Group Director, Business Development

In Brief:

ADVOC8 is looking for an experienced Group Director, Business Development to engage in regular, ongoing outbound sales efforts and prospecting to drive regular sales growth and proposal throughput. The ideal candidate for this role will be a self-starter who is naturally adept at lead generation, prospecting and conversion in an agency environment. Opportunities for growth are abundant for the right candidate as our agency continues to scale its business development team.

This person is comfortable with a consultative approach to sales, nurturing authentic relationships while identifying opportunities for growth. As a senior leader in the Business Development team, this individual can leverage internal resources effectively to power regular sales generation and conversion, and can coach others, while also identifying opportunities for increased effectiveness and efficiency.

The Role:

As a key leader within ADVOC8’s Business Development team, the Group Director, Business Development is responsible for effectively identifying new prospective clients and designing and executing sales strategies to successfully convert clients into the agency pipeline. This person will contribute to the development of agency sales materials and serve as a lead representative in initial meetings with prospective clients, leveraging ADVOC8’s Foundations Team as appropriate to design project approaches, scopes and budgets. This role also requires a fluent understanding of the agency’s CRM, leveraged for data-driven insights and further optimization.

This person deeply understands ADVOC8’s industry, objectives and nuances, ensuring that sales efforts are set up for success with persuasive, cohesive materials that enhance the agency’s reputation while also driving sales. They excel at elite-level client strategy, drawing from a versatile background to understand a variety of client types regardless of industry, and identifying optimal areas for collaboration.

Though their primary contribution is reflected in their success securing new clients for the agency, this role extends to also include leadership responsibilities within the overall Business Development team: designing and/or assisting with internal and external initiatives, generating regular ideas to enhance outbound sales efforts amongst all stakeholders and utilizing data to optimize efforts.

Who We Are:

ADVOC8 is an experiential communications agency. We work with corporate brands, nonprofits and associations to tell their stories by transforming existing mediums into divergent experiences that build lasting connections. We use the power of strategy-based experiential storytelling to partner with brands boldly seeking to change perceptions, actions and beliefs. We prefer to push boundaries with our creative and innovate beyond traditional expectations, while offering a fluid project management process supported by senior-level oversight and collaboration.

We build lasting relationships with our clients and consider ourselves extensions of their team. At ADVOC8, our approach to creativity is collaborative. All ideas are welcome, curiosity is encouraged and growth is a priority.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute significantly to the development of overall new client sales strategy across the organization, and help with implementation to drive those ideas forward
• Relentlessly execute targeted outbound prospecting strategies, designing tailored pitches for Fortune 100 brand clients and leading each opportunity through to conversion
• Partner with and coach others in the organization on effective sales strategies and techniques, particularly for any direct report(s)
• Build and maintain strong, credible, and authentic relationships with prospective clients, partnering with those contacts to understand their business objectives and challenges in order to identify opportunities aligned with agency services
• Coordinate with Foundations Team members to develop an overall creative approach, deal framework, scoping and pricing, packaged within a compelling and persuasive proposal
• Ensure proposals are successfully tailored to client objectives, persuasively delivered and followed up in a timely manner
• Assist with qualification and conversion of inbound sales opportunities and opportunities identified within available RFP/procurement portals
• Establish regular reporting processes to provide actionable insights and ROI measurement
• Relentlessly monitor and prioritize efforts to drive outsized lead generation and sales growth
• Understand category-specific landscape and trends, gathering and reporting insights on factors that have the potential to shift prospective clients’ tactical budgets or needs
• Work with colleagues in Business Development to build and maintain target customer lists and client information within agency CRM platform
• Collaborate cross-functionally with colleagues on brand initiatives, templated external-facing content and easy-to-find internal resources
• Pro-actively engage across departments as necessary (e.g. Client Services, Creative, Strategy, Project Ops) to optimize efforts and create cohesive external-facing products
• Ensure that ADVOC8 values and priorities are being considered in how our agency and its work is described and shown
• Serve as a senior advocate internally for ongoing process and quality improvements resulting in highly strategic and responsive proposals, improved win rates and a more seamless business development process
• Support other sales engagement activity within the Business Development team’s portfolio, as needed

This role is accountable for:

• Meeting quarterly or annual new client sales targets
• Shared responsibility towards overall Business Development team target for quarterly or annual New Client sales (inbound or outbound)
• Establishing sustainable, repeatable processes for agency sales strategy long-term
• Maintaining positive relationships with team members

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in an agency or brand environment with substantive experience in experiential marketing, brand communications, and/or advocacy
• 5+ years of experience developing and implementing sales initiatives in an agency or brand environment
• Track record of establishing strong relationships with senior-level executives and decision-makers at major brands and associations
• Natural, authentic sales ability, with a bias towards a consultative approach that tees up a seamless handoff to agency project team
• Self-starter mindset, able to work independently or collaboratively as needed to meet established sales targets
• Strong organizational skills, able to track progress and incorporate data to drive sales funnel planning and optimization
• Adept at working within existing CRM system and agency marketing efforts to complement outbound sales initiatives
• Superb communicator, both verbally and in writing, with excellent listening, negotiation and presentation skills
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to smartly prioritize, coordinate with others, and adhere to deadlines
• Committed to accountability on key performance metrics across the team, including revenue performance, client satisfaction and team satisfaction
• Comfortable traveling 10-20% or more, as needed
• Psyched to help create the foundation for a dynamic agency’s next chapter of growth
• And, most importantly… aligned with ADVOC8’s core values:
  • Better Together - Collaborative soul who’s open to new ideas, sharing successes and being part of a team
  • Level Up - High standards, never settling for the status quo or what we did last time
  • Hustle Smarter - Entrepreneurial, roll-up-your-sleeves spirit, tempered by the courage to identify smarter ways of doing things
  • Celebrate Differences - Highly empathetic personality who values individual perspectives
  • Outcome Over Income - Extensive experience and demonstrated success in client relationship management
  • Protect the Respect - Navigates conflict with an emphasis on transparency and diplomacy
  • Engineer Exceptional Value - Inspired by outside-the-box thinking that yields outstanding ROI for our clients and projects
  • Embrace Change - Recognize situations that require flexibility and craft creative solutions on the fly

Benefits

• Collaborative and creative work environment
• Competitive base salary, with additional performance based incentives
• Health Insurance: 100% coverage of medical insurance for all employees
• Health Insurance: dental and vision insurance for all employees
• 401k, FSA and reimbursements for mobile phone usage
• Professional development and training reimbursements
• Unlimited vacation and personal time
• Paid parental leave
• Fully remote company

We have transitioned from a once Washington D.C.-based agency to being Washington, D.C.-born. This position is not location-based, though travel may occasionally be required for business development, pitches, and team offsites. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.; at this time, we are not able to provide sponsorship.

ADVOC8 is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to achieving a diverse workforce and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind: ADVOC8 is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at ADVOC8 are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to age, race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status or any other status protected under federal, state or local law. ADVOC8 will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.