Business Development Manager

Soliant Consulting•Chicago, IL

7d•Remote

About The Position

We are looking for an experienced, self-directed Business Development Manager to drive new client growth across Soliant's Cloud Native Application Development, AWS, and AI practices. This is a full-cycle sales role: you own everything from identifying and cultivating new relationships to closing consulting engagements and handing off cleanly to our delivery team. AI is an increasingly significant part of these conversations. Mid-market technology leaders are under real pressure to evaluate, adopt, and implement AI responsibly, and many do not know where to start. You will need to be comfortable discussing AI strategy, AI-assisted development, and workflow automation at a level that earns credibility with CTOs, CIOs, and VPs of IT, without overpromising what AI can deliver. This role does not rely on inbound leads or SDR support. Your pipeline will be built through conferences, technology events, professional networking, and the long-term relationships you invest in over time. You should expect to attend two to three events per month, including one to two out-of-town trips, and you should be genuinely energized by that kind of work. In services sales, clients are not buying a product they can inspect. They are buying confidence in a person. Everything about how you show up, follow up, and build your reputation over time is the product.

Requirements

5+ years of full-cycle B2B sales experience in technology consulting, professional services, or a closely related services business.
Demonstrated track record of self-sourcing pipeline through events, networking, and relationship development; this is not a role for someone who has primarily worked inbound or SDR-generated leads
Proven experience selling to CTOs, CIOs, VPs of IT, or equivalent technology decision-makers at mid-market companies (approximately $50M to $500M in revenue)
Familiarity with cloud application development, AWS services, or AI solutions at a level sufficient to have credible conversations with technical buyers, even if you are not an engineer yourself
Experience selling AI-related services or technology is a meaningful plus; comfort discussing AI strategy, implementation readiness, and workflow automation with skeptical technical buyers is increasingly central to this role
Active listening over pitching: You resist the urge to sell immediately. You ask genuine questions, remember what people tell you, and make the other person feel heard. People buy from those who made them feel understood, not from whoever had the best elevator pitch.
Clear, jargon-free articulation of value: You can answer the question of what you do in a way that is memorable and relevant to the person in front of you. With AI especially, you can cut through hype and speak plainly about what is realistic, what requires preparation, and what the ROI actually looks like.
Follow-up discipline: You have a consistent, timely follow-up system: a note within 24 to 48 hours, a useful resource, a specific callback to the conversation. You have a strong follow-up cadence that can span years, if necessary.
Genuine curiosity about people: You actually find people interesting. This is not really a skill as much as it is a disposition, but it is consistently what separates great networkers from transactional ones. People sense authenticity quickly.
Strategic event selection: You do not attend everything. You identify where your ideal clients actually are, including the AI and cloud-focused events where technology leaders are actively trying to figure out their next move, and you invest deeply in those rather than spreading thin.
Giving before asking: You make introductions, share relevant insights on AI adoption or cloud strategy, and send useful resources without an immediate ask in return. You understand that social capital builds slowly and converts to pipeline on its own timeline.
Comfort with ambiguity and patience: Networking-based pipeline is slow. A conversation about AI strategy today may produce a scoped engagement in eight months. You do not abandon relationships before they mature, and you do not need your manager to tell you that.
Confident, low-pressure presence: You do not come across as quota-driven or needy. That calm confidence, the kind that comes from knowing your pipeline is not dependent on this one conversation, actually makes you more compelling to talk to.
Memory and personalization: You remember what someone told you last time, or you review your notes before reconnecting so it feels that way. Either approach signals genuine respect for the relationship.
Reputation management as a long game: You understand that your name circulates before you arrive. LinkedIn presence, speaking opportunities at AI or cloud events, referrals from past clients: these compound over time and make introductions warm before they happen.
CRM proficiency in Salesforce, with clean and consistent pipeline management habits
Comfortable using LinkedIn Sales Navigator for research, relationship tracking, and outreach

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with proposal or SOW development is a plus

Responsibilities

Own your pipeline from scratch through strategic selection and deep investment in the conferences, technology events, and professional communities where your ideal clients actually spend their time
Attend three to four industry events per month, including regular out-of-town travel, to develop relationships and generate qualified opportunities over time
Build your professional reputation proactively through LinkedIn presence, speaking opportunities, referral networks, and consistent visibility in the technology community
Give before asking: share relevant insights on AI trends and cloud strategy, make introductions, and add value to relationships without an immediate expectation of return
Maintain a healthy, accurately documented pipeline in Salesforce with consistent stage progression and next steps
Lead the full sales cycle from initial conversation through discovery, proposal, negotiation, and close
Conduct consultative discovery meetings that uncover real technology and business challenges, including where AI could meaningfully reduce cost, save time, or improve outcomes for the client's team
Ask better questions than you give answers; the goal of early conversations is to understand the business deeply, not to pitch
Navigate AI conversations honestly: help prospects understand what AI can realistically deliver, identify where their data and processes are ready for AI, and set clear expectations about what preparation and investment responsible AI adoption actually requires
Develop tailored proposals and statements of work in collaboration with Soliant's practice leads and delivery team
Manage multi-month sales cycles with discipline: consistent follow-up, timely reconnection, and the patience to let relationships mature before asking for the business
Build long-term relationships with technology leaders that extend beyond a single transaction; your best future leads will come from people who already trust you
Follow up within 24 to 48 hours of every meaningful conversation with something useful: a relevant article on AI implementation, a connection to someone they should know, or a specific callback to what they told you
Review your CRM notes before every reconnection; remembering what someone told you six months ago is one of the clearest signals of genuine respect
Maintain contact with closed clients for expansion opportunities and referrals, especially as AI projects that started as pilots grow into broader engagements
Understand that your name circulates before you arrive: how you show up on LinkedIn, what past clients say about you, and which communities you are active in all shape the quality of conversations you will have at your next event
Work closely with Soliant's Cloud Native, AWS, and AI practice leads during the sales process to scope opportunities accurately and avoid overpromising
Brief delivery teams thoroughly at handoff so that client expectations are set and met from day one
Share market intelligence with leadership on buyer trends, AI adoption patterns, competitive dynamics, and emerging technology needs you are hearing in the field

Benefits

Base salary + commission on closed business
Full coverage of travel and event expenses
Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP): you own a piece of what you are building
Collaborative support from Soliant's practice leads during the sales process; you will not be scoping deals alone
Remote work environment
Group vision, dental, and health benefits
Vacation policy and flexible work schedule that encourages personal pursuits and a healthy work-life balance
Parental leave benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Remote work equipment and services stipend
Generous 401(k) employer match
Employee stock ownership
Encouragement of regular professional development and training