Business Development Manager

Forerunner•Portland, ME

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Forerunner is seeking a Business Development Manager to establish and lead their business development function from their Portland, ME office. This role involves managing and growing a team of Business Development Representatives (BDRs) while overseeing outbound strategies for both public-sector (city, county, state agencies) and private-sector (construction, ports/terminals, energy/renewable operators) clients. It's a hands-on "player-coach" position where you will be involved in refining messaging, listening to calls, and working segments directly, while also building the necessary systems, hiring plans, and reporting structures for team scalability.

Requirements

5+ years of business development or sales experience.
1-2 years of direct management experience of an SDR/BDR or similar outbound team.
Proven track record of building or scaling an outbound motion, creating a repeatable and measurable pipeline engine.
Ability to operate effectively across different buyer types.
Strong coaching and communication skills, with the ability to provide direct feedback and build trust.
Analytical and process-minded, comfortable with CRM and tracking key metrics.
Ability to create structure in ambiguous environments.
Must be based in or willing to relocate to Portland, ME.

Nice To Haves

Experience selling into both government/public-sector accounts and private industry (construction, energy, infrastructure, or similar).

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, coach, and develop a team of Business Development Representatives, including daily pipeline reviews, call coaching, and career development.
Hire and onboard new BDRs as the team expands, establishing repeatable training processes.
Set clear individual and team targets, ensuring accountability to SLAs, activity metrics, and pipeline goals.
Own the outbound strategy for identifying and engaging high-potential accounts in both government and private sectors.
Develop and refine segment-specific playbooks, including messaging and targeting tailored to different buyer types.
Collaborate with Account Executives to hand off qualified opportunities and ensure smooth funnel conversion.
Manage the BDR tech stack and processes, including CRM hygiene, sequencing tools, and reporting, to maintain clean and trustworthy pipeline data.
Establish a regular reporting rhythm (weekly/monthly) for pipeline generation, conversion rates, and team performance for Sales leadership.
Continuously test and iterate on outbound approaches based on conversion data from each segment.
Partner with Sales leadership on account segmentation, territory design, and go-to-market priorities.
Share market feedback, including prospect insights, common objections, and competitive intelligence, with Marketing and Product teams.
Represent the voice of top-of-funnel prospects as Forerunner expands its presence in the private sector.