Market Development Representative (Lead Generation and Business Development)

Leadership Connect is a premier information service dedicated to developing relationships that impact decisions in government, business, and media. They are seeking a Market Development Representative who will be responsible for identifying and engaging prospects, conducting discovery conversations, and moving qualified leads to the Sales Director team.

Responsibilities:

• Research target accounts and key contacts before outreach, developing a working understanding of their organizational priorities, recent activity, and likely needs
• Identify and prioritize prospects from assigned lists, inbound leads, and self-sourced accounts
• Respond promptly to inbound inquiries and marketing-generated leads, assessing fit and advancing qualified contacts into the pipeline
• Conduct high-volume, multi-channel outreach (phone, email, LinkedIn) to introduce Leadership Connect to prospective clients
• Craft timely, personalized messaging that connects Leadership Connect’s value to each prospect’s context — staying current on policy developments, regulatory activity, and government contracting trends to keep outreach relevant
• Follow up persistently and professionally across outreach sequences to build familiarity and trust
• Lead early-stage discovery conversations to understand a prospect’s current workflows, data needs, and relationship-building challenges
• Ask targeted questions that reflect an understanding of how government contractors, lobbyists, and policy professionals operate and what drives their decisions
• Listen actively and adapt your approach based on what you learn, rather than delivering a scripted pitch
• Clearly communicate the value of Leadership Connect, tailored to what matters most to each prospect
• Qualify prospects using defined criteria and deliver handoffs with documented context on needs, priorities, and objections so AEs can continue the conversation without starting over
• Log all prospect activity, notes, and outcomes in CRM (Salesforce or equivalent) with accuracy and consistency
• Work closely with Sales Leadership to align on prospect profiles, qualification criteria, and meeting standards
• Participate in team meetings to share market feedback and contribute to refining outreach messaging and the broader sales process

Requirements:

• 1–3 years of experience in sales development, lead generation, business development, or a related outreach-focused role
• Experience leading early-stage discovery and qualification calls, with the ability to research prospects quickly and translate findings into personalized outreach
• Comfortable with multi-channel outreach and familiar with CRM platforms (Salesforce preferred)
• Active listener who asks the right questions, follows the conversation, and adapts rather than pitching from a script
• Resilience and curiosity — handles rejection without losing momentum and takes a genuine interest in how prospects work and where they face challenges
• Sound judgment on when to advance a conversation and when to step back
• Genuine interest in public sector dynamics — including government contracting, lobbying, and policy — and the ability to engage these audiences with relevant, informed messaging
• Experience selling data, research, or SaaS platforms
• Familiarity with government contracting, lobbying, or public affairs — through work experience or genuine personal interest
• Previous exposure to or interest in a policy office, government affairs function, or public sector advisory role