Business Development and Sales Consultant in Darlington

We’re looking for a seasoned business development professional with a proven track record in B2B sales within financial services to join our team and take a lead in driving new growth across the business. This role is to generate revenue by winning new business, closing deals, and strengthening relationships with both new and existing clients. While inbound opportunities are strong, you’ll also take a proactive approach in identifying and nurturing new prospects that align with Verve’s vision and support sales targets. This is a high-impact, results-oriented position that demands a sharp focus on securing and retaining key business as we pursue an exciting growth opportunity ahead.

You would report directly to the Chief Commercial Officer and day-to-day, you typically would be helping to:

• Drive and close opportunities: Own the full sales cycle of financial planning firms, securing new business across our core growth areas: membership, compliance, paraplanning, technical and proposition.
• Shape new initiatives: Using your deep market insight of the pain points advisers face, you will influence and shape the go-to-market plans for new propositions and service offerings, helping to define how we engage and deliver value to our audience.
• Collaborate across teams: Work closely with other departments such as marketing, service, onboarding and product, to ensure a cohesive, aligned approach to driving growth.
• Act as a trusted adviser: We don’t see this as product sales, but providing market insights and applying a genuine consultative approach that positions Verve as a long-term trusted partner that will help financial planning firms with efficiencies and removing friction points to de-risk their advice business.

About You

You may bring experience from tech-enabled services, or regulated solutions in financial services. You’ll have worked directly with financial planning firms or within their supply chain, giving you an insight into the financial services sector and have a strong understanding of the challenges advisers face. You will have a growth mindset and a genuine passion for the future of financial planning.

• 2+ years in a B2B sales or business development, ideally within financial services.
• Proven track record of consistently exceeding sales targets.
• Direct experience working with financial advice firms and/or wealth managers - you understand their regulatory pressures and business models.
• Proven ability to conduct needs analysis, manage complex stakeholder dynamics, and position strategic partnerships rather than transactional product sales.

What will make you stand out:

• Existing relationships / networks within the financial planning community.
• Experience in a high-growth or scaling business.
• Understanding of FCA regulations and how they impact advice firms.

Above all, we love someone with a positive attitude and who likes a challenge and isn’t afraid to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in with what’s at hand.

About us

Verve offers a range of services to financial planners and ultimately works towards two key aims; to help support good quality financial advice firms to grow and develop, and to attract new people into financial services and help train them up, for the benefit of the future of the profession. Across all departments, we approach financial services with an innovative and positive outlook; our focus is on relentlessly improving and never settling for just doing what has always been done. We’re passionate that more people can and should benefit from advice, and it’s our mission to make it more accessible for them.

We offer a range of benefits to permanent employees to ensure our team feels supported and motivated. We reward loyalty and offer enhanced benefits to reward employees who choose to grow their career with us, but as standard these include:

• 21 days basic holiday allowance (increasing 1 day per year for each year’s service, to a max of 26 days); plus bank holidays; plus Christmas close-down and your birthday off if it falls on a weekday.
• Personal development budget (for exams, training, anything to help you excel!)
• Death in service cover
• Health and wellbeing programme and initiatives, including access to our own in-office gym, desk massages, team hikes and yoga / fitness sessions.
• Access to lifestyle benefits such as meditation app, high street discount and rewards app.
• Hybrid or fully remote options available, depending on role and experience.

Upon completion of a qualifying period (2yrs), we offer an EMI share scheme, allowing you to benefit both from declared dividends and long term performance returns. At the same time, you will become eligible for our enhanced parental leave benefits.

The cherry on top benefits:

• We’re not a fan of dress codes - we trust that you’ll come dressed appropriately for the day ahead. Client facing? Smart casual is fine. Head-down/admin days? Sounds like a hoodie kind of day.
• A lively and positive office environment – expect rocking (or sometimes dubious) playlists, drinks fridges, snacks, social space, ping pong table...
• Two official annual company parties, plus ad hoc team nights out and monthly enrichment sessions.
• Friendly office dogs are always welcome!

Competitive salary reflective of experience. This is a hybrid position (based in Darlington) for local applicants or fully remote available for the right candidate.