Business Development Manager

Persona is where the world’s best companies and the world’s best talent meet. We place exceptional people from 98 countries into full-time, long-term remote roles with the most ambitious companies on earth. Fortune 500 enterprises, fast-growing startups backed by Sequoia, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, and high-performing companies of every size in between. Project management, operations, finance, design, marketing, customer success, and more. One person, one dedicated client, built to last. The bar is the highest in the industry. More than 200,000 people apply every month, and fewer than 1 in 2,000 are accepted. If you make it, you join a network of people who have cleared a standard most companies couldn’t recruit for on their own, and you get the kind of role that’s almost impossible to find on your own: industry-leading pay set against your experience and skill, real career growth, and a stable seat at a serious company, working from home, anywhere in the world.

Persona was founded in 2018 by two Stanford graduates on a simple idea: talent is everywhere, but the systems that connect talent to opportunity are broken. We’re rebuilding them, and we’ve grown into one of the fastest-growing companies in the global talent industry doing it. We hire people who care about the craft of their work, take ownership without being asked, and want to build a career rather than just hold a job. If that’s you, we’d like to meet you.

Role Summary

The Business Development Representative is responsible for identifying new business opportunities, generating qualified leads, building early-stage relationships, and driving the top of the sales funnel. This is a strategic role: you will research markets, develop outbound strategies, build proposals, and convert prospects into pipeline for the AE team. Ideal candidates are proactive, strategic thinkers with a strong B2B background and a track record of generating measurable pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct market research to identify new business opportunities and industry trends
• Develop and execute multi-channel outbound strategies (email, LinkedIn, phone, events) to generate leads
• Qualify inbound and outbound leads against ICP, BANT/MEDDIC, or similar frameworks
• Build and maintain relationships with prospective clients; understand their needs and recommend solutions
• Develop and execute targeted sales strategies to hit pipeline and revenue targets
• Prepare and present business proposals, contracts, and agreements
• Attend industry events, conferences, and networking opportunities to build pipeline and brand presence
• Collaborate with marketing, product, and customer service to ensure cohesive go-to-market execution
• Track and analyze sales performance, market trends, and client feedback in CRM
• Provide weekly reports on BD activity, pipeline, and market insights to senior management

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field
• 3-5 years of experience in business development, outbound sales, or a related B2B role
• Demonstrated ability to build pipeline from cold outreach
• Comfortable analyzing market data and translating it into sales strategy
• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Familiarity with CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho)
• Fully fluent in English
• Ability to commit long-term and full-time

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with sales engagement platforms (Outreach, Apollo, Salesloft, Lemlist)
• Background in staffing, recruiting, BPO, SaaS, or B2B services
• Hands-on with LinkedIn Sales Navigator and ZoomInfo or similar prospecting tools

Tools & Technologies

• Salesforce
• HubSpot
• Zoho CRM
• Outreach
• Apollo
• Salesloft
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator
• ZoomInfo
• Slack
• Zoom
• Google Workspace

Core Competencies

• Strategic thinker with a proactive, hunter mindset
• Resilient and persistent through rejection
• Sharp written communicator (cold email, LinkedIn DM)
• Data-driven; iterates outreach based on metrics
• Strong collaborator with marketing and sales teams

What We Offer

• Best salaries in the industry
• Work from anywhere permanently
• Opportunities for growth and advancement
• A fast-paced and collaborative environment
• A warm, people-first company culture
• Get paid in your currency of choice
• Additional benefits

This is a full-time, long-term role, dedicated exclusively to one of our clients. All roles at Persona are 100% work-from-anywhere. Once hired, we will carefully match you to a client company that best suits your career background, skills, and goals.