Business Development Executive

Location: Shrivenham, Oxfordshire (between Oxford and Swindon)
Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience
Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

About the Company

Our client is a well-established and growing specialist supplier of Gas Detection and Air Quality Monitoring solutions, supporting occupational health and safety and environmental monitoring across a wide range of industrial sectors throughout the UK and Ireland.

With more than 50 years of industry experience, the business works with a broad network of customers and partners to provide high-quality instrumentation for both purchase and hire. Working alongside more than 20 leading global technical manufacturing partners, the company offers a comprehensive range of specialist monitoring equipment.

An experienced in-house service and calibration team provides ongoing maintenance, servicing and technical support, ensuring customers receive a high level of service throughout the product lifecycle.

The company's vision is to become the partner of choice in protecting life and preserving health in the workplace.

The Role

The primary purpose of the Business Development Executive role is to identify and secure new business opportunities across the UK and Ireland.

You will be responsible for generating high-quality sales opportunities through proactive outbound business development activity, while also acting as a key support function for the wider field sales team.

The role will contribute directly to revenue growth and profitability through the acquisition of new customers, re-engagement of lapsed customers and development of strong commercial relationships with prospective clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively identify, engage, nurture and qualify new business opportunities through a variety of outbound activities.
• Act as the first point of contact for online enquiries, website chats and telephone enquiries.
• Develop and execute targeted re-engagement campaigns for lapsed customers to generate renewed business.
• Conduct prospecting activities including telephone outreach, email campaigns, LinkedIn networking, social selling and cold calling.
• Build and maintain relationships with prospective customers to create immediate and future sales opportunities.
• Generate and maintain a strong, well-qualified sales pipeline.
• Lead targeted business development projects focused on specific products, markets or applications.
• Work closely with the marketing team to support business development initiatives and campaigns.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date customer and prospect information within the CRM system.
• Support the business at relevant exhibitions, conferences and industry events.
• Manage inbound sales enquiries, qualifying opportunities and ensuring timely handover to the appropriate sales representative.
• Schedule qualified face-to-face meetings, sales calls, product demonstrations and customer appointments.
• Support customer visits across the UK and Ireland where required.
• Provide general commercial and sales support to the wider team as required.

Working Relationships

The Business Development Executive will work closely with the Field Sales Team, Key Account Managers and specialist product teams to ensure a seamless handover of qualified sales opportunities.

Once an enquiry has been fully qualified and the customer has demonstrated clear purchasing intent, responsibility for progressing the opportunity will transfer to the appropriate sales or account management colleague.

About You

We are looking for an energetic, proactive and motivated individual who enjoys identifying new opportunities and building relationships with prospective customers.

You will be confident communicating with customers at all levels and able to understand and explain technical products and concepts in a straightforward, engaging way.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Previous UK and Ireland sales or customer support experience.
• A proven track record of generating new business opportunities and converting them into profitable sales.
• Strong prospecting, lead generation and business development skills.
• Experience with outbound sales techniques including cold calling, networking, email campaigns and social selling.
• The ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly and simply, both verbally and in writing.
• Experience managing a sales pipeline using a CRM system.
• Strong lead qualification and opportunity management skills.
• The ability to manage opportunities from initial contact through to qualification and handover.
• Self-motivated and results-driven, with the ability to work independently.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to contribute effectively to wider team objectives.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Previous business development experience within the measurement, testing or instrumentation sector.
• Experience selling into or developing new business within industries such as:
• Oil & Gas
• Petrochemical
• Food & Beverage
• Manufacturing
• Construction
• Experience within the Occupational Health & Safety sector.
• Experience working with technical or specialist products.

Location & Working Arrangements

The role is based from the company's offices in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, between Oxford and Swindon.

When not travelling to visit customers, the successful candidate will be primarily office-based.

The role may involve travel to customer sites and industry events across the UK and Ireland.

Benefits

• 20 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
• Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service
• Employer pension contributions
• Optional private medical cover
• In-house training and development
• Company sick pay
• On-site parking

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially minded Business Development Executive to join an established technical business operating within an important and specialist market.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to play a key role in growing the company's customer base, developing new commercial opportunities and supporting the wider sales function, while building valuable experience within a technical and consultative sales environment.