Business Development Officer/Marketer at Talented Recruitment Specialists

• We are looking for a results-driven Business Development Officer with strong experience in asset finance and commercial lending to drive new business, build strategic relationships and grow the company's client base.
• The ideal candidate will be responsible for generating their own leads, managing the full deal process from prospecting to payout, identifying cross-selling opportunities and maintaining a strong sales pipeline.

Duties and Responsibilites:
Finding new business:

• Go out and find new clients in our approved markets: aviation, mining, construction, earthmoving, transport, trucking, trailers, power generation, agriculture and other sectors that make sense for asset finance.
• Look for businesses that need funding for new or used equipment, working capital tied to assets, rentals and rent-to-own deals.
• Prospect by phone, site visits, client meetings, dealer visits and networking. Also look at equipment listings, auctions and dealer contacts for deals.
• Don’t focus solely on major companies. Small and medium-sized operators, along with contractors supplying large mining and transport companies, can also offer valuable business opportunities.
• Proactively develop your own sales pipeline rather than relying solely on existing clients and referrals.
• Keep a prospect list with the next action and follow-up date for each one.

Dealers, brokers and introducers/spotters:

• Build and keep good relationships with dealers, auctioneers, brokers, suppliers and other introducers/spotters.
• Keep recruiting new referral partners who can bring in good deals regularly.
• Visit them often to hear about upcoming stock purchases, sales and clients who need funding.
• Make sure they know our products, markets, criteria and how to apply.
• Track what each source brings in: how much, how good, how many deals go through and how profitable they are.
• Continuously expand your network of introducers rather than relying on a small number of contacts.
• Ensure all referral fees and commissions are properly approved and documented.

Looking after clients:

• The BDO is the client's main contact from first meeting through to application, approval and payout.
• Get to know their business and what they'll need in future.
• Stay in touch with existing clients in order to get repeat deals and more assets to finance.
• Be honest about the process, indicative pricing, what is needed from them and how long things will take.
• Never commit to funding, approvals, pricing or turnaround times without the funder's confirmation.
• Keep clients informed when Credit need more information or when Credit has queries.
• Stay professional when a deal is declined, delayed or restructured.
• Raise problems early and escalate serious ones to management.

Cross-selling between the company and other Group companies:

• Know what the Group companies offer and who they target.
• If a client dealing with one company could use something from the other, introduce them and get the right team involved early.
• Work with colleagues across the group on joint clients.
• Record cross-sell leads in the pipeline system and follow them through until there's a result.
• Share leads quickly and treat the person who originated the relationship fairly.
• Never hold back a lead from the other company just to protect your own pipeline.
• Identify cross-selling opportunities by considering the full range of services the group can offer each client, beyond the immediate deal.

Assessing the deal before it goes to Credit:

• Understand the client's business, what equipment they need, how much funding they want and where the repayments will come from before you put a deal forward. Be able to explain why the deal makes sense.
• Assess every deal before you submit it. Know what the funding is for, the asset, the deal value, what the client is putting in and how it will be repaid.
• Get enough information to decide if the deal is worth pursuing.
• Watch for red flags: too much existing debt, arrears, bad bank conduct, weak trading, or anything affecting affordability.
• Understand the client's finances. Get management accounts, annual financial statements, bank statements and other supporting information where needed.
• Make sure the client, asset and structure fit within our approved funding parameters.
• Make sure what the client tells us is accurate and complete.
• Tell Credit about any bad news. Never play it down or hide it.
• Work with the Credit Analysts to answer their queries and improve your submissions.
• Learn from deals that are declined or withdrawn.
• Prioritise quality deals over quantity, and avoid submitting weak applications just to meet targets.
• You're responsible for the quality of the submission. Credit still makes the independent credit decision.

