Business Development Manager

Business Development Manager

Love the chase. Thrive on the win. Ready to grow a business?

Some people love looking after existing clients. Others love the challenge of finding the next one. We're looking for the latter!

Practice Cover is looking for a driven, confident and commercially minded salesperson who enjoys opening doors, building connections and turning conversations into new business.

This isn't a desk-based account management role, and we're not looking for someone who waits for the phone to ring. We want someone who gets out there, picks up the phone, makes introductions, attends events and actively looks for the next opportunity.

You'll be the person creating the conversations that lead to new clients. Whether you're meeting potential referral partners, visiting prospective customers or following up a promising introduction, you'll have the freedom to build relationships and the responsibility to turn them into results.

You'll work alongside our existing Account Handler, who looks after renewals, administration and day-to-day insurance processes. You'll also work closely with our lead generation team, helping them develop their skills and maximise the opportunities they create.

Your focus will be on generating opportunities, winning new clients and helping Practice Cover grow.

If you enjoy the challenge of a sale, thrive on building relationships and want to see the results of your own efforts, this could be the role for you.

What you'll be doing

• Finding new business: Proactively identifying potential clients, researching opportunities and making the first move to start conversations.
• Getting out and about: Attending networking meetings, industry conferences, exhibitions and sales-focused events to raise our profile and generate new opportunities.
• Building referral relationships: Developing connections with accountants, professional advisers and other potential introducers who can help bring new business to Practice Cover.
• Making things happen: Picking up the phone, arranging meetings, following up leads and keeping conversations moving.
• Winning the business: Understanding prospective clients' needs, communicating the value of our services, overcoming objections and confidently asking for the sale.
• Managing your pipeline: Keeping track of prospects, meetings and follow-ups so opportunities don't go cold.
• Delivering results: Working towards agreed new-business targets and taking ownership of your performance.
• Working with our lead generators: Working closely with the lead generation team to maximise opportunities and ensure their activity supports our new-business objectives.
• Coaching and development: Helping to build the team's confidence and skills through guidance, constructive feedback and sharing successful sales techniques.
• Improving lead generation performance: Supporting the development of outbound calling, prospect qualification, lead follow-up and appointment-setting techniques to improve the quality and conversion of opportunities.
• Sharing knowledge and feedback: Helping the team understand which approaches work best by providing feedback on lead quality, outcomes and conversion rates.
• Working as a team: Collaborating with our Account Handler to ensure a smooth handover when new clients come on board.

This is a hands-on sales role that combines proactive outreach, face-to-face meetings, networking, relationship building and supporting others to achieve results. You'll need to be comfortable managing your own time, taking the initiative and keeping momentum when a sale takes persistence.

About you

You might already work in business development, insurance, professional services or another relationship-led industry. What's most important is that you enjoy finding new opportunities, have the confidence to approach people and know how to turn conversations into commercial results.

You'll ideally have:

• A proven track record in sales, business development or winning new clients.
• A proactive, hunter-style mentality, with the drive to seek out opportunities rather than wait for enquiries to arrive.
• Confidence in making outbound calls, approaching new contacts and arranging meetings.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage people at all levels.
• A genuine enthusiasm for networking, attending events and building a strong professional network.
• The persistence to follow up leads, overcome objections and keep opportunities moving towards a sale.
• A target-driven mindset, with the motivation to achieve results and take ownership of your performance.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to recognise opportunities, understand client needs and communicate value.
• The ability to coach, encourage and develop others, helping a lead generation team build confidence and improve its performance.
• Good organisational and time-management skills, including maintaining an accurate sales pipeline.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office. Experience using a CRM system would be beneficial.

Experience in commercial insurance broking or professional services would be an advantage, as would an understanding of the GP/Dental market. However, we're open to someone from another industry who can demonstrate strong sales ability, commercial awareness and a track record of developing business.

Insurance knowledge is valuable, but we're particularly interested in your ability to sell, build relationships, win new clients and help others improve their performance.

Location and working arrangements

The role is based at our office in Potton, Bedfordshire, with regular travel to meet prospective clients, attend networking events and develop business relationships.

Why join Practice Cover?

This is an opportunity to play a key role in our growth and make a tangible difference to the success of the business.

You'll work alongside an experienced team of insurance professionals, with support for the technical insurance, renewal and administration aspects of the business, allowing you to concentrate on generating opportunities and winning new clients.

You'll have the opportunity to build your own network, develop valuable relationships, help strengthen our lead generation team and see the direct impact of your efforts.

We're looking for someone who wants to make their mark, enjoys the challenge of winning business and is excited by the opportunity to help grow Practice Cover.

If you're proactive, commercially minded and motivated by turning opportunities into sales, we'd love to hear from you.

Pay: From £35,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Free parking
• On-site parking
• Private medical insurance

Work Location: In person