Business Development Associate - The Lily Sales Academy
Job Title: Business Development Associate
Reports to: Sales Academy Team Leader
Salary: Dependent on Experience | OTE £50,000+ Uncapped
Location: Leeds Head Office
Are you ambitious, commercially driven and looking to build a successful career in sales?
Do you want more than just a lead generation role?
At Lily, we're looking for a Business Development Associate to work alongside one of our Senior Business Development Managers, helping to generate, develop and win new business opportunities.
This is a unique opportunity to gain exposure to the entire sales cycle, from identifying prospects and booking meetings through to helping progress opportunities and supporting deals through to close.
We have proudly been placed repeatedly in the Top 30 of the UK's Best Small Companies to Work For and in the Top 20 Companies to Work For in Yorkshire and Humber.
About Us
Lily is The Home of Digital Transformation.
We are a multi-award-winning provider of communications, IT, cyber security and AI solutions, helping ambitious SMEs across the UK reduce costs, improve efficiency and drive growth.
At Lily, we live by our core values of Passion, Performance and Integrity. We are a high-performance business where effort, attitude and results are recognised and rewarded.
About the Team
Our New Business Sales Team is responsible for driving Lily's future growth.
Unlike traditional SDR roles that focus solely on booking meetings, our Business Development Associates work in partnership with experienced Senior Business Development Managers, learning the full sales process and contributing directly to customer acquisition and revenue generation.
This is a targeted account-based sales environment where quality, commercial understanding and customer engagement are valued just as highly as activity levels.
What the Role Involves
As a Business Development Associate, you will be aligned to a specific Senior Business Development Manager and work closely together to identify, develop and win new business opportunities.
Whilst a key part of your role will be prospecting and generating new opportunities, your involvement will continue throughout the sales process. You'll help build relationships, conduct research, support customer engagement, manage follow-up activity and contribute to progressing opportunities through to successful closure.
This role is ideal for someone who wants to develop into a future Business Development Manager and gain experience across the full sales cycle.
Key Responsibilities
- Generate new business opportunities within targeted accounts
- Conduct outbound prospecting via telephone, email, LinkedIn and other channels
- Engage with key decision-makers within SME organisations
- Qualify opportunities and uncover customer challenges and objectives
- Book and support customer meetings for your aligned Senior BDM
- Conduct account research and stakeholder mapping
- Support proposal, quotation and follow-up activities
- Help manage opportunities through the sales pipeline
- Maintain regular communication with prospects throughout the sales process
- Keep CRM records accurate and up to date
- Work with internal teams to support opportunity progression
- Contribute directly to pipeline growth, revenue generation and closed business
- Achieve personal objectives, team targets and key performance indicators
What Makes This Role Different
- Work directly alongside an experienced Senior Business Development Manager
- Gain exposure to the entire sales cycle, not just lead generation
- Learn how successful sales professionals identify, position and close opportunities
- Develop commercial and customer-facing skills in a supportive environment
- See the direct impact of your work on revenue generation
- Participate in live customer opportunities and deal progression
- Clear career development pathway into a Business Development Manager role
- Uncapped earning potential linked to performance and results
Benefits at Lily
- Structured induction programme
- Training and development through the Lily Performance Academy
- Personal performance and career development plan
- Purchase additional annual leave
- Birthday duvet day
- £15 monthly gym contribution
- Bike to work scheme
- Company incentives and social events
- Company pension scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
About You
We are looking for an ambitious individual who is motivated by success, enjoys speaking with people and wants to build a long-term career in sales.
You will be:
- Confident, resilient and highly motivated
- Competitive and driven by achieving goals
- Comfortable speaking with senior decision-makers
- Organised and capable of managing multiple opportunities
- Commercially aware with a strong desire to learn
- Interested in technology, IT and digital transformation
- Comfortable handling objections and overcoming challenges
- A team player who enjoys working collaboratively
- Committed to delivering a high standard of work
- Keen to progress into a Business Development Manager role in the future
Experience Required
Previous outbound telephone sales experience is required for this role.
You must be able to demonstrate a track record of generating new business opportunities through proactive outbound activity and show a genuine interest in developing your sales career beyond prospecting into full opportunity management and business development.
Job Type: Full-time
OTE: £50,000+ Uncapped
Location: Leeds Head Office
The Lily Sales Academy: Where ambitious salespeople become top-performing business development professionals.
Pay: £27,500.00-£50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Company events
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- Gym membership
- On-site parking
- Referral programme
Work Location: In person
