Director of Business Development

We are seeking a Director of Business Development to join our team. In this role, you will secure new and repeat business, explore new market opportunities by building strong relationships with key customers, stakeholders as well as organizations supporting children and families, with the primary goal of growing sales year over year. The position also requires developing innovative strategies to grow and expand within existing markets and customer segments. Applicants should possess excellent presentation skills and the ability to speak to customer needs at all levels, including those of teachers, administrators, directors and other officials. The ideal candidate also has demonstrated relationship-management experience with a variety of local, state, and national networks within the education space. A day on the job looks like this: Securing new and repeat business by building strong relationships with key customers and stakeholders, growing sales year over year Participating in new market development—inclusive of research, on-site and new sales investigation Identifying and owning new and nontraditional business opportunities Develop and drive innovative strategies to grow and expand within existing markets/customer segments Attending State ECE Council Meetings, Head Start Association meetings  Completing client visits on a regular, ongoing basis to assess emerging and ongoing needs Maintaining strong partnership and ongoing communication with Inside/Outside sales team to drive projects through completion  Participating in local, state and national associations/conferences to promote the Lakeshore brand Maintaining an ongoing awareness of local, state and national trends as well as funding opportunities Pursuing relationships with city, county, tribal, and state government officials, school administrators and community-based organizations to support cutting-edge learning environments for children Creating, reviewing, and delivering sales presentations for large opportunities; assessing need for senior leadership participation in next steps Initiating and implementing marketing campaigns targeting funding and/or legislative-driven opportunities Establishing a thorough understanding of Lakeshore’s value adds and service proposition; ability to communicate funding and initiatives to opportunities for capture of market share Utilizing internal/external partnerships to create revenue-focused pipelines for success in relationship management and sales strategy Coaching cross-functional partners (Outside Sales, Inside Sales) on basics of policy, funding and legislation supporting education on local, state and national level Strategic planning, gap strategy development and resource planning, in alignment with company goals Prospecting in new markets; identifying and investigating new funding opportunities Ability to identify nuances of current/emerging markets and supporting growth in new or existing areas of business