Business Development Manager

Focus Lab is a B2B brand agency specializing in brand identities, messaging, and websites for B2B tech and SaaS companies. For more than 15 years, we’ve built a reputation for exceptional craft and thoughtful partnership — and today, our work is entirely inbound, with demand consistently outpacing our capacity. We’re an international, all-remote team of thoughtful, creative professionals who care deeply about the work we do and the people we do it with. We exist to unlock the potential in the people around us, both internally and externally, bringing craft, care, curiosity, and intentionality to every challenge and partnership. Craft is our calling card. Camaraderie is our brand. Why this role exists: Today, our sales conversations are led by one of our partners and President, Will Straughn. It works well — we're having our best year ever — but we've outgrown a partner-led sales motion. We're looking for a seasoned closer to step into a healthy, high-volume inbound pipeline. Here’s what’s already in place to set you up for success: 10–15 qualified inbound leads per week, sustained. No cold outreach required as of today. You will start taking a portion of our leads while Will continues to sell to the other portion of leads. A brand with genuine market pull. Prospects arrive already knowing we're experts — your job is to confirm it and shape the engagement. A partner who will personally train you on our portfolio, scoping, and positioning before handing you the keys. Sales operations support. Proposal generation, pipeline administration, and scheduling are handled by our Growth Operations Manager . You stay in conversations, not spreadsheets or proposal apps. You can expect to: Lead sales conversations from first call through close. You'll often be one voice across the table from three or four stakeholders — you need to command that room, run the agenda, and steer the conversation with warmth and intention. Scope and recommend engagements. You'll learn our services deeply enough to diagnose what a client actually needs and confidently price it. Protect and grow our pricing. Our rates have climbed steadily and we expect that to continue. You should be comfortable selling premium work at premium prices — and pushing the ceiling. Build trusted relationships. Our sales cycle is built on credibility. Prospects need to experience you as an expert peer, not a vendor. Over time, help us expand what we sell. Today we mostly sell capacity. We're actively developing new services and see real opportunity in proactive expansion within our existing client base — past and present. The right person will help us imagine and pursue that. The right candidate for this position brings: Experience as a seasoned sales professional. You've carried a number, closed complex deals, and have the scar tissue to prove it. Senior-level experience is non-negotiable. Presence. You can own a room of executives without dominating it. Confident, warm, and a genuinely good listener. Enough ego to be credible, enough humility to be likable. Consultative instincts. You guide conversations rather than pitch at people. You ask sharp questions, hear what's underneath the answers, and move rooms toward decisions. Comfort selling expertise. Our buyers are founders, CMOs, and executive teams making a significant brand investment. You need to hold your own with them. Openness to what's next. We don't do outbound today, and we don't need you to. But as we add services, proactive expansion into our book of business is likely on the horizon — you should be energized by that, not allergic to it. Alignment with our Core Values . How you sell matters as much as what you sell. You take ownership, navigate ambiguity, stay curious, collaborate generously, and lead with empathy — with prospects, clients, and your teammates alike. Comfort with a modern sales tech stack. You’re at home working in tools like HubSpot, Slack, and Google Workspace, and you’re comfortable learning new platforms as our systems evolve. Humility, hunger, and people smarts. You’re driven without making it about you. You read the room, build trust quickly, take feedback well, and care more about getting to the right outcome than getting the credit. Strong communication skills. You’re highly proficient in written and spoken English and can communicate complex ideas clearly, confidently, and naturally — whether you’re on a sales call, following up with a prospect, or collaborating internally. Attention to detail. The details matter — in proposals, follow-ups, handoffs, and apparently job descriptions. If you’re still reading closely, find a way to work Applebee’s into your application. Bonus points await you. Agency experience is a plus, not a requirement. Great salespeople can learn any offering. We'll teach you ours. Focus Lab is fully remote and operates primarily between 9AM–5PM Eastern Time. For international contractors, we require at least six hours of consistent overlap within that 9AM–5PM ET window. We’re flexible on exact start and end times. That being said, because we serve clients across the globe, occasional calls outside of our standard Eastern business hours come with the territory. Travel is uncommon, but it does happen. Compensation This position includes a base salary plus a quarterly performance bonus tied to sales performance and results. We’ll share more details about the full compensation structure ahead of your first interview. Please note: We are open to both U.S.