Business Development Executive

JOB PURPOSE

• The Business Development Executive will be responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities, acquiring new customers, building and maintaining strategic business relationships, and driving sustainable revenue growth for Ades Ventures Nigeria Limited.
• The successful candidate will proactively identify prospective clients and market opportunities, promote the company's products and services, develop sales pipelines, negotiate commercial opportunities within approved limits, and convert qualified leads into profitable business relationships.
• The role requires a commercially minded, proactive, target-driven professional with strong communication, negotiation, networking, and relationship-management skills.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Business Development and Market Expansion

• Identify, research, and pursue new business opportunities, customer segments, markets, and revenue streams.
• Develop and implement business development strategies aligned with the company's commercial objectives.
• Research industry trends, market demand, competitor activities, customer preferences, and emerging opportunities.
• Identify potential corporate clients, distributors, retailers, wholesalers, institutional buyers, and other relevant business partners.
• Develop prospect lists and maintain a structured pipeline of potential customers.
• Recommend new products, services, market-entry opportunities, and commercial initiatives that can improve revenue and market penetration.
• Represent the company professionally at business meetings, networking events, trade fairs, exhibitions, and industry engagements where required.

Lead Generation and Customer Acquisition

• Generate new leads through cold calling, email outreach, referrals, networking, social selling, field visits, and other approved channels.
• Research prospective customers and identify their business needs, purchasing patterns, and decision-makers.
• Contact prospective clients, introduce the company's offerings, arrange meetings, and deliver persuasive product or service presentations.
• Qualify leads based on business potential, purchasing capacity, customer needs, and likelihood of conversion.
• Follow up consistently on enquiries, quotations, proposals, meetings, and outstanding sales opportunities.
• Convert qualified leads into new customers and develop opportunities for repeat business.
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date record of leads, prospects, customer interactions, and conversion outcomes.

Sales Generation and Revenue Growth

• Develop and execute sales plans to achieve assigned monthly, quarterly, and annual targets.
• Prepare sales proposals, quotations, presentations, and commercial offers in line with company policies.
• Identify cross-selling, upselling, bulk-sales, and repeat-purchase opportunities.
• Negotiate prices, delivery arrangements, payment terms, and other commercial conditions within approved limits.
• Work towards improving sales conversion rates, average order values, customer retention, and overall revenue contribution.
• Monitor progress against sales targets and implement corrective actions when performance falls below expectations.
• Ensure that sales commitments made to customers are realistic, commercially viable, and consistent with approved company terms.

Client Relationship Management

• Establish and maintain professional relationships with new and existing customers.
• Understand customer requirements and recommend appropriate products or services.
• Maintain regular communication with clients to identify emerging needs and opportunities for additional business.
• Respond promptly to customer enquiries and coordinate the resolution of complaints or service-related concerns.
• Work with Customer Service, Operations, Warehouse, Production, Procurement, and Accounts, as applicable, to ensure customer requirements are communicated and fulfilled.
• Monitor customer satisfaction and identify opportunities to improve the overall customer experience.
• Maintain confidentiality and handle customer and commercial information responsibly.

Proposal Development and Commercial Negotiation

• Prepare business proposals, presentations, quotations, and sales documentation.
• Assess customer requirements and coordinate with relevant internal teams to develop appropriate commercial solutions.
• Conduct preliminary commercial assessments of prospective deals, including revenue potential, expected costs, payment terms, and business risks.
• Negotiate with prospective customers within the limits of delegated authority.
• Obtain the necessary internal approvals before committing the company to special pricing, discounts, credit terms, or contractual obligations.
• Monitor submitted proposals and follow up to improve the likelihood of successful conversion.
• Maintain proper documentation of agreements, quotations, negotiations, and customer commitments.

Market Intelligence and Competitive Analysis

• Gather information on competitors, pricing, customer behaviour, industry developments, and market opportunities.
• Identify customer pain points and emerging demands that may inform product positioning or business strategy.
• Provide Management with actionable market intelligence and recommendations.
• Monitor changes in market conditions that may affect sales performance, customer demand, or profitability.
• Recommend strategies for improving the company's competitive position and expanding its customer base.

Sales Pipeline and Performance Reporting

• Maintain an accurate sales pipeline showing prospects, opportunity values, stages, expected closing dates, and next actions.
• Submit regular reports on leads generated, customer meetings, proposals submitted, deals closed, revenue achieved, and outstanding opportunities.
• Track sales performance against agreed targets and explain significant variances.
• Maintain accurate customer, prospect, and commercial records using the company's approved CRM or reporting tools.
• Provide sales forecasts and updates to support business planning and resource allocation.
• Ensure all business development activities are documented and reported within the required timelines.

Internal Collaboration and Operational Coordination

• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Operations, Warehouse, Production, Procurement, and Accounts to support customer acquisition and fulfilment.
• Coordinate with Marketing on campaigns, promotional activities, lead generation, and brand visibility.
• Communicate customer orders, specifications, delivery expectations, and special requirements accurately to the appropriate departments.
• Follow up on order fulfilment, delivery status, outstanding customer requests, and payment issues where applicable.
• Ensure business opportunities are pursued in a manner that considers operational capacity, product availability, service quality, and profitability.
• Participate in sales meetings, strategy sessions, and performance reviews as required.

Professional Conduct and Compliance

• Adhere to company policies, approved pricing structures, reporting procedures, and delegated authority limits.
• Maintain honesty, professionalism, accountability, and ethical conduct in all business dealings.
• Avoid making unauthorised promises, financial commitments, or representations on behalf of the company.
• Protect confidential business information, customer data, pricing information, and commercial records.
• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and internal requirements governing sales and business development.
• Perform other relevant duties assigned by the line manager or Management.

Educational Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree or HND in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales, Economics, Entrepreneurship, or a related discipline.
• Relevant professional training or certification in sales, marketing, negotiation, or business development will be an advantage.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience in business development, sales, account management, customer acquisition, or a related commercial role.
• Experience in prospecting, lead generation, sales presentations, negotiation, and closing business opportunities.
• A record of working towards and achieving measurable commercial targets.
• Experience with corporate sales, B2B sales, distribution, FMCG, wholesale, retail, or related sectors will be an advantage, depending on the company's priority markets.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strong communication, presentation, persuasion, and negotiation skills.
• Excellent prospecting, networking, and relationship-building abilities.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of revenue generation and profitability.
• Strong customer orientation and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to research markets and identify commercially viable opportunities.
• Good planning, organisation, follow-up, and time-management skills.
• Confidence in engaging decision-makers and presenting business proposals.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and collaborate effectively with internal teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, email, and other relevant business tools.
• Familiarity with CRM systems, sales reporting, and digital prospecting tools will be an advantage.
• Resilience, adaptability, integrity, and a strong results-oriented mindset.

The successful candidate should be:

• Proactive and opportunity-driven.
• Results-oriented and comfortable working with measurable targets.
• Professional, persuasive, and confident in business engagements.
• Persistent in following up on leads and converting opportunities.
• Organised and attentive to detail.
• Trustworthy and commercially responsible.
• Willing to learn, receive feedback, and continuously improve.