Business Development Representative

At Emerald, we strive to foster a diverse and inclusive community. We actively recruit and champion candidates who bring new perspectives from varied professional backgrounds and experiences, and we are intentional about ensuring a positive hiring experience for everyone. Our job postings don’t contain experience inflation, and most don’t require college degrees. Instead, they’re crafted to focus on outcomes and transferable experiences that are assessed in a structured interview process carried out by trained hiring teams. 

•Research net-new exhibitor and sponsor accounts using ZoomInfo industry intelligence, and signal-based prospecting (intent, trigger events, engagement signals.

•Build targeted lists and run multi-threaded outreach cadences (email, phone, social) while keeping clean notes and next steps in Salesforce.

•Qualify prospects through short discovery conversations—confirming fit, goals, decision process, and timing—so we focus on high-potential opportunities.

•Create personalized outreach that connects a prospect’s business goals to the value of Forge’s events (ROI, audience, leads, brand visibility).

•Partner closely with Account Executives for a smooth handoff—sharing research, key contacts, conversation notes, and recommended next steps.

•Collaborate with Marketing and attendee teams to share feedback on lead quality, personas, and campaigns—then adjust targeting and messaging accordingly.

•Stay current on industry trends, competitor events, and emerging categories; bring new ideas for who we should be selling to next.

•Occasionally support the close by stepping in to run pricing/package conversations when needed.

•0–2 years of experience in sales, customer success, recruiting, fundraising, hospitality, or another role where you had to build relationships and hit goals (internships count).

•Comfortable with outbound outreach (calls + email) and willing to practice, iterate, and get better fast.

•Tech savvy: experience using Salesforce (or another CRM) and confidence learning new tools quickly.

•Organized and self-directed—you can manage a daily outreach plan, follow-ups, and deadlines without things slipping.

•Strong communication skills: you can write clear, professional messages and speak confidently with new people.

•Be a consultative partner! Understand basic discovery methods (BANT) business pain, priorities, stakeholders, and decision process.

•Ability to travel up to 30% (some events require on-site time).

•You will be measured on pipeline created, qualified opportunities, conversion, target account penetration, activity effectiveness.

•Experience with Gong, ZoomInfo, sales engagement tools, or list-building tools.

•Comfort with light data analysis (Excel/Google Sheets) to track activity and results.

•Interest in events, media, marketing, or B2B communities—and curiosity about how businesses grow.

First 30 Days

•Learn markets, messaging, systems, and outreach standards.

60 Days

•Consistently execute outbound cadence and generate qualified meetings.

90 Days

•Create repeatable pipeline contribution and begin influencing targeting and messaging.