Sales & Business Development Executive

thesalescentre; Gqeberha, Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 162,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

thesalescentre in South Africa is seeking a confident, tenacious business developer for an in-office role based in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) or Cape Town. You'll open conversations, grow the pipeline, and work with directors to identify opportunities.

This hands-on role focuses on telephone outreach, prospecting, and relationship building, using Apollo and Pipedrive to keep records and book qualified meetings.

Qualifications

• Previous telesales experience is essential.
• Background in business development, appointment setting or lead generation.
• Confident and comfortable speaking to people on the phone.
• Experience with a CRM and keeping records up to date.
• Experience selling creative, marketing, agency or professional services is a plus, but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Make regular outbound calls to prospective, previous and existing clients.
• Prospect for new companies and identify the relevant decision-makers.
• Nurture longer-term leads and stay in touch with people who may not need animation right now.
• Follow up on previous enquiries, proposals and opportunities at the right moment.
• Book qualified meetings for the directors and wider team.
• Arrange introductory meetings and creative showcases with prospective clients and agency partners.
• Introduce our Creative Content Consultation to organisations planning future campaigns.
• Spot immediate opportunities where a prospect has an active brief or upcoming requirement.
• Keep accurate records of conversations, opportunities and follow-ups in Pipedrive.
• Report back regularly on conversations, market feedback and the common themes you're hearing.

Skills

Telesales

Business development

Appointment setting

Lead generation

Phone confidence

CRM

Sales knowledge (creative/marketing)

Job description

Salary: R16 000 | In Office -

This is an in-office role. The successful candidate can be based at either our Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) or Cape Town office.

Join an award-winning animation studio that's delivered over 700 projects in the past 11 years. We're looking for a confident, tenacious business developer to open new conversations and grow our pipeline.

About the role

This is a hands-on business development role with a strong emphasis on telephone outreach , prospecting and relationship building. You'll work closely with our directors to identify opportunities , speak with prospective and existing clients , and get the right people into conversation with the team.

Success here isn't about call volume — it's about quality. Your goal is to create a healthy flow of relevant conversations and genuine opportunities. You'll work from our existing database alongside prospecting tools such as Apollo , reaching out to a mix of warm , lapsed and new prospects.

What you'll do

• Make regular outbound calls to prospective, previous and existing clients
• Prospect for new companies and identify the relevant decision-makers
• Nurture longer-term leads and stay in touch with people who may not need animation right now
• Follow up on previous enquiries, proposals and opportunities at the right moment
• Book qualified meetings for the directors and wider team
• Arrange introductory meetings and creative showcases with prospective clients and agency partners
• Introduce our Creative Content Consultation to organisations planning future campaigns
• Spot immediate opportunities where a prospect has an active brief or upcoming requirement
• Keep accurate records of conversations, opportunities and follow-ups in Pipedrive
• Report back regularly on conversations, market feedback and the common themes you're hearing

What you'll need

• Previous telesales experience (essential)
• A background in business development, appointment setting or lead generation
• Confidence and comfort speaking to people on the phone
• Experience working with a CRM and keeping records up to date
• Experience selling creative, marketing, agency or professional services is a plus, but not essential

Who you are

• Confident — you build rapport quickly and enjoy picking up the phone
• Persistent, not pushy — disciplined about following up without wearing people down
• Versatile — equally at home with warm, relationship-led conversations and colder prospecting
• Commercially curious — genuinely interested in what different businesses are trying to achieve
• A real listener — you have natural conversations rather than delivering a scripted pitch
• Tech-savvy — curious about using AI tools (ChatGPT, Apollo, Pipedrive) to prospect smarter, not louder. No expertise required, just curiosity
• Collaborative — you work closely with directors and adapt to shifting commercial priorities