Business Development Officer/Marketer

SUMMARY:
We are looking for a results-driven Business Development Officer with strong experience in asset finance and commercial lending to drive new business, build strategic relationships and grow the company's client base.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for generating their own leads, managing the full deal process from prospecting to payout, identifying cross-selling opportunities and maintaining a strong sales pipeline.

POSITION INFO:
Duties and Responsibilites: Finding new business: Go out and find new clients in our approved markets: aviation, mining, construction, earthmoving, transport, trucking, trailers, power generation, agriculture and other sectors that make sense for asset finance. Look for businesses that need funding for new or used equipment, working capital tied to assets, rentals and rent-to-own deals. Prospect by phone, site visits, client meetings, dealer visits and networking. Also look at equipment listings, auctions and dealer contacts for deals. Don't focus solely on major companies. Small and medium-sized operators, along with contractors supplying large mining and transport companies, can also offer valuable business opportunities. Proactively develop your own sales pipeline rather than relying solely on existing clients and referrals. Keep a prospect list with the next action and follow-up date for each one. Dealers, brokers and introducers\/spotters: Build and keep good relationships with dealers, auctioneers, brokers, suppliers and other introducers\/spotters. Keep recruiting new referral partners who can bring in good deals regularly. Visit them often to hear about upcoming stock purchases, sales and clients who need funding. Make sure they know our products, markets, criteria and how to apply. Track what each source brings in: how much, how good, how many deals go through and how profitable they are. Continuously expand your network of introducers rather than relying on a small number of contacts. Ensure all referral fees and commissions are properly approved and documented. Looking after clients: The BDO is the client's main contact from first meeting through to application, approval and payout. Get to know their business and what they'll need in future. Stay in touch with existing clients in order to get repeat deals and more assets to finance. Be honest about the process, indicative pricing, what is needed from them and how long things will take. Never commit to funding, approvals, pricing or turnaround times without the funder's confirmation. Keep clients informed when Credit need more information or when Credit has queries. Stay professional when a deal is declined, delayed or restructured. Raise problems early and escalate serious ones to management. Cross-selling between the company and other Group companies: Know what the Group companies offer and who they target. If a client dealing with one company could use something from the other, introduce them and get the right team involved early. Work with colleagues across the group on joint clients. Record cross-sell leads in the pipeline system and follow them through until there's a result. Share leads quickly and treat the person who originated the relationship fairly. Never hold back a lead from the other company just to protect your own pipeline. Identify cross-selling opportunities by considering the full range of services the group can offer each client, beyond the immediate deal. Assessing the deal before it goes to Credit: Understand the client's business, what equipment they need, how much funding they want and where the repayments will come from before you put a deal forward. Be able to explain why the deal makes sense. Assess every deal before you submit it. Know what the funding is for, the asset, the deal value, what the client is putting in and how it will be repaid. Get enough information to decide if the deal is worth pursuing. Watch for red flags: too much existing debt, arrears, bad bank conduct, weak trading, or anything affecting affordability. Understand the client's finances. Get management accounts, annual financial statements, bank statements and other supporting information where needed. Make sure the client, asset and structure fit within our approved funding parameters. Make sure what the client tells us is accurate and complete. Tell Credit about any bad news. Never play it down or hide it. Work with the Credit Analysts to answer their queries and improve your submissions. Learn from deals that are declined or withdrawn. Prioritise quality deals over quantity, and avoid submitting weak applications just to meet targets. You're responsible for the quality of the submission. Credit still makes the independent credit decision. Documents and submission: Explain what is needed and collect it from the client. Make sure documents are accurate, complete and up to date. Check that the legal entity, directors, shareholders, asset details, supplier details and values are correct. Get the financial information needed: AFS, management accounts, bank statements, debtors and creditors, asset registers, debt breakdowns, cash-flow forecasts, contracts and personal asset and liability statements where required. Collect quotes, invoices, asset details, valuations and technical information where needed. Make sure FICA and other compliance requirements are done properly. Respond quickly when Credit, Compliance, Legal or Operations ask for something. Keep the client updated on what's outstanding and follow up until the file is complete. Never