Business Development Specialist II

About us HighLevel is an AI-powered business operating system that gives agencies, entrepreneurs and SMBs the infrastructure to build, automate and scale. Today, HighLevel supports SMBs across 150+ countries, fueling community-driven growth rooted in real customer outcomes. To date, businesses operating on HighLevel have generated over $7 billion in ecosystem value, demonstrating the impact of shared infrastructure at scale. By centralizing conversations, automation and intelligence into one system, we help businesses move faster, reduce complexity and execute efficiently. Behind the platform, HighLevel powers more than 4 billion API hits and 2.5 billion message events daily. With 250 terabytes of distributed data, 250+ microservices and over 1 million domain names supported, our architecture is built for performance, resilience and long-term scalability. Our people With over 2,000 team members across 10+ countries, HighLevel operates as a global, remote-first organization built for speed and ownership. We value initiative, clarity and execution, creating space for ambitious people to build systems that support millions of businesses worldwide. Here, innovation thrives, ideas are celebrated and people come first, no matter where they call home. Our impact Every month, HighLevel enables more than 1.5 billion messages, 200 million leads and 20 million conversations for the more than 1 million businesses we support. Behind those numbers are real people building independence, expanding opportunity and creating measurable impact. We’re proud to be a part of that. Learn more about us on our YouTube Channel or Blog Posts Who You Are: A relationship-driven, results-oriented sales professional who thrives on creating new business opportunities and building meaningful connections with prospective partners. Energized by environments where identifying opportunities, developing relationships, and pursuing new business are part of the daily rhythm. Equally comfortable with proactive outreach, networking, referrals, and in-person industry events as tools for building a strong pipeline. Thoughtful in approach, taking the time to understand a prospect's goals before recommending the right opportunity. Self-motivated, persistently professional, and adaptable, with the ability to independently research companies, engage decision-makers, and manage follow-up without losing the human side of the conversation.. What You'll Be Doing:: Business Development & Prospecting Identify and develop new business opportunities with marketplace companies and prospective sponsors and exhibitors, with accountability for pipeline and participation growth. Conduct targeted outreach to new prospects, existing leads, and companies within specific geographic markets Research prospective companies and identify relevant decision-makers Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified opportunities Develop thoughtful, personalized outreach and follow-up strategies Relationship Development & Networking Build strong relationships with prospective sponsors, exhibitors, and industry contacts Attend approximately 1 to 2 external industry events per month to network, prospect, and develop new business Represent the company and its events professionally at external and customer-facing opportunities Leverage networking, referrals, and existing relationships to create new business opportunities Sales & Opportunity Development Understand prospect goals and recommend sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities that align with their objectives Communicate the value of event participation, including access to a highly targeted audience, decision-makers, industry credibility, and strong attendee engagement Independently manage assigned sponsor and exhibitor opportunities, engaging the Senior Manager for complex or strategic opportunities. Develop increasing independence to own strategic opportunities and the full sales cycle as the pipeline grows Pipeline & Market Development Maintain accurate prospect and opportunity information in the CRM Track outreach, meetings, qualified opportunities, and pipeline activity and adjust outreach and sponsorship strategies to improve performance. Work toward defined business development and pipeline goals Identify opportunities to expand sponsorship and exhibitor participation within new geographic markets and target segments Share insights from prospect conversations and external events to support new business identification Collaboration Partner closely with the Senior Manager, Field Event Sales to align business development activity with overall sales priorities Collaborate with internal teams to support prospects throughout the sales process Develop increasing independence and ownership as knowledge of the business, event portfolio, and sales process grows What You’ll Bring:: Highly proactive approach to business development and prospecting Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to establish trust across a wide range of stakeholders Comfortable networking and building connections in both formal and informal settings Ability to understand prospect needs and match them with the right opportunity Thoughtful persistence and strong follow-through without being overly transactional Entrepreneurial and curious mindset with the ability to identify and pursue opportunities independently Strong organizational and time management skills Clear and compelling written and verbal communication Results-oriented with a focus on building meaningful pipeline and long-term partnerships Ability to work independently in a remote environment while collaborating effectively with the broader team Familiarity with Google Workspace, CRM and email tools, Slack, and AI-powered productivity and research too Experience/Education/Certifications Required: 3 to 5 years of experience in business development, sales, partnerships, account development, or a related field Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent practical experience Experience in event sales, sponsorships, exhibitor sales, or the events industry preferred Proven ability to manage a sales pipeline and develop new business opportunities Experience engaging a range of decision-makers including company owners, partnership leaders, and business development stakeholders Experience in a remote or distributed work environment is a plus Willingness to travel to internal events and approximately 1 to 2 external industry events per month