Business Development Representative - Software Solutions

Be part of a growing, successful company in an exciting and challenging field. Border States is 100% employee-owned, empowering you to make decisions, find solutions, and receive rewards for your hard work. This position is located in Fargo, ND or Phoenix, AZ.

About the Role

The Business Development Specialist identifies, qualifies, nurtures, and supports customers throughout the sales lifecycle to drive growth across Border States' software solution offerings. This role combines proactive business development activities with day-to-day operational support, including quoting, order management, CRM maintenance, SAP transactions, and sales process coordination. It serves as a critical link between customers, sales, engineering, service delivery, marketing, and operations teams.

Responsibilities

• Generates and qualifies new business opportunities through inbound and outbound prospecting activities, including phone, email, social selling, events, and marketing-driven leads.
• Conducts customer discovery conversations to understand business objectives, challenges, and solution requirements, connecting customers with appropriate sales, engineering, and service resources.
• Builds, maintains, and nurtures relationships with prospective and existing customers to support pipeline growth and service adoption.
• Manages and maintains CRM activities, including lead qualification, opportunity tracking, customer interactions, pipeline updates, and reporting to ensure data accuracy and visibility.
• Prepares customer quotations, proposals, and service estimates, supporting pricing, documentation, and follow-up activities to advance opportunities through the sales process.
• Processes and manages sales orders, service orders, and related transactions within SAP and other business systems, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely execution.
• Coordinates with sales, engineering, operations, marketing, and service delivery teams to facilitate opportunity handoffs, order fulfillment, and overall customer satisfaction.
• Monitors pipeline performance, quote-to-order conversion, and key business metrics, providing insights and recommendations to improve sales effectiveness and business results.
• Supports customer meetings, presentations, marketing initiatives, trade shows, and other business development activities that promote Border States' engineering and service solutions.
• Contributes to continuous improvement efforts by identifying opportunities to streamline processes, improve customer experience, and enhance business development effectiveness.
• Supports public relations initiatives, customer success stories, social media content, and industry events.
• Represents Border States at trade associations, networking events, and community functions as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned by Supervisor or designate.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, communications, engineering, or related field or equivalent work experience.
• 3+ years of experience in business development, sales, service, marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, or a business-related field.
• Knowledge of MES, CMMS, and DataOps software products delivered through a SaaS model is preferred.
• Experience supporting sales pipelines and customer relationship management processes.
• Experience preparing quotes, processing orders, and supporting sales operations activities preferred.
• Knowledge of industrial automation, digital transformation, or smart manufacturing initiatives is preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint).

Skills

• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Customer-focused mindset with strong relationship-building abilities.
• Strong organizational, prioritization, and time-management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, opportunities, and administrative tasks simultaneously.
• Analytical and detail-oriented with strong problem-solving skills.
• Self-motivated and proactive with a strong sense of accountability.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across multiple functional teams.
• Results-oriented with a focus on pipeline growth and customer satisfaction.
• Comfortable engaging with stakeholders at all organizational levels.
• Continuous improvement mindset with the ability to identify efficiencies and process enhancements.
• Strong business acumen and understanding of sales and operational workflows.
• Commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and quality outcomes.

Physical Requirements

Frequency at which you would carry/lift in a typical day:

• Lift from Waist: Less than 10 lbs. – Not at all
• Lift from Floor: Less than 10 lbs. – Frequently, 10 to 25 lbs. – Frequently, 26 to 50 lbs. – Occasionally
• Carried for Distance: Less than 10 lbs. – Not at all

Physical Activity Frequency in a typical day:

• Sitting – Continuously
• Standing – Frequently
• Walking – Frequently
• Bending/stooping – Occasionally
• Climbing/Walking Stairs – Frequently
• Reaching – Frequently
• Crouching/squatting – Occasionally
• Kneeling – Occasionally
• Repetitive motion – Continuously
• Pivoting – Occasionally
• Pushing/Pulling – Occasionally
• Grasping – Continuously
• Fingering – Continuously
• Talking – Frequently
• Driving – Occasionally
• Desk work – Continuously
• Use of a computer – Continuously
• Use of a telephone – Frequently
• Hearing – Continuously
• Exposure to adverse weather & temperature conditions – Occasionally
• Travel – Frequently

Benefits

• Health, Dental, and Vision Benefits
• Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity
• FSA & HSA
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Disability Benefits
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Personal Leave time
• Bonuses upon achievement of branch and company goals