Business Development Associate

About the role

We are looking for a highly motivated, commercially driven Business Development Associate (BDA) to join our North America New Business team.

Location

New York, NY (Hybrid - 3 days per week in the office)

Pay

$65,000-$70,000 base + commission

Working at WGSN

Together, we create tomorrow. A career with WGSN is fast-paced, exciting and full of opportunities to grow and develop. We're a team of consumer and design trend forecasters, content creators, designers, data analysts, advisory consultants and much more, united by a common goal: to create tomorrow. WGSN's trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food and drink forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory.

Role Overview

This is a predominantly outbound prospecting role, ideal for someone who enjoys opening doors, building relationships, and creating new business opportunities. You will be responsible for identifying and engaging prospective clients through highly personalized outbound campaigns across phone, email, LinkedIn, and other channels. Your success will directly contribute to the growth of WGSN's new business pipeline.

Key Accountabilities

• Own outbound prospecting across a targeted portfolio of accounts using a multi-channel approach, including cold calling, email, LinkedIn, and personalized outreach.
• Research prospective companies, stakeholders, and industries to build tailored outreach campaigns that resonate with executive decision-makers.
• Qualify inbound marketing leads and convert them into high-quality sales opportunities.
• Book qualified discovery meetings for the New Business team, consistently meeting and exceeding pipeline targets.
• Develop account-based prospecting strategies for strategic enterprise and mid-market accounts.
• Collaborate closely with Marketing and Sales to optimize campaigns and messaging.
• Maintain accurate account and activity data in Salesforce.
• Continuously test, refine, and improve prospecting approaches to maximize engagement and conversion.
• Become a trusted ambassador for WGSN by confidently articulating our commercial value proposition and thought leadership.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• 1+ years of experience in sales, business development, SDR/BDR, or a similar outbound prospecting role.
• A genuine passion for outbound sales and generating new business opportunities.
• Confidence making cold calls and engaging senior decision-makers.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to personalize outreach at scale.
• A resilient, proactive mindset and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, target-driven environment.
• Curiosity, coachability, and a strong desire to continuously learn and improve.
• Experience using Salesforce, Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, or similar sales technologies is preferred.
• A track record of meeting or exceeding performance targets.

What We Offer

• Paid Time Off - 15 days of vacation per year with an additional day for each year of service up to 20 days.
• WGSN also observes the 12 Federal holidays.
• We offer 6 weeks of paid Parental Leave.
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan - allows employees to save and invest for their own retirement on a tax deferred basis. WGSN matches 50% of the first 6% contributed by employees.
• Dental and Vision plans with MetLife Health Care with Anthem & Blue Cross Blue Shield Life Insurance, AD&D, Short and Long-Term Disability - all eligible employees receive coverage at no cost through Metlife.
• Mental Health - WGSN provides many ways for employees to access mental health care including an Employee Assistance Program and inpatient, outpatient and virtual care if enrolled in an Anthem medical plan.
• Our EAP is available to all permanent staff, regardless of if you elect benefits.

More About WGSN

WGSN is the global authority on consumer trend forecasting. We help brands around the world create the right products at the right time for tomorrow’s consumer. Our values We Are Everywhere The future is everything, it happens everywhere. WGSN is the world-leading forecaster because we track and analyse consumer behaviours, product innovation, design and creativity, everywhere. We Are Future Focused We utilise our global resources and intelligence to research, source and analyse quantitative and qualitative data to produce our forecasts. Everything we do is focused on working with our customers to create a successful and positive tomorrow. We Are Rigorous We source, review and assess quantitative and qualitative data to produce robust, actionable forecasts. To provide credible insights and design solutions for our clients, it is essential that rigour runs through everything we do.

Our Culture

An inclusive culture is one of our key priorities. We want our people to truly be themselves and thrive. We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas, different strengths and perspectives & reflect the global audience we work with.

A Note for Applicants

We use AI to help our team screen applications and identify candidates whose skills and experience match the role. This technology removes personal information to promote a fair and unbiased process. We believe this tool helps us find the best talent while maintaining transparency and fairness.

A Note for Recruiters

Thank you so much for your interest in working with us at WGSN! Our internal Talent Acquisition team takes care of all our recruitment efforts. When we need some extra help, we partner with agencies on our Preferred Supplier List (PSL) that truly understand our business, culture and ways of working together. Since we focus on these established partnerships, we’re unable to respond to unsolicited contacts or CVs from outside our PSL. But don’t worry! If we decide to explore new partnerships, we’ll be sure to reach out.