Business Development Manager
SmartStart helps MSMEs and startups fix their sales, build their brand, scale their marketing, and sort out their operations. We're growing — across India and into the UAE — and we need someone who can bring serious clients into that work.
This is a relationship role, not a numbers-only role. Our clients are founders and business owners who've usually dealt with vendors who overpromised and underdelivered. Getting them to trust SmartStart takes someone who listens first, understands the actual problem, and earns the right to propose a solution.
If you've been in B2B sales and you're good at it — not just closing, but the whole arc from a cold conversation to a long-term client relationship — this is worth exploring.
What You'll Be Doing:
- Identify and reach out to potential clients — MSMEs, startups, and growing businesses — across sectors in India and the UAE.
- Lead discovery conversations that genuinely surface what a prospect needs, not just what you can sell them.
- Build proposals in collaboration with the SmartStart team — specific, accurate, and actually worth reading.
- Manage your pipeline with discipline — active follow-ups, clear status, no dropped opportunities.
- Build and maintain relationships with referral partners, professional networks, and past clients.
- Represent SmartStart at industry events, forums, and relevant business communities.
- Bring market intelligence back to the team — what clients are saying, what objections keep coming up, how competitors are positioning.
What We're Looking For:
- 3 to 6 years of B2B sales or business development experience — preferably in consulting, professional services, marketing, or technology.
- Experience selling to founders, business owners, or senior decision-makers. Not just procurement teams.
- A consultative approach — you understand the problem before you pitch the solution.
- Strong communication. Clear and confident on a call, in a room, or in writing.
- Comfort with ambiguity — SmartStart is building its processes while using them. That should feel like an opportunity, not a red flag.
- A verifiable track record of hitting revenue targets — not just activity metrics.
- Familiarity with CRM tools and a disciplined approach to managing a pipeline.
Nice to have:
- Experience working with or selling specifically to MSMEs or startups.
- A network within the Chennai, South India, or UAE business community.
- Exposure to SmartStart’s service areas: sales consulting, brand strategy, digital marketing, or business process improvement.
What SmartStart Offers:
- A role where your contribution is visible and your impact is measurable — no hiding in a big team.
- Direct access to founders, client strategy, and the full scope of business development at a firm that’s growing.
- Competitive base salary with a meaningful performance-linked variable component.
- Real career progression tied to what you deliver, not how long you’ve been here.
- A team that holds itself to a high standard and genuinely enjoys the work.