Documents and submission:

• Explain what is needed and collect it from the client.
• Make sure documents are accurate, complete and up to date.
• Check that the legal entity, directors, shareholders, asset details, supplier details and values are correct.
• Get the financial information needed: AFS, management accounts, bank statements, debtors and creditors, asset registers, debt breakdowns, cash-flow forecasts, contracts and personal asset and liability statements where required.
• Collect quotes, invoices, asset details, valuations and technical information where needed.
• Make sure FICA and other compliance requirements are done properly.
• Respond quickly when Credit, Compliance, Legal or Operations ask for something.
• Keep the client updated on what's outstanding and follow up until the file is complete.
• Never submit misleading, incomplete or unauthorised information.
• Keep a record of client communication, documents and what's still outstanding.
• Getting the deal to payout:
• Own the deal from first lead to final payout.
• Keep in regular contact with Credit, Operations, Legal, suppliers and anyone else involved.
• Follow up on credit decisions, conditions, quotes, contracts and documents.
• Explain the approved terms to the client correctly and make sure documents are signed and returned on time.
• Help solve any problems that could stop the deal.
• Follow up on deposits, raising fee`s, insurance, registration, security documents and other payout conditions.
• Make sure the deal goes through the normal approval and payout process.
• Never tell a supplier to release an asset, or tell a client the deal is funded, before it has been properly authorised internally.
• Stay in contact with the client and the internal teams until payout is confirmed.
• Hand everything over clearly to Operations/back office, and help with early questions after payout.
• An approval is not a sale. You must push the deal through to payout and take responsibility for any avoidable delays.

Pipeline and reporting:

• Keep the pipeline up to date in the CRM or Monday.com.
• Capture every real lead: client, source, asset, deal value, funding needed, stage and next action.
• Update it as soon as something moves, stalls, is withdrawn or is declined.
• Record the expected approval date, payout date and revenue where you can.
• Be realistic about the chance of a deal closing. Don't inflate it.
• Report regularly to the Sales Manager on new leads, meetings, applications, approvals, payouts, revenue and pipeline value.
• Explain why deals are stuck and what you're doing about it.
• Keep a record of lost deals, why we lost them and whether there's a chance to follow up later.
• Attend sales meetings, pipeline reviews and performance discussions.

Knowing the market:

• Keep an eye on equipment prices, demand, competitors, funding availability and industry news.
• Spot sectors and businesses where demand for equipment funding is growing.
• Understand the challenges our target clients face.
• Find potential clients through industry information, contractor networks, equipment listings, events and contacts.
• Give management practical feedback on the market, pricing pressure, what clients want and what competitors offer.
• Point out gaps in our products and suggest solutions that could work.
• Recommend new dealer relationships, referral partners and markets.
• Share what you learn with the Sales Manager and management

Conduct, compliance and risk:

• Act in the best interests of the group and protect its reputation.
• Follow company policy, credit procedures, FICA, the law and all compliance controls.
• Keep client and company information confidential and only share it through authorised channels.
• Never misrepresent our products, funding capacity, approval criteria or contract terms.
• Never go around the approval process or make commitments you're not authorised to make.
• Declare any conflict of interest or irregularity straight away.
• Escalate suspected fraud, misrepresentation, unusual deal structures or any other serious risk.
• Make sure introducer/spotter arrangements and any special concessions are approved under company policy.
• Keep accurate records and deal with clients ethically and professionally.

Requirements: 

• At least 3 years' experience in asset finance, commercial finance, equipment finance, banking or a similar lending environment.
• A proven track record of achieving sales targets consistently over the past 2–3 years.
• Demonstrable experience originating, negotiating and closing transactions, with evidence of deals approved and paid out.
• The ability to independently generate new business rather than relying solely on company leads or existing referrals.
• Experience building and maintaining relationships with clients, equipment dealers, brokers, auctioneers and referral partners.
• A sound understanding of asset finance, rental agreements, rent-to-own structures, deposits, repayment structures and security requirements.
• The ability to identify suitable funding opportunities, assess the commercial merits of a transaction and recognise potential credit risks before submission to Credit.
• Strong pipeline management, prospecting, follow-up and deal-conversion capabilities.
• The ability to manage transactions from initial lead through to approval and final payout.
• The ability to identify and develop cross-selling opportunities across the company and other Group companies.
• Strong communication, negotiation and relationship-management skills, with the confidence to engage directly with business owners, directors and other key decision-makers.
• A self-motivated, accountable and target-driven approach, with the ability to work independently in a performance-driven environment.