submit misleading, incomplete or unauthorised information. Keep a record of client communication, documents and what's still outstanding. Getting the deal to payout: Own the deal from first lead to final payout. Keep in regular contact with Credit, Operations, Legal, suppliers and anyone else involved. Follow up on credit decisions, conditions, quotes, contracts and documents. Explain the approved terms to the client correctly and make sure documents are signed and returned on time. Help solve any problems that could stop the deal. Follow up on deposits, raising fee`s, insurance, registration, security documents and other payout conditions. Make sure the deal goes through the normal approval and payout process. Never tell a supplier to release an asset, or tell a client the deal is funded, before it has been properly authorised internally. Stay in contact with the client and the internal teams until payout is confirmed. Hand everything over clearly to Operations\/back office, and help with early questions after payout. An approval is not a sale. You must push the deal through to payout and take responsibility for any avoidable delays. Pipeline and reporting: Keep the pipeline up to date in the CRM or Monday.com. Capture every real lead: client, source, asset, deal value, funding needed, stage and next action. Update it as soon as something moves, stalls, is withdrawn or is declined. Record the expected approval date, payout date and revenue where you can. Be realistic about the chance of a deal closing. Don't inflate it. Report regularly to the Sales Manager on new leads, meetings, applications, approvals, payouts, revenue and pipeline value. Explain why deals are stuck and what you're doing about it. Keep a record of lost deals, why we lost them and whether there's a chance to follow up later. Attend sales meetings, pipeline reviews and performance discussions. Knowing the market: Keep an eye on equipment prices, demand, competitors, funding availability and industry news. Spot sectors and businesses where demand for equipment funding is growing. Understand the challenges our target clients face. Find potential clients through industry information, contractor networks, equipment listings, events and contacts. Give management practical feedback on the market, pricing pressure, what clients want and what competitors offer. Point out gaps in our products and suggest solutions that could work. Recommend new dealer relationships, referral partners and markets. Share what you learn with the Sales Manager and management Conduct, compliance and risk: Act in the best interests of the group and protect its reputation. Follow company policy, credit procedures, FICA, the law and all compliance controls. Keep client and company information confidential and only share it through authorised channels. Never misrepresent our products, funding capacity, approval criteria or contract terms. Never go around the approval process or make commitments you're not authorised to make. Declare any conflict of interest or irregularity straight away. Escalate suspected fraud, misrepresentation, unusual deal structures or any other serious risk. Make sure introducer\/spotter arrangements and any special concessions are approved under company policy. Keep accurate records and deal with clients ethically and professionally. Requirements: At least 3 years' experience in asset finance, commercial finance, equipment finance, banking or a similar lending environment. A proven track record of achieving sales targets consistently over the past 2-3 years. Demonstrable experience originating, negotiating and closing transactions, with evidence of deals approved and paid out. The ability to independently generate new business rather than relying solely on company leads or existing referrals. Experience building and maintaining relationships with clients, equipment dealers, brokers, auctioneers and referral partners. A sound understanding of asset finance, rental agreements, rent-to-own structures, deposits, repayment structures and security requirements. The ability to identify suitable funding opportunities, assess the commercial merits of a transaction and recognise potential credit risks before submission to Credit. Strong pipeline management, prospecting, follow-up and deal-conversion capabilities. The ability to manage transactions from initial lead through to approval and final payout. The ability to identify and develop cross-selling opportunities across the company and other Group companies. Strong communication, negotiation and relationship-management skills, with the confidence to engage directly with business owners, directors and other key decision-makers. A self-motivated, accountable and target-driven approach, with the ability to work independently in a performance-driven environment. Should you not receive a response within 2 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful. Please refer to our website, , where all our active vacancies are advertised. IMPORTANT NOTICE By applying to this advert you hereby acknowledge that you have read and accept the following Protection of Personal Information ACT (POPIA) disclaimer: I hereby consent for Talented Recruitment to process my personal information as part of the recruitment process. Talented Recruitment shall take all reasonable measures to protect the personal information of applicants and for the purpose of this disclaimer \"personal information\" shall be defined as detailed in the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013 (\"POPIA\").