Business Development Manager

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Freight Forwarding, United States

Overview
This position is responsible for securing profitable new business across Air, Ocean, and Domestic transportation. The role requires a proven track record in solution-based selling, contract negotiation, and strategic account acquisition within international freight forwarding. The post holder is accountable for prospecting, pipeline development, customer engagement, and full sales-cycle execution in compliance with company policy and US trade regulations.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive new-business generation across targeted verticals, trade lanes, and product lines with a specific focus on Air Import, Air Export, Ocean FCL, Ocean LCL, Domestic Trucking, and Customs Brokerage.
• Conduct structured prospecting, including outbound activity, market mapping, industry events, and CRM-driven pipeline management, ensuring accurate data and forecast integrity.
• Prepare and deliver commercially defensible proposals and RFQ/RFI responses, including pricing models, lane analysis, and operational capability statements aligned with corporate governance.
• Negotiate contractual terms, MSAs, credit requirements, and scope of work definitions in accordance with internal legal, compliance, and finance standards.
• Partner with operations, trade compliance, procurement, and senior leadership to design customer solutions, onboarding plans, SOPs, and KPI frameworks.
• Manage the full sales cycle from initial outreach to deal close, ensuring transparent communication, documented decision trails, and controlled handover to operations.
• Monitor competitor activity, pricing trends, carrier market conditions, and macro-logistics developments to maintain a commercially informed strategy.
• Maintain strict adherence to US Customs, TSA, FMC, DOT, and global trade regulations throughout the sales and onboarding process.
• Execute account implementation meetings, quarterly business reviews, and performance reports to secure retention and incremental growth.
• Ensure all activities are logged in CRM with measurable KPIs, including revenue targets, GP contribution, hit-rates, customer calls, and conversion ratios.

Required Experience

• Minimum three years’ experience in international freight forwarding business development, with proven new-business wins across core modes.
• Strong knowledge of Air Import/Export, Ocean FCL/LCL, domestic cartage, brokerage processes, Incoterms, carrier selection, margin structure, and routing logic.
• Demonstrated ability to build C-suite relationships, influence stakeholders, and negotiate multi-lane agreements.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, rate management tools, and standard freight-forwarding operational workflows.
• Strong commercial acumen and rigorous approach to compliance, documentation, and contractual detail.

Performance Indicators

• New GP generated
• New accounts opened and retained
• RFQ win-rate
• Sales cycle length
• Margin quality and pricing discipline
• CRM accuracy and pipeline hygiene
• Compliance with legal, regulatory, and internal governance requirements

Preferred Credentials

• Existing book of business or proven capability to develop one
• Experience with major tradelanes such as Transpacific, Transatlantic, LATAM, and Intra-Asia
• Background in verticals such as Automotive, Aerospace, Energy, Retail, Pharma, or Technology