Thermal - Business Development Manager
Reporting to the Vice President & Regional General Manager, the Business Development Manager is responsible for identifying, proposing, and closing district / community energy development opportunities in the Greater Minneapolis / St. Paul area and other areas as assigned. Responsible for establishing strong, long-term relationships with community stakeholders to include economic development and governmental organizations, community leaders, commercial developers, architects, engineers, contractors, and existing district energy customers.
Principle Responsibilities/Key Results Areas
· Establish relationships with building owners and operators, developers, engineering and architectural firms, and government agencies to identify early phase project development opportunities.
· Establish business relationships with existing customers and develop working relationships, continuing to educate them on benefits of district heating and cooling, and resolve any business issues.
· Profitably sell energy solutions, offerings, and services to targeted end-use markets. Identify and qualify sales prospects, including cold calling, make effective presentations, and close sales within an acceptable time frame.
· Build and maintain customer pipeline; eliminate unviable candidates. Maintain accurate and timely forecast that is kept up to date as the opportunity progresses through the sales cycle.
· Perform energy and economic analysis, pricing and proposal preparation and presentations.
· Lead negotiations with clients, including preparation of contracts and possible structuring of financing solutions.
· Create client proposals demonstrating the economic and operating value propositions of the company.
· Give or coordinate presentations to individuals and groups of decision makers on advantages of partnering with the company.
· Manage entire development process from project identification, proposal, gaining client and internal approvals, engineering design, contracting structure, legal contracts, and finally through construction and operation.
· Identify, implement, and manage marketing strategy to develop brand awareness and increase opportunities.
· Actively seek out and recommend new products and services that increase profitability of existing and new customers.
· Develop and execute customer outreach functions.
· Participate in various community, municipal, professional, and social organizations for the purpose of building of relevant relationships and promoting company goals and objectives.
Knowledge & Skills
· Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, real estate, industrial construction or related field and 5 or more years related experience. Experience in the energy or industrial / commercial construction related industry preferred.
· Display a basic understanding of building heating, air conditioning and ventilating systems.
· Knowledge of industry technology and policy trends related to sustainability and decarbonization.
· Ability to work with various customer industries including hotel, medical, educational, commercial real estate, residential properties, and public-use buildings.
· Proven track record of developing and closing new customer sales.
· Strong negotiating skills and superior interpersonal skills.
· Knowledge of governmental, legal, and environmental regulations as well as community and political implications that impact new business development. Knowledge of buildings, customers, or developers in target markets beneficial.
· Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write proposals and give presentations appropriate for various organizational levels as well as ability to effectively perform within a matrix organizational environment.
· Strong business and financial savvy with the ability to support a high-performance organization that will deliver operational excellence and meet or exceed financial targets.
· Proven planning and organizational skills.
· Uses discretion concerning confidential and sensitive company information.
· Team player; able to work with all levels of the organization.
· Successful candidate should be strong user of MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Have an aptitude to navigate proprietary database programs maintained by the company as well as a strong user of CRM systems.
· Ability to travel across Greater Minneapolis / St. Paul with occasional travel to other company locations nationwide or prospective cities and to various professional meetings.
Other details
- Job Family Senior Manager
- Pay Type Salary
- Minneapolis, MN, USA