Location
Newmarket, Suffolk, with office-based commercial duties and regular local client/business meetings across Newmarket, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and relevant airport/hospitality routes.
Salary
£38,700 per year.
Hours
Full-time, 37.5 hours per week.
Monday to Friday, with reasonable flexibility required for client meetings, operational coordination and commercial deadlines.
Contract Type
Permanent, full-time.
About the Role
GI Taxis Suffolk Ltd is seeking a commercially focused Business Development Manager to develop and manage account-based taxi and private hire work in Newmarket and the surrounding area.
The successful candidate will identify and develop new business from corporate clients, hotels, local employers, healthcare users, schools, event venues, travel companies and other regular-account customers. The role involves market research, sales planning, client account management, proposals, pricing discussions, sales reporting and coordination with operations to ensure services can be delivered commercially and reliably.
This is a genuine sales account management and business development role aligned with SOC 3556: Sales accounts and business development managers. It is not a taxi driving, dispatch, receptionist, call handling or general office administration role.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
The Business Development Manager will:
- Liaise with the Director and Operations Manager to determine which taxi and private hire services should be promoted to account-based, corporate and regular customers.
- Develop and implement local sales and business-development strategies, including sales targets, customer-segment plans and account-growth priorities.
- Research local transport demand, competitor pricing, service gaps and customer requirements across Newmarket, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and relevant airport routes.
- Identify, approach and develop relationships with hotels, local employers, healthcare providers, schools, event venues, travel companies and other organisations requiring recurring taxi/private hire services.
- Discuss customer transport requirements, assess service feasibility, prepare commercial proposals and negotiate account terms within company pricing and operational capacity.
- Manage corporate and regular-customer accounts, including onboarding, service-level expectations, account reviews, customer feedback and retention activity.
- Analyse booking volumes, account performance, customer feedback, lost enquiries, pricing trends and sales pipeline data to recommend improvements.
- Prepare reports and recommendations for senior management on sales performance, customer trends, marketing activity and business-development opportunities.
- Compile and analyse sales figures, customer enquiry data and repeat-booking information to support pricing, promotional activity and account-growth decisions.
- Coordinate with dispatch, drivers and management to ensure proposed client services are operationally deliverable and commercially viable.
- Monitor competitor services, local transport demand, customer expectations and promotional opportunities in the private hire/taxi market.
- Support and train junior/admin staff involved in sales enquiries, CRM use, account records and customer follow-up where required.
- Maintain accurate CRM, sales pipeline, proposal, account and client-contact records in line with company procedures and confidentiality requirements.
Required Skills and Experience
Applicants should have:
- Experience in business development, sales account management, commercial client relationship management, marketing/sales support, customer-account growth or a similar role.
- Ability to undertake market research, analyse customer requirements and turn findings into practical sales strategies and account-development actions.
- Strong communication and negotiation skills with the ability to deal professionally with corporate customers, suppliers, internal teams and management.
- Ability to prepare service proposals, sales reports, account plans, presentations and management recommendations.
- Good Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel, Word and Outlook; ability to maintain CRM/account records and prepare reports.
- Organised, target-focused and able to manage multiple customer prospects, active accounts and follow-up actions.
- Commercial awareness, including understanding pricing, customer service levels, repeat business, account retention and service profitability.
- Ability to coordinate sales commitments with operational capacity in a small transport business.
- Understanding of confidentiality, customer-service standards, accurate business record keeping and professional conduct.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a small taxi/private hire business with direct reporting to senior management.
Desirable Criteria
The following would be advantageous:
- Experience in transport, taxi/private hire, logistics, hospitality, travel, corporate services, regulated operations or customer-account environments.
- Experience preparing commercial proposals, account plans, customer presentations, KPI reports or service-improvement recommendations.
- Knowledge of local-area transport needs, corporate travel requirements, school/contract transport, airport transfer markets or account-based booking systems.
- Experience with CRM systems, booking systems, dispatch software, payment platforms or account-management records.
- Knowledge of customer contracts, service-level expectations, complaint trends, customer retention and repeat-booking analysis.
- UK driving licence or ability to travel locally for business meetings and account-development appointments.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: Up to £38,700.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Newmarket CB8 7FQ
