Business Development Manager

We are looking for a driven and commercially minded Sales Manager to lead the sale of exhibition floor space and delegate tickets across Ageing Asia's annual calendar of events — with the World Ageing Festival as the anchor event. This is a full-cycle sales role: you will be responsible for generating your own leads, actively hunting for new business, converting prospects into signed contracts, and following through on all commitments made to clients right through to event day. Beyond closing the deal, you will take pride in ensuring every client has a positive experience — from first contact to post-event. This role suits someone who is relentless in their pursuit of targets, highly organised in managing their pipeline, and genuinely invested in the satisfaction of the clients they bring on board.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Generation & Prospecting

•    Proactively identify, research, and build a pipeline of prospective exhibitors and delegate buyers across relevant industries including healthcare, eldercare, wellness, technology, financial services, and government.

•    Generate leads through multiple channels including cold outreach, networking events, industry directories, referrals, and digital research.

•    Represent Ageing Asia at industry events, trade shows, and forums to build market presence and surface new sales opportunities.

•    Continuously refresh and expand the prospect database, ensuring a healthy top-of-funnel at all times.

Sales Hunting & Outreach

•    Take a hunter approach to sales — proactively reaching out to prospects, setting meetings, and advancing opportunities through the pipeline without waiting for inbound interest.

•    Develop and deliver compelling, tailored sales pitches and proposals for exhibition packages and delegate tickets, clearly communicating the value of participation at Ageing Asia events.

•    Engage decision-makers confidently at multiple levels — from marketing managers to C-suite — adapting your approach to the audience.

•    Maintain a high volume of outreach activity, balancing new prospecting with pipeline progression and closing activity.

Contract Closing

•    Drive all opportunities through to a signed contract, managing negotiations professionally and with a clear focus on reaching timely agreement.

•    Prepare and issue sales contracts, booking confirmations, and invoices accurately and promptly upon deal closure.

•    Manage objections constructively, finding solutions that work for both the client and Ageing Asia.

•    Achieve and where possible exceed individual exhibition space and delegate ticket revenue targets for each event.

•    Identify upsell opportunities — including premium booth positioning, larger floor packages, and add-on advertising or sponsorship elements — and convert them where appropriate.

Sales Commitment Follow-Through

•    Take full ownership of delivering on all commitments made to clients during the sales process, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks after a contract is signed.

•    Coordinate closely with the operations team to ensure exhibitor requirements — booth specifications, logistics deadlines, access arrangements — are communicated clearly and met on time.

•    Manage delegate registration and onboarding for confirmed group and individual buyers, ensuring a smooth experience from payment to event-day attendance.

•    Proactively keep clients informed of key milestones, deadlines, and any changes relevant to their participation.

•    Escalate any fulfilment issues promptly and take accountability for resolving them in a way that maintains client trust.

Client Service & Satisfaction

•    Serve as the primary point of contact for all exhibitor and delegate clients throughout the sales cycle and up to event-day handover.

•    Deliver a consistently high standard of client service — responsive, professional, and solutions-oriented at every touchpoint.

•    Conduct post-event follow-ups with clients to gather feedback, address any outstanding matters, and lay the groundwork for renewal or repeat participation.

•    Build long-term relationships with key clients, positioning Ageing Asia as a valued and trusted partner rather than a transactional vendor.

•    Gather and relay client feedback to the Operations, Communications, and leadership teams to inform improvements to future events and sales offerings.

Pipeline & CRM Management

•    Maintain a well-organised, accurate, and up-to-date CRM database of all prospects, active opportunities, and confirmed clients.

•    Provide regular pipeline reports and revenue forecasts to management, with clear visibility on progress against targets.

•    Review and update pipeline status weekly, flagging risks and opportunities proactively.

Requirements

Experience & Background

•    3–6 years of experience in a B2B sales role, preferably within events, exhibitions, media, publishing, or a related industry.

•    Proven track record of full-cycle sales — from lead generation and prospecting through to contract close and client management.

•    Demonstrated ability to meet or exceed sales targets consistently.

•    Experience selling exhibition space, delegate packages, sponsorship, or advertising products is strongly preferred.

•    Familiarity with the healthcare, ageing, wellness, or professional services sectors is an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

•    Strong hunter mentality — self-starting, proactive, and comfortable generating your own pipeline from scratch.

•    Confident and persuasive communicator, skilled at presenting, negotiating, and closing with decision-makers at all levels.

•    High degree of ownership and follow-through — clients and colleagues can rely on you to do what you say you will.

•    Excellent client service instincts with a genuine desire to ensure client satisfaction beyond the point of sale.

•    Well-organised with strong pipeline and time management skills; comfortable managing multiple accounts simultaneously.

•    Proficiency in CRM systems and Microsoft Office Suite.

•    Collaborative team player who works well across events operations, marketing, and client services functions.

Education

•    Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.

•    Professional sales training or certifications are an advantage.

Ageing Asia Values

At Ageing Asia, our values guide how we work, support one another, and serve the communities we care about. We look for people who embody LAUGHTER:

•    L - Learning hunger: Open to feedback, quick to learn, and eager to grow with the organisation.

•    A - Attitude over experience: Bring ownership, humility, and a positive mindset, regardless of your background.

•    U - Unafraid to ask, take initiative and improve: Be curious, resourceful, proactive, and willing to speak up.

•    G - Growth and innovation mindset: Look for practical ideas, process improvements, and smarter ways of working.

•    H - Heart for older adults: Show empathy, dignity, and respect for the ageing community in everything you do.

•    T - Yes, let's try teamwork: Bring hands-on energy, collaborate well, and help others succeed.

•    E - Ease with change: Stay calm, adaptable, and solutions-oriented when plans shift.

• •    R - Reliability with purpose: Follow through, act with integrity, and take pride in your work.