Business Development Manager - Tampa & N. Florida

Raymond Search Group | Retained Executive Search

Business Development Manager

Premium Surface Protection | Tampa Bay, Central and North Florida

Build a premium European brand in Florida from the first customer, as one of the first two people on the company’s first dedicated U.S. team.

TITLE - Business Development Manager

TERRITORY - Tampa Bay, Central and North Florida, with potential future expansion into Georgia

BASE - Tampa Bay, Central or North Florida

STRUCTURE - Home-based and field-heavy: four days in the market, one day of administration

REPORTS TO - Head of International Sales, based in Europe

COMPENSATION - Base salary in the USD 95,000 to 120,000 range plus an annual target performance bonus. Details below.

START - Late this year, subject to your notice

THE OPPORTUNITY

A European family-owned manufacturer with more than 140 years behind it, the market leader in premium temporary surface protection, is building its first dedicated U.S. team. This is one of the first two seats. You would not step into a territory someone else shaped. You would shape it.

The company makes the engineered materials that protect finished floors, surfaces and components during construction, renovation and fit-out. It is a category most people never think about until a floor gets scratched two weeks before handover. This product is the reason that call does not happen.

This is not a startup from zero. There is existing U.S. business, an established U.S. channel partner, and references in five-star hotels, arenas, aviation and marine. What is new is the person on the ground. The company is family-owned, not for sale and financially strong, and it has just doubled capacity with a new factory to grow here.

THE ROLE, IN THE COMPANY’S WORDS

“The BDM owns and drives the business-development and sales process in the territory, including prospect and customer development, technical-commercial consultation, opportunity development and moving opportunities through to closing. Customer invoicing runs through the company’s established U.S. channel partner; logistics and order processing are allocated according to the specific business case.”

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE DIFFERENT

Read this part carefully. It is where most people either lean in or realize the role is not for them. Both outcomes are fine. Wasting three interviews to get there is not.

The hard thing comes first. The brand is unknown in the U.S. The price is higher than the cardboard most jobsites use today. The first months are education, not orders. Someone who needs quick wins will hate it. Someone who wants to build will lean in.

You own the sale, through to the close. The company does not compete on price. There is a clear price list and discount framework, and you price within it and close.

You are building, not maintaining. There is no book of business to inherit. There is a premium product, a strong story and a territory to open. The people who thrive here find that exciting rather than terrifying.

You run your own week. The person you would report to describes himself as a coach, not a boss, and will be in Florida often at the start. Expect four days in the market, one day of administration, and a weekly call built around issues, not control. That is real autonomy, and it only works for someone who runs a disciplined process without being asked.

You sell on value, not price. You win by showing why the cheaper option costs more in the end. That is the skill we screen for hardest.

WHAT YOU WOULD ACTUALLY DO

▪ Open Tampa Bay, Central and North Florida, north through Jacksonville: find and develop the flooring installers, contractors and distributors who need this product and do not yet know it is here.

▪ Build a real project pipeline from early identification through specification, bid and jobsite, using construction project databases and your own network.

▪ Educate the market: demos, jobsite trainings and lunch-and-learns that turn a skeptical contractor into a customer.

▪ Take opportunities through to the close, pricing within the company’s price list and discount framework.

▪ Bring the field back to headquarters: what American jobsites need, what buyers pay and what the competition does.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

You have five to ten years in business development, technical sales, project sales or specification sales, and you have sold a premium, explanation-heavy product through to the close, holding the price against a cheaper option.

Your background is adjacent to this world: construction materials, flooring, surface preparation or protection, building envelope, interior finishing, contractor supply or specialty distribution. You are credible on a jobsite and in a boardroom, and you can move between the two in the same afternoon.

You are organized to a fault. You follow up, you document, you report, and people can rely on what you tell them.

You live in Tampa Bay, Central or North Florida, or you have a real network here that would take your call tomorrow.

Spanish is a plus, not a requirement.

THIS IS NOT A FIT IF

▪ You need control of the whole transaction and want to live on commission.

▪ You want an established territory and a warm pipeline handed to you.

▪ You need quick wins.

▪ You compete mainly on price and discount.

▪ You need daily direction to perform.

▪ You have no curiosity about the technical side of a product.

▪ Your record shows frequent moves without clear reasons.

COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYMENT, IN THE COMPANY’S WORDS

“The role offers a base salary in the USD 95,000 to 120,000 range plus an annual target performance bonus of approximately USD 10,000 to 15,000 at 100% target achievement. The company’s performance model provides additional upside for exceptional overachievement, up to a maximum of 250% of the target bonus. The maximum represents exceptional upside potential and is not a guaranteed or expected payout.”

“For the first year, the target bonus is protected: it is payable on completion of twelve months of employment provided you are still employed and not under notice. It is not an additional bonus; from year two the company’s normal performance model applies.”

“The company is building its first dedicated U.S. team in Florida. Employment is with the company’s U.S. entity as a Florida W-2 employee, administered through a professional PEO partner for payroll, HR compliance, workers’ compensation, onboarding and benefits, while the company retains full operational leadership of its people. The benefits package, including healthcare, paid time off and retirement plan, will be confirmed in the written employment offer.”

THE PROCESS, AND HOW TO REACH ME

This is a retained, confidential search. I represent the company directly, and I will tell you who they are on our first call, once I understand your background. Finalists meet the company’s head of international sales in person in Tampa on October 19 and 20, because for a first U.S. hire both sides need to know the fit is real. The target start is late this year, subject to your notice.

If this sounds like you, or like someone you rate, I want to hear from you.

Jeff Raymond

President and Chief Executive Officer, Raymond Search Group

jeff@raymondsearchgroup.com | (904) 618-3460 | www.raymondsearchgroup.com