Director of Business Development
Location remote in select states: Candidates must currently reside in one of the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, or Virginia.
Employment type: Full-time
Work authorization: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship
About Tivly
Tivly is one of the largest marketplaces for commercial insurance in the United States, connecting business owners looking to protect their businesses with insurance carriers that fit their needs. Since 2009, Tivly has established a network of over 200 trusted carriers, agents, and brokers serving a wide range of businesses.
About the Role
The Director of Business Development will develop new business opportunities with prospects outside of our current customer base. The successful candidate will leverage a consultative sales approach and possess a clear understanding of the decision-making processes of potential partners. This role will lead all aspects of the sales process, including identifying partnership opportunities, conducting client research, demonstrating potential solutions, and closing pilot projects and partnerships. Additionally, this role will oversee the launch process and ensure a successful hand-off to the account services team.
What You’ll Do
- Identify, analyze, and prioritize strategic opportunities with agents, brokers, carriers, agencies, platforms, and other potential types of partnerships
- Manage a strong pipeline of prospective partners through prospecting, relationships, and referrals.
- Leverage your experience and network of potential partners to open new opportunities.
- Consultatively position our solutions, value proposition, and benefits for business success.
- Leverage insurance expertise to ensure we are identifying the best partnership opportunities and matching the right solutions for each opportunity.
- Maximize business development opportunities at insurance/insurtech and lead generation conferences (Note: some travel required for this role).
- Establish and maintain relationships with leads and prospects throughout the sales process.
- Ensure commitments made in the sales process are delivered as expected.
- Develop and optimize sales strategies for each major step of the sales process.
- Collaborate with leadership (CEO, COO, GM, VP Sales), product, and marketing on developing strategic plans to grow new accounts and identify new potential use cases.
- Build pitch decks and manage the necessary negotiations needed to successfully close deals.
- Use verbal, written, and presentation skills to effectively articulate how we solve customer challenges.
- Support resellers and help optimize how we leverage those resources for business development momentum.
- Provide regular updates on the pipeline, forecasts, and new business performance.
What You Bring
- 8+ years of sales, solution selling, business development, corporate development, or program management experience.
- Experience working in the insurance industry required, with experience specific to commercial insurance a plus.
- Proven history of managing a sales pipeline with large accounts.
- Proven experience creating and managing prospecting strategies for identifying new opportunities.
- Excellent written and verbal skills, as well as interpersonal and relationship-building experience.
- Experience creating and giving sales presentations with strong PowerPoint skills.
- Experience developing custom programs/solutions that match business solutions to customer needs.
- Experience leading contract negotiations.
- Willing to travel as needed for conferences and occasional in-person meetings.
Core Competencies
- Strategic Market & Growth Thinking: Sees the big picture: target markets, segments, and where the company can win over 1–3 years. Turns that insight into clear growth theses, priority accounts/partnership types, and a focused go‑to‑market plan.
- Relationship & Network Leadership: Builds and sustains senior‑level relationships with customers, partners, and key influencers. Creates and leverages a strong professional network to open doors, accelerate deals, and spot new opportunities early.
- Sales & Negotiation Excellence: Leads complex deal cycles from prospecting through closing, including structuring proposals and contracts. Navigates multi‑stakeholder negotiations to reach mutually beneficial terms while protecting margin and strategic value.
- Commercial & Financial Acumen: Understands P&L, pricing, deal economics, and how different structures affect revenue, profit, and risk. Uses data (pipeline, conversion, CAC, LTV) to prioritize bets, forecast accurately, and decide which deals to pursue or walk away from.
- Execution, Leadership & Cross‑Functional Alignment: Builds and coaches a high‑performing BD/sales team, setting targets and holding people accountable. Aligns closely with product, marketing, finance, and operations, so promises made in deals are realistic and executable.
Travel
- Travel required as needed.
Benefits
We support our team with comprehensive benefits that promote health, balance, and financial well‑being, including:
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Sick Time
- Flexible Scheduling (Flex Time)
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for health and dependent care
- Company‑paid Short‑ and Long‑Term Disability
- No‑cost mental, emotional, and physical well‑being support through the First Stop Health app
- 401(k) with 4% company match
- Pay for designated holidays without having to work
Inclusion: It's Simple, We All Belong
Tivly celebrates diversity and equality! We are committed to building a team with a diverse variety of experiences, talents, and perspectives. We believe that creating a culture where everyone can fit in and belong has a positive influence on our communities and our customers. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. Creating a culture of equality isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s what Tivly chooses to do.