Business Development Manager

Are you a born hunter? Someone who genuinely loves the chase - the prospecting, the pitching, the buzz of opening a door no one has been able to open before?

We re working exclusively with a brilliantly distinctive, much-loved Norfolk-based premium brand who are looking for their next Business Development Manager. This is the key hunter role within their growing sales team and be the person who will go out and win the new accounts that fuel the next chapter of their growth story.

About the role

This is a true new business role, not an account management role dressed up as one. You ll own the new business pipeline end to end, from identifying prospects, getting in front of buyers, pitching the brand, negotiating range and terms, and bringing new customers on board. Once accounts are launched and bedded in, you ll hand them across to the account management team and go again.

Target channels are exclusively premium - think hotel groups, airlines, premium department stores and retailers, farm shops, fine food halls, specialist independents and any other channel their premium brand has a natural home for. No supermarkets, no race to the bottom. There is genuine breadth and white space to go after.

What you ll be doing

• Building and relentlessly progressing a qualified new business pipeline across multiple channels.
• Proactively prospecting - cold outreach, LinkedIn, trade events, referrals and category-led conversations.
• Pitching, sampling, negotiating and converting prospects into listings.
• Owning commercial negotiation: pricing, range, promotional support and trading terms, winning business that protects margin and brand integrity.
• Identifying new premium channels, markets and white-space opportunities within the UK market.
• Working closely with Marketing, NPD and Operations to build compelling, customer-specific proposals.
• Representing the brand at trade shows and industry events.
• Keeping pipeline and forecasting tight and accurate, owning the responsibility.

What you ll bring

• A demonstrable track record of new business wins with premium brands.
• A genuine hunter mentality, being energised by cold outreach and the chase, and you re resilient when doors don t open first time.
• Experience pitching to and negotiating with retail buyers or equivalent decision-makers.
• Strong commercial acumen - comfortable with margin, P&L and trading terms.
• Confident, credible and influential at every level, from buyer to commercial director.
• Exceptional pipeline discipline and the ability to juggle multiple live opportunities.
• A degree (or equivalent) is ideal in Business, Marketing or a related field, plus excellent IT skills.

Bonus points for

• An existing buyer or contact network within hotel groups, airlines, premium retailers, farm shops, fine food halls or specialist independents.
• Experience selling premium, branded or specialist goods.

This is a beautifully positioned, distinctive brand with a strong identity, a loyal following and clear ambition. They ve built solid foundations with their existing customer base and are now investing in the hunter capability to take it to the next level. You ll have genuine autonomy, the ear of the Head of Sales, and a real hand in shaping how the next phase of growth is delivered.

Based at their Norwich site with expenses paid for the travel you d expect of a national new business role.

Interested?

This role is being handled exclusively by Select Recruitment Specialists. For a confidential conversation and the full brief, please get in touch with Emma Baylis.