Business Development Specialist

The Business Development Specialist is a forward-thinking customer service and relationship building professional with sales skills who understands the habits and personalities of our membership/event attendees and will create, sell and track completion of supplier partnerships, member benefits, and exposure opportunities for business partners, sponsors, exhibitors, suppliers, and advertisers. The specialist strives to provide concierge experiences for NAEP business partners and is singularly focused on nurturing existing relationships and building new ones.

They must provide timely responses to inquiries as the main point of contact; development of unique experiences meeting both parties’ goals; have a strong attention to detail and the ability to meet time sensitive deadlines. This is not purely a sales role. Instead, this is a role focused on relationship building. Understanding the unique needs of supplier partners in the higher education procurement ecosystem is not required but will be a significant differentiator for interested candidates.

• Develop a sponsor and business partner relationship program to nurture existing partnerships and develop new ones.
• Create and sell annual prospectuses for the National Annual Meeting, year-round sponsorship opportunities, and District/Region Fall Meetings. Incorporate Business Partner Membership benefits and provide enhancement opportunities for the future of this program. Coordinate design of professional sales material with Marketing Specialist. Engage with leadership and event management to confirm feasibility of sellable opportunities.
• Track the sale of sponsor ships and exhibitor booths; coordinate the execution of each sponsorship.
• Serve as the main point of contact between the business partners and NAEP. Understands when a situation/conversation requires elevation to a Director/Board Member/CEO.
• Develops relationships with sponsors and exhibitors. Serve as a guide to prospective sponsors to match the best sponsorship opportunity to meet their unique needs. Brainstorm custom sponsorship opportunities. Ensures sponsors and partners feel like a part of the NAEP community.
• Conducts follow-up meetings with sponsors as a post event and/or end of year wrap up to evaluate the execution, perceived value, interest for next year and to gather overall feedback. Disseminate feedback in a report to leadership.
• Coordinate meetings, as needed, with leadership, NAEP staff or NAEP members as needed to complete a sale or a deliverable.
• Collaborate with leadership, marketing and events management to create annual sponsorship prospectus for the Association and its events.
• Serve as an intermediary between business partners and our third-party publications providers who sell advertising for our print and online publications. Discuss and track compliance of advertising sales goals for the third party. Promote advertising opportunities during discussions with business partners.

• Ability to manage large projects from start to finish within established timelines
• Creative problem solver who can work independently, along with the judgment to seek supervision and/or input from others, when appropriate
• Comfortable engaging conversations with business partners to increase their business support and participation.
• Strong customer support orientation, a demonstrated professional demeanor, and the ability to maintain confidential information when appropriate.
• Self-motivated; works well in a remote environment
• Ability to manage time effectively, multi-task, and meet multiple time-sensitive deadlines.
• Detail-oriented yet also able to see the “big picture”
• Strong interpersonal skills; capable of effectively communicating with a diverse range of individuals.
• Desire for continuous learning and professional growth

20% Prospectus Development

Research potential ideas and validate the value of current offerings. Develop a cost analysis for each proposed level or item to ensure we are pricing correctly. Work with marketing to create attractive collateral. Setup sales programing in the event management system, working with the events manager and…