Business Development Manager in Warwick

Please only apply to this position if you can answer yes to all of the following questions:

• Are you comfortable with regular international travel, including nights away from home?
• Because this role covers international time zones, are you happy taking calls outside of standard UK office hours when needed?
• Are you used to long lead times, some deals here take up to two years to close, and building relationships rather than chasing quick wins?
• Are you happy working in a small, hands-on team rather than a large corporate structure with layers of support around you?

Our client is a specialist design and manufacturing business at the forefront of bespoke vehicle transportation solutions, working with major automotive and logistics organisations around the world. Following recent investment, they're now looking for a commercially driven Business Development Manager to join their small, specialist team in Warwick and help take the company to the next level internationally. They're genuinely open on industry background; what matters far more is the ability to build long-term relationships and stay the course on a long sales cycle.

What's On Offer

• £60,000–£65,000 base salary, with realistic on-target earnings of £70,000–£80,000
• A bonus structure designed with longer sales cycles in mind, so you're supported while you build your pipeline
• Genuine autonomy, working directly alongside the Managing Director and Engineering Director
• The chance to work with globally recognised automotive manufacturers and major shipping lines
• A small, close-knit team where your input genuinely shapes the direction of the business
• Flexible working hours to accommodate international clients
• Regular international travel and exposure to high-profile global projects

The Role

As Business Development Manager, you'll take the lead on nurturing long-term relationships across the automotive and logistics sectors, working cradle to grave from first contact through to successful implementation. This isn't a fast-paced, high-volume sales environment; deals are built on trust and patience over months and sometimes years. You'll be selling a genuinely bespoke, engineered product, so you'll be the driving force behind identifying and converting new opportunities, coordinating internally and with manufacturing partners to bring deals to life.

Key responsibilities include:

• Identifying and developing new business opportunities with OEMs, logistics providers and shipping lines
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with international clients and manufacturing partners
• Working with senior management to shape commercial strategies and sales approaches
• Mapping customer requirements and market trends globally
• Coordinating trials, demonstrations and technical processes through to sign-off
• Negotiating and closing deals within agreed commercial parameters
• Maintaining accurate records via CRM software
• Achieving agreed sales and profit targets

What We're Looking For

• A patient, relationship-first approach to sales, comfortable managing long and complex sales cycles rather than chasing quick wins
• Experience engaging confidently at a senior level with large organisations, whichever industry that's come from
• A relationship-builder who thrives in a small, entrepreneurial team rather than a large corporate structure
• Comfortable holding a technical conversation, though no formal engineering background is required; full product training is given
• Eligibility to work in the UK
• Willingness to travel internationally and work flexibly, including outside standard hours, to support global clients

We're genuinely open on industry background; what matters most is how you sell rather than what you've sold.

Desirable:

• Experience within automotive, logistics, freight forwarding or another long lead time, relationship-led sales environment
• A degree-level qualification, though equivalent experience is equally valued
• Understanding of Incoterms
• Additional language skills