Business Development Executive

Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired•Chicago, IL

47d•$60,000 - $75,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Business Development Representative (BDR) is a junior-level business development position responsible for helping build and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective clients for Lighthouse Enterprises. This individual will focus primarily on identifying potential clients, researching target organizations, conducting outbound prospecting, tracking leads, supporting sales campaigns, and scheduling qualified meetings for senior business development leadership. The ideal candidate is highly organized, persistent, curious, comfortable reaching out to prospective clients, and motivated by creating new business opportunities. This role is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to build a career in business development, sales, or account management while gaining exposure to healthcare, insurance, government contracting, and outsourced contact center services. This position will work closely with senior Business Development leadership, who will lead discovery discussions, develop solutions, negotiate opportunities, and close new business.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Sales, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience will also be considered.
0–3 years of experience in business development, sales, lead generation, marketing, recruiting, customer service, account management, or a related field.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Comfortable communicating with prospective clients through phone, email, LinkedIn, and virtual meetings.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple prospects and follow-up activities simultaneously.
Ability to conduct online research and identify relevant organizations, contacts, and business opportunities.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to maintaining accurate records.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Self-motivated with the ability to work independently while collaborating as part of a team.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in outbound sales, lead generation, appointment setting, or business development.
Experience with CRM or sales tracking platforms such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar tools.
Familiarity with LinkedIn Sales Navigator or other prospecting and lead-generation platforms.
Experience or interest in contact centers, business process outsourcing (BPO), healthcare, insurance, government contracting, financial services, or consulting.
Experience researching companies and identifying senior-level decision-makers.
Familiarity with government procurement, RFIs, RFPs, or public-sector contracting is a plus.
Experience supporting email campaigns, social selling, or other digital prospecting strategies.

Responsibilities

Research and identify prospective clients within targeted industries, including healthcare, insurance, government, financial services, commercial organizations, and other organizations that utilize contact center or business process outsourcing services.
Conduct outbound prospecting through phone calls, email, LinkedIn, social media, industry directories, and other lead-generation channels.
Identify appropriate decision-makers and influencers within prospective organizations.
Develop and maintain targeted prospect lists and outreach campaigns.
Conduct preliminary research on prospective clients, including company size, services, potential contact center needs, current vendors, organizational initiatives, and potential business opportunities.
Monitor industry news, contract announcements, procurement activity, organizational changes, and other events that may create potential sales opportunities.
Engage prospective clients through professional and persistent outreach.
Introduce Lighthouse Enterprises' capabilities, mission, services, and value proposition to prospective clients.
Qualify leads by identifying potential needs, business challenges, timing, decision-makers, and potential opportunities.
Schedule qualified introductory and discovery meetings for senior Business Development leadership.
Coordinate calendars, meeting invitations, introductory materials, and follow-up communications.
Conduct ongoing follow-up with prospects to maintain engagement and move opportunities forward.
Re-engage inactive or previously contacted prospects when appropriate.
Maintain accurate and timely records of prospects, contacts, outreach activities, meetings, and opportunities within the organization's CRM or sales tracking system.
Track leads through each stage of the business development funnel.
Maintain a well-organized pipeline of prospective clients and opportunities.
Ensure follow-up activities, next steps, and target dates are clearly documented.
Assist leadership with weekly and monthly pipeline reporting.
Track prospecting activity and key business development metrics, including outreach volume, response rates, qualified leads, meetings scheduled, and pipeline development.
Help identify opportunities that require additional follow-up or senior leadership involvement.
Support senior Business Development leadership with research prior to prospective client meetings.
Prepare company profiles, prospect summaries, meeting briefs, talking points, and background information.
Assist with the development and customization of presentations, capability statements, proposals, and other sales materials.
Support follow-up activities after client meetings and business development discussions.
Help maintain standardized sales collateral, presentations, case studies, client success stories, and other business development resources.
Coordinate with Operations, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, IT, and other departments when information is needed to support new business opportunities.
Assist with Requests for Information (RFIs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), capability requests, and other business development opportunities as needed.
Research target industries, organizations, market segments, and competitors.
Identify emerging market opportunities and potential areas for expansion.
Assist in developing targeted outreach campaigns for specific industries, services, geographic markets, or prospective client groups.
Maintain databases and prospect lists for marketing and sales campaigns.
Track campaign results and recommend adjustments based on prospect engagement and response.
Research conferences, associations, networking organizations, procurement opportunities, and other potential lead-generation channels.
Assist with identifying relevant conferences, trade shows, networking events, webinars, and industry meetings.
Support pre-event prospecting and outreach to potential attendees.
Help coordinate meetings with prospective clients during conferences and industry events.
Participate in selected networking events, conferences, and business development activities.
Support post-event follow-up and lead tracking to maximize opportunities generated through events.