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

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