Business development manager (us-based)

This role is perfect for someone who lights up walking into a room full of people, a conference reception, a dinner, or a happy hour after an event.

You're a natural networker who remembers names and turns small talk into relationships. You're not interested in dialing for dollars or cold call quotas. What gets you going is nurturing a prospect for months until the timing is right.

If this sounds like you, Fire&Spark wants to talk. We host a dozen in-person events and 2 dozen virtual events per year, for exactly the buyers we want to reach, and host two virtual events every month. Event attendees trust our thought leadership.

We need someone in the room turning that trust into relationships, and relationships into revenue.

About Fire&Spark

Fire&Spark is an AI Search agency built on a simple conviction: AI search is won by earning trust and making brands intelligible to AI, not by gaming algorithms. Founded and led by the CEO, a recognized authority on SEO and AI Search Optimization (GEO), we help ambitious brands turn organic search into a durable growth engine. We work with enterprise and high-growth companies, with deep specialization in digital health, and we operate by a set of core values: intellectual honesty, relentless curiosity, and doing work we're proud to put our name on.

The Assets You'll Work With

• Proprietary events - up to 12 curated events per year, with 20-35 attendees, mostly within our ideal customer profile
• High-profile speaking platform - our CEO speaks at 12 to 15 conferences a year, including UNBOUND, Content Marketing World, and MAICON
• Live virtual events - 2 per month, 100–600 registrations each
• Engaged audience - An engaged email/LinkedIn audience and growing library of thought leadership content

The Goals of This Role

• Connect with people live, sometimes in person at our events
• Develop deep familiarity with Fire&Spark's agency and services
• Nurture prospects over time, building trust before pushing a sales agenda
• Know when it's time to shift a relationship into a sales conversation
• Generate sales-qualified leads for our sales team to close

What You'll Be Doing

• Work our conference calendar and proprietary events end-to-end — pre-event research, in-room relationship-building, and post-event follow-through
• Attend 4-8 in-person events per year
• Build and nurture relationships with our email and event audience over weeks and months, not automated drip sequences
• Diligently document every sales conversation and relationship touchpoint in our CRM
• Bring ideas for new partnerships, offers, and ways to extend our thought leadership reach

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation: Base salary up to $85K per year with an estimated OTE of ~$130K - $140K, in a strong year (base + commission + conference bonus), depending on experience and track record.

• Sales commission based on performance
• Conference bonus: additional performance bonuses tied to successful conference relationship-building
• 401k match up to 4%
• Health and dental insurance
• 15 days vacation + 5 days paid sick leave + 10 paid holidays
• $500 annual wellness stipend
• $750 annual remote work stipend

Skills You'll Bring to the Table

Must-Have

• A genuine love of people
• Comfortable and confident working a room
• Disciplined about CRM documentation
• US-based, authorized to work in the US
• Able to travel roughly once a month for an event

Essential Qualities

• Relationship building
• Patience and judgment
• Proactively bring partnership ideas
• Strong communicator

Bonus Points

• Comfortable using AI tools (Claude, Clay, or similar) to prep for conversations and stay organized
• Background in marketing agencies, especially AI Search, SEO, or content marketing
• Experience with enterprise-level B2B prospects
• Healthcare or regulated-industry exposure