Business Development Manager - Defence
Our client is globally established supplier of defence equipment and services. Primarily based in the US and Middle East, working from a remote home working basis and ideally positioned to the South of the UK, this new role of Business Development Manager will report directly to the GM and is to grow new sales primarily in the UK across the defence sector.
As Business Development Manager, you will be required to identify and deliver new customers on a proactive approach along with the direct management of existing customers. Supporting existing and future B2B and B2C relationship growth, the role will focus on the defence and security sectors and working alongside the internationally based GM and internal teams, the Business Development Manager will target end-users, OEMs, system integrators, indirect sales channel partners, architects and engineers, specifying security consultants and group shared services.
As the subject matter expert for the UK, you will develop and maintain close customer contact and engagement with key end-users, OEMs, system integrators, indirect sales channel partners and centres of influence within the territory.
Role duties include:
- Build a ’go to market’ business plan that identifies business development and account management goals. From this, target/identify "operational and product gaps" where our client can apply their ’R&D and manufacturing services’ within the defence/security supply chain working with OEMs and tier 1 / 2 suppliers, government agencies, law enforcement, universities and schools.
- Understand our clients’ products, capabilities & services and effectively communicate all offerings to the customer base and channel partners in the territory.
- Be responsible for the achievement of quarterly and annual territory sales targets.
- Prepare and submit reports to the GM to include weekly/monthly activity reports that provides information on all account activities within the territory.
- Proactively develop leads from attendance/research at trade and professional organisation, shows and events.
- Review all major deliverables (i.e. strategic brief, function spec, tech spec, etc...) to ensure quality standards and client expectations are met.
- Quote prices, prepare proposals and provide information regarding terms of sales and delivery dates - working closely alongside the internal engineering and operational teams.
- Complete business development activities across the UK. As a minimum, spend one week a month in the territory visiting end-users, customers and channel partners in the territory. All visits and appointments to be coordinated in advance.
- Continually extract end-user operational requirements across the UK as well as to feedback on market opportunities and competitor activity.
- Identify, qualify, recruit, train and launch indirect sales channel partners such as distributors and resellers (B2B), where possible.
- Attend relevant tradeshows and events in the UK to engage and promote.
- Meet with influencers, specifiers, consultants and signatories, i.e., engineers, in the territory who are engaged with relating projects.
- Monitor relevant state and territory bid RFQ sites for potential leads and opportunities.
Management of Channel Partners:
- Develop, maintain and share customer prospect call lists based on strategic marketing data and other sources for sales leads with channel partners and conduct follow-up with them to ensure prospects are being called.
- Be responsible for monitoring channel partner monthly sales forecasts and reports and working with channel partners to assist them in closing sales.
- Conduct two product training events per quarter with the channel partners in the territory.
- Provide regular two-way communication between customers, channel partners, and the company to provide strong team representation and set proper expectations
Qualifications:
- Must have thorough knowledge of the UK defence/security industry.
- Must have experience in selling defence/security products and/or systems to one or more of the following markets: non-defence federal agencies, law enforcement, military, public safety, R&D / product development (B2G).
- Know how to conduct online searches and source relating sector/government RFP & RFQs and enquiries.
- Have experience in working with centres of influence in the defence/security industry to develop requirements.
You should:
- Be a UK citizen capable of holding security clearance.
- Have a BSc/BA degree as a minimum. Have Project Management exposure/certification.
- Have a minimum of two years of success in meeting direct sales quotas of £750K or more for physical defence/security products.
- Know how to sell service and maintenance agreements.
- Be able to prepare sales plans and meet the objectives of the plans on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis.
- Have excellent analytical skills and be able to demonstrate an understanding of how to prepare high quality annual sales forecast and sales plan.
- Require little or no supervision. Be a self-starter and well organised and a strong communicator.
- Be disciplined, self-directed team player who sets the example and possesses high personal and professional ethics as well as excellent leadership skills.
- Be able to see big picture and develop solid solutions.