Business Development Executive

Role Purpose For Us: This is NOT a lead-generation-only role.

• You will own outbound-first business development for custom IT services, focused on Education (EdTech), Hospitality, News & Media, and Home & Field Services Industry clients globally.
• Your responsibility is to build and manage pipeline from scratch, including outbound prospecting, Upwork bidding and proposal management, discovery calls, lead qualifications, nurturing, follow-ups, close or advance deals, and ensure a clean handover to the Business Analyst / Founders for execution.
• Inbound leads (website, referrals, platforms) are secondary but must be handled responsibly.
• Founders should be involved only in qualified, right-fit, or strategic opportunities.
• This role exists to build a consistent sales pipeline, increase revenue, and reduce founder dependency, not increase it.
• Current Team: 3 people doing lead generation and business development.

Your Role:

• Take ownership beyond basic lead generation by driving strategic business development, Upwork bidding, qualified opportunity creation, and revenue-focused sales activities.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Manage outbound and inbound lead generation, qualification, and sales pipeline; generate leads through cold calling, email marketing, events, industry directories, LinkedIn, and other relevant channels; own Upwork bidding, including opportunity research, proposal writing, client communication, follow-ups, and conversion; use B2B IT sales strategies to pitch our web & mobile app and DevOps services; identify and engage founders, CXOs, and key decision-makers; use LinkedIn Sales Navigator, CRM, and other sales tools; conduct initial sales/discovery calls, follow-ups, feedback calls, and support commercial discussions; qualify opportunities early; identify new business opportunities; work toward annual and quarterly sales targets; use AI tools for research, communication, proposals, emails, and initial idea/wireframe validation; identify AI-led opportunities; collaborate with technical and delivery teams; ensure proper client handover to the BA / PM; build long-term client relationships.

Must have Qualifications / Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business with IT/computer science, Marketing, MBA Graduates, Communications, or related field OR equivalent practical experience.
• 3-6 years of experience in IT services, Business Development, Lead Generation, Upwork Bidding, and B2B Sales.
• Strong exposure to Education (EdTech), Hospitality, News & Media, and Home & Field Services Industry.
• Experience with annual revenue/sales targets and proven results.
• Hands-on Upwork bidding and proposal experience.
• Strong knowledge of LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, CRM, AI tools, and growth/sales platforms.
• Strong communication, networking, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Established client/business network across USA, UK, and Australia.
• Positive, self-motivated, target-oriented team player with strong ownership.
• Willingness to travel and flexible international timings.
• Tool Proficiency: LinkedIn & LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Upwork, freelancing platforms, cold email and campaign tools, Apollo.io, Hunter.io, CRM (Odoo, HubSpot or similar), Zoom/Google Meet, Calendly, Google Workspace, Lovable, Waalaxy, ChatGPT, Claude and other AI-powered sales/growth tools.

Nice-to-Have:

• Experience selling IT services in Australia, UK, and USA; Upwork bidding and winning projects; understanding of target industries; outbound sales tools; basic understanding of web/mobile development, DevOps, or AI; IT agency/startup experience; strong international network.
• Skills: Excellent English communication; prospecting; Upwork bidding; qualification; basic IT terminology; organized pipeline management; self-starter; results-driven; collaborative; professional; persistent; resilient.