Business Development Executive | Johannesburg, Gauteng | Permanent

Help shape a high-impact sales and marketing strategy while driving real growth. This role is for a proven business developer who thrives on hunting for new opportunities and turning complex solutions into long-term contracts.

Reporting to the General Manager: Sales, you will be responsible for building a strong, sustainable pipeline of new business while protecting and growing existing contracts. You will manage the full business development cycle – from prospecting and meeting with potential clients, through to crafting high-quality proposals and tenders, closing deals and ensuring a smooth handover into operations.

Our client is a leading national services group with a strong presence across hygiene, landscaping and related solutions. With a large client base and established regional operations, they are focused on disciplined growth, competitive tendering and cross-selling across sister brands. You will join a collaborative, performance-driven environment where initiative and accountability are valued.

What You’ll Do

• Actively research, identify, pursue and engage potential clients across agreed market segments.
• Build a strong understanding of existing contracts and participate in weekly meetings with Regional General Managers and Operations Managers to align on retention and growth opportunities.
• Manage the end-to-end compilation of high-quality proposals, bids and tender responses, ensuring all submissions are professional, compliant and on time.
• Follow up on all leads generated via marketing, referrals, campaigns and cold calling, and maintain rigorous call and visit activity.
• Re-engage and follow up on cancelled or lapsed contracts to identify win-back and upsell opportunities.
• Engage and manage strategic suppliers who contribute technical, solution and commercial input for proposals and tenders.
• Identify weaknesses and bottlenecks in the sales process and propose practical improvements.
• Implement and manage strategic initiatives to ensure monthly sales budgets and annual growth targets are consistently met and ideally exceeded.
• Use the full marketing mix to support sales initiatives, including campaigns, presentations, industry events and digital collateral.
• Promote and cross-sell sister-company services to the client base.
• Prepare accurate weekly and monthly sales and marketing reports, including pipeline status, activity metrics and key insights.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree or National Diploma in Sales, Business Development or Marketing.
• Minimum 3 years’ solid business development experience in a B2B sales environment, ideally within the services industry.
• Proven experience managing tenders, bids and formal proposals, with strong attention to detail and compliance.
• Strong sales and marketing knowledge, including pipeline management, forecasting and use of the full marketing mix.
• High proficiency in MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
• Valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel to client sites and regional offices as required.
• Personal attributes: strong desire and ability to sell, results-oriented, resilient under pressure, close attention to detail and accuracy.
• Competencies: excellent written and oral communication, strong negotiation and influencing skills, relationship building, interactive reasoning, planning and scheduling, creativity and innovation.

What Success Looks Like

• Consistent achievement and regular exceeding of monthly sales budgets and annual growth targets.
• A well-qualified and actively managed pipeline with clear visibility of opportunities, conversion rates and timelines.
• High-quality, timely, compliant tender and bid submissions that position the company as a preferred provider.
• Strong internal partnerships with Regional General Managers, Operations Managers and key suppliers, underpinned by open communication and trust.
• Increased market share across target segments and successfully cross-sold sister-company services into key accounts.
• Professional, insightful sales and marketing reports that inform decision-making at the management level.