Sales & Business Development Executive

Salary: ZAR 16,000. PE Office-based

Our client is looking for a confident, personable and commercially minded Sales & Business Development Executive to build relationships, nurture opportunities and generate new conversations for the studio. This is a hands-on role with a strong emphasis on telephone outreach, prospecting and relationship building.

A large part of the role involves speaking to people. You'll work from an existing database alongside prospecting tools such as Apollo, contacting a mix of warm, lapsed and new prospects.

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  Making regular outbound calls to prospective, previous and existing clients.

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  Prospecting for new companies and identifying relevant decision-makers.

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  Nurturing longer-term leads and maintaining relationships with people who may not need animation immediately.

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  Following up previous enquiries, proposals and opportunities at the right time.

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  Booking qualified meetings for the directors and wider team.

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  Arranging introductory meetings and creative showcases with prospective clients and agency partners.

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  Introducing the client's Creative Content Consultation to organisations planning future campaigns.

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  Identifying immediate opportunities where a prospect has an active brief or upcoming requirement.

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  Keeping accurate records of conversations, opportunities and follow-ups in Pipedrive.

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  Working with the directors to understand current sales initiatives, priority sectors and target companies.

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  Reporting back regularly on conversations, market feedback, opportunities and common themes from prospects.

Our client uses ChatGPT, Apollo and Pipedrive, and wants this person to use technology to make outreach more relevant, not just to increase call volume. That may mean researching a company before calling, finding the right people to approach, or tailoring the angle of a conversation. You don't need to be an AI expert, but you should be curious, adaptable and keen to learn.

We're looking for somebody who is:

• Proven outbound telesales, appointment-setting or lead-generation experience, ideally B2B.

• A track record against measurable targets, such as calls per day, qualified leads, meetings booked and show rates, and the ability to talk through your numbers.

• Experience prospecting from scratch as well as working warm and lapsed leads.

• Confident getting past gatekeepers and speaking to directors and senior decision-makers.

• Strong objection handling, built on rapport and listening rather than pressure – persistent without being pushy.

• Resilient and self-motivated through quiet days and runs of rejection.

• Organised and disciplined about follow-ups and keeping CRM records accurate.

• Commercially curious, with a basic sense of why businesses buy animation (to explain, market, educate and raise awareness).

• Comfortable using AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot to research prospects and sharpen your approach, while keeping conversations human.

• Clear, confident spoken English suited to calling UK businesses.

• Able to work closely with the directors and adapt to changing priorities.

• Able to commute to and work from the office in Newton Park, Port Elizabeth, Monday to Friday.

• Experience working for an animation studio, video production company, or creative, marketing or advertising agency would be highly beneficial. Candidates who understand how creative studios win and deliver work will stand out.

• A background or qualification in film, media, design or another creative field.

• Experience selling to the client's focus sectors: engineering, tech, health, fitness or AI-driven businesses.

• Experience calling UK or international B2B clients.

• Hands-on use of Pipedrive and Apollo.

• Experience selling creative, marketing, agency or professional services (useful, but not essential).