits

Client & Account Management

• Maintain strong senior-level client relationships supporting growth and renewal
• Align client solutions to objectives, budget, and brand with Creative, Strategy, and Fabrication
• Ensure smooth sale-to-delivery transitions and client satisfaction
• Support major proposals, pricing strategy, and client presentations

Budget

• Set and meet sales/profit goals for the exhibit portfolio
• Maintain accurate account-level budgets
• Manage team operating budget

Talent Management

• Manage, coach, and develop Account Directors and Business Developers
• Set and track individual revenue, retention, and profit goals
• Deliver training on portfolio knowledge, sales technique, and account management
• Oversee account assignment, workload balance, and succession planning

Analytics

• Maintain Salesforce data integrity across the team
• Report monthly on pipeline, new business, renewals, and at-risk accounts
• Report on program execution and financials (budgets, job costs, margin)

Other

• Represent Sparks at industry events (national/local); participate in industry orgs
• Other duties as assigned

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from a four-year college or university.
• 10+ years related sales/account management experience, incl. 5+ years in sales leadership
• Track record leading a team to $15M+ in profitable revenue
• Experience selling/managing experiential exhibit, trade show, or large-market event programs
• Strong customer service, coaching, and organizational skills
• Willingness to travel

Travel Requirements

Travel up to 25%

What We Offer

The Freeman Company provides benefits that aim to empower our people and their families to thrive mentally, physically, and financially. These are a handful of the types of programs and benefits our full-time people may be eligible for. There may be some variances in specific benefits across regions.

• Tuition Reimbursement
• Life, Accident and Disability
• Retirement with Company Match
• Paid Time Off

Diversity Commitment

At The Freeman Company, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is helping us to create not only a great place to work, but also an environment where our employees, our customers and our communities around the world can reach their goals and connect with each other. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status and other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.