-based candidates and international contractors. If you live in the U.S., we may ask for documentation verifying your legal right to work. Candidates located outside the U.S. will be considered independent contractors. Benefits We will cover the full benefits package further into the interview process, but the key benefits provided by Focus Lab are: Unlimited paid time off. You’ll be encouraged to take a minimum of 20 days outside of holidays and sick time. Health, dental, and vision insurance plans (medical covered at 100% for you 50% for your family dependents, dental covered at 50% for you and your family dependents) beginning first of the month following hire Life, disability, accident, critical illness, and cancer insurance plans Retirement plan beginning at your first anniversary Paid parental, adoption/caregiver leave Two weeks paid holiday rest at the end of the year Please note: Candidates hired as independent contractors outside the U.S. are not eligible for traditional employee benefits, such as health insurance or retirement plans. As an independent contractor, you will be responsible for managing your taxes, benefits, and insurance. However, we offer competitive compensation, and you may be eligible for certain perks or bonuses based on project performance. While international contractors are not eligible for formal paid time off (PTO), we encourage a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible scheduling to accommodate personal needs. Interested? Cool. Here’s how to apply: Tell us about yourself in your cover letter. Tell us what gets you excited about this role, why Focus Lab caught your attention, and a little about the sales experience that makes you think you’d be great at it. We’d especially love to hear about a couple of wins, challenges, or experiences that give us a sense of how you sell and what you’re proud of. Show us what you’ve done. Make sure your application materials give us a clear picture of your experience and demonstrate at least some of the qualities we’ve described above. We know great candidates rarely check every single box on a job description — most of us didn’t when we applied, either. If this role sounds like you and you believe you could be great at it, we hope you’ll apply. What happens after you apply? We're not filling this role against an arbitrary deadline. This posting will remain open until we find the right person, and we'll review applications and begin conversations with strong candidates as they come in. We're looking for someone who can become a trusted, long-term owner of sales at Focus Lab, so we're intentionally prioritizing the right fit over filling the role quickly. What does the interview process look like? Our interview process is designed to give us both a chance to get to know each other — your experience, how you approach sales, how you work with others, and what it might look like to sell Focus Lab. A Zoom call with People Ops to talk about your interest in Focus Lab, learn more about what you're looking for, and answer any initial questions. A Zoom interview focused on your sales experience, approach, and how you build trust with prospective clients. A Zoom interview to dig deeper into how you think, collaborate, and approach the kinds of conversations and opportunities you'll encounter at Focus Lab. What will your first 90 days look like? Your first 90 days will be an introductory period for both of us to make sure this is the right mutual fit. You'll spend that time getting deeply familiar with Focus Lab, our services, our portfolio, our clients, and how we sell. By 30 days: You'll be ready to lead sales calls independently, with a strong working knowledge of our agency, services, portfolio, and sales process. By 60 days: You'll be owning your opportunities through the proposal stage, confidently shaping and sending proposals without hands-on assistance from your manager. By 90 days: You'll be fully operating in the role and working toward closing your first Focus Lab deals. Be who you are with us. We’re devoted to building an inclusive, supportive culture. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age, disability, genetic information, parental status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We encourage applicants from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply. At Focus Lab, we believe our best work happens when we build it together. We lead with curiosity, put empathy into action, and trust one another to own the work. We don’t expect everyone to have all the answers—we value people who act on ambiguity, ask good questions, and find a path forward alongside their teammates. Sound like you? Super. We expect you’ll be successful here.