[Hiring] Business Development Executive @Unit4

Role Description

The Senior Business Development Executive is responsible for generating high-quality new business opportunities for the Unit4 Financials by Coda New Business team in France. The role will focus on identifying target organisations, engaging senior decision-makers and creating qualified sales opportunities that can be progressed by the New Business sales team. This is a proactive, outbound-focused role for someone who is comfortable opening doors into new organisations, developing relationships with senior finance stakeholders and creating opportunities in a market where establishing new customer relationships is a key priority.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Generate qualified new-business opportunities for the Coda France New Business team.
• Proactively prospect into agreed target accounts and market segments.
• Research organisations to identify appropriate companies, stakeholders and potential business drivers.
• Engage senior finance stakeholders including CFOs, Finance Directors, Financial Controllers and Finance Transformation leaders.
• Use telephone, email, LinkedIn and other appropriate channels to create engagement with prospective customers.
• Develop personalised outbound campaigns and messaging rather than relying solely on high-volume prospecting.
• Understand the prospect's current finance environment, challenges and priorities sufficiently to identify potential opportunities for Coda.
• Qualify prospects against agreed criteria before passing opportunities to the New Business sales team.
• Secure introductory and discovery meetings for the sales team.
• Work closely with the France New Business team to identify and prioritise target accounts.
• Partner with Marketing on campaigns, events and account-based activity.
• Follow up marketing-generated leads and convert appropriate leads into qualified sales opportunities.
• Maintain accurate records of prospecting activity, contacts, leads and opportunities within the CRM.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of future opportunities.
• Develop knowledge of the French financial software market, Coda's proposition and relevant competitors.
• Provide feedback to Sales and Marketing on prospect conversations, market trends, competitor activity and messaging effectiveness.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in B2B business development, sales development or lead generation.
• Demonstrable success generating qualified opportunities through proactive outbound prospecting.
• Experience engaging senior business decision-makers.
• Experience within enterprise software, SaaS, ERP, finance technology or another complex B2B environment is highly desirable.
• Experience researching and developing named/strategic accounts.
• Experience using CRM and sales-prospecting technology.
• Experience working closely with Account Executives or New Business sales teams.
• Experience within the French market would be highly advantageous.

Requirements

• Fluent French and strong professional English.
• Excellent telephone and written communication skills.
• Confident engaging senior and C-level prospects.
• Strong prospecting and relationship-building skills.
• Commercially curious and able to understand a prospect's business challenges.
• Persistent and resilient while maintaining a professional approach.
• Able to create compelling, personalised outreach.
• Strong research and account-planning capability.
• Highly organised with disciplined follow-up.
• Comfortable working towards clear activity, pipeline and opportunity-generation targets.
• Collaborative approach to working with Sales and Marketing.

Benefits

• A culture built on trust and accountability - giving you the freedom and autonomy to be successful and make an impact.
• Balance - with our Flexible Leave Paid Time Off policy, remote working opportunities, Global Wellbeing Days, and other great benefits.
• Growth opportunities - we provide the tools and guidance required so that you can focus on what really matters to you and so, ultimately, you can achieve your best work.
• Talented colleagues, role models and mentors - work, learn and be inspired by some of the best talent in the software industry.
• A commitment to sustainability - with initiatives such as our Environmental, Social, and Governance strategy and Act4Good programme.
• A safe and inclusive working environment – supported by our Employee Resource Groups, which are open to all.