Business Development Manager

Join one of Baltimore's Best Places to Work! 

The Banner is looking for a Digital Advertising Business Development Managerto help grow our advertising business by identifying and developing new client opportunities.

Reporting to the Director of Digital Advertising Sales, you will focus on the early stages of the sales process that includes researching prospective advertisers, conducting outbound outreach, qualifying leads, maintaining our CRM, and helping Account Executives build a strong pipeline. You will also be responsible for other strategic sales initiatives as determined by sales leadership. You’ll work closely with our sales team to identify businesses that could benefit from reaching The Banner’s audience and start conversations that lead to meaningful advertising partnerships.

This is a great opportunity for someone who is curious, organized, persistent, and excited to build a career in advertising sales, media, or business development.

What You’ll Do

• Research prospective advertisers, industries, decision-makers, and market segments to identify new opportunities and build targeted prospect lists.
• Conduct personalized outreach through phone, email, LinkedIn, networking, and other channels to start conversations with prospective advertisers.
• Qualify prospective clients by learning about their business, marketing goals, target audience, timing, budget considerations, and advertising needs.
• Schedule qualified introductory meetings and sales opportunities for Account Executives.
• Partner with Account Executives and the Director of Digital Advertising Sales to prioritize prospects, refine outreach strategies, and advance qualified opportunities.
• Maintain accurate CRM records and track outreach, follow-up activities, lead status, and next steps to help opportunities move through the sales pipeline.
• Prepare Account Executives for sales meetings and assist with customized presentations, proposals, audience insights, and other client-facing materials.
• Develop a strong understanding of The Banner’s audiences, digital advertising products, sponsorship opportunities, events, and value proposition.
• Collaborate with advertising, marketing, events, audience, analytics, and other teams to support revenue opportunities.
• Participate in networking opportunities, client meetings, events, and other business-development activities to identify prospects and strengthen client relationships.

What You'll Bring

• Experience in media sales, business development, customer success, or another client-facing role.
• Strong research skills and curiosity about businesses, industries, and prospective clients.
• Comfort with outbound outreach by phone, email, LinkedIn, and other channels.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build professional relationships.
• Excellent organization, follow-through, and attention to detail, especially when managing prospects, deadlines, CRM records, and sales materials.
• A proactive, persistent, and resourceful approach to identifying opportunities.
• A collaborative mindset, openness to coaching, and interest in advertising, digital media, local business, and The Banner’s mission.

You do not need to meet every preferred qualification to apply. We are interested in candidates with transferable skills, curiosity, and the motivation to develop a career in advertising sales.

Preferred Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in media sales, business development, customer success, or another client-facing role.
• Experience using a CRM such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or a similar platform.
• Experience with outbound prospecting or lead generation.
• Familiarity with digital advertising, media, sponsorships, events, or marketing services.
• Experience creating presentations, proposals, or other client-facing materials.
• Familiarity with the Baltimore and Maryland business community.
• Experience using LinkedIn or other prospecting and sales-research tools.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you will help build a consistent pipeline of qualified advertising opportunities for The Banner. A successful Advertising Business Development Manager will:

• Build targeted prospect lists and maintain accurate CRM records.
• Create a consistent outbound prospecting rhythm that generates qualified meetings and opportunities.
• Provide useful research and discovery insights that help Account Executives advance conversations.
• Follow up reliably with prospects and contribute to pipeline growth and quality.
• Build strong sales skills and collaborative relationships across the Advertising Sales team.

Salary Range: $70,000–$77,000, Individual pay may vary based on experience, internal equity, and business considerations. We regularly review compensation to ensure it remains competitive, fair, and equitable. This position is eligible for a commissions plan.

Why The Banner

The Banner is building a sustainable model for local journalism. Advertising revenue plays a critical role in supporting our public-service mission while helping local organizations connect with engaged audiences across the region. We take pride in our core values that outline how we work. If you meet the qualifications above and see yourself in the cultural elements below, we’d love to talk.

• Do what’s right. Honesty, morality, respect and the mission guide our actions and decisions. By doing the right thing, we inspire others to believe.
• Work together. We collaborate to create something special. Together we challenge assumptions, trust each other, take risks, and foster transparent and direct communication.
• Listen to be heard. Our stories are trustworthy. They are inspired by and created for our readers. Their story is our story. Communities are at the center of our journalism, and everything we do.
• Deliver impactful results. Acting as one accountable team and driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, we deliver bold and innovative results. We act fast, execute and learn. We celebrate great outcomes.
• Be inclusive. We celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and act by curating a culture that leverages diverse perspectives as the key to fulfilling our mission. The Banner is for all of us.

The Venetoulis Institute embraces diversity and inclusion, and we are wholeheartedly committed to being proactive in inspiring a culture of inclusion across our organization. We are dedicated to establishing an organization that reflects the fundamental respect for different ways of working and living, and we assure every employee the opportunity to reach their full potential.

We are dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation due to a disability to participate in the application process, please contact [email protected] to request accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may include, but are not limited to, adjustments in the application process, modifications or assistance regarding job interviews, and accommodations to enable access to our facilities. We appreciate the value that individuals with disabilities bring to our workforce and encourage applicants with disabilities to disclose their needs for accommodation to facilitate a smooth and inclusive recruitment experience.