Business Development Associate

About the Role

Hanover Research is seeking ambitious early-career professionals to join our Business Development team as a Business Development Associate (BDA). In this role, you will partner closely with Sales Directors to identify and engage senior-level decision makers, generate new opportunities, and help organizations solve critical business challenges through data-driven research. This is an on-site position located in Arlington, Virginia, with a T-TH in-office schedule.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the first point of contact to engage with potential new clients including CEOs, Presidents, other executives, and leaders.
• Use cold-calling, emailing, and social-messaging to secure new business conversations with for-profit companies.
• Leverage research on prospective accounts, executive stakeholders, industry trends, and competitor positioning to craft tailored outreach that converts into qualified meetings.
• Help your Sales Director manage the sales pipeline and achieve annual revenue goals by engaging prospects throughout the sales cycle.
• Participate in sales onboarding, 1:1 training sessions, team meetings, skill building, and professional development.
• Leverage relationships with other associates to identify and assume best practices.
• Build organizational skills as you maintain ongoing outreach, a territory, and your assigned Sales Director’s calendar.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• AI-powered tools for prospect research, messaging, call coaching, and personalization
• Data-driven targeting and intent signals to prioritize outreach (e.g., 6sense)
• Sales Engagement platforms (e.g., Outreach.io) to automate and streamline tasks

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree preferred; all majors are accepted.
• 0 - 2 years of work experience; previous leadership, sales, professional, or internship experience.
• Strong interest in sales, business development, or client-facing work.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to be persistent when contacting potential clients, which includes being comfortable with rejection.
• Goal oriented and demonstrated ability to work well under pressure.
• Must be articulate, organized, detail-oriented, and able to multi-task in a dynamic, fast-changing environment.
• Readiness for a professional environment and a strong desire to grow a career in sales.
• Digital acumen is a plus, particularly in using AI, social media, and email campaigns.

About Hanover Research

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Hanover Research is a brain trust designed to level the information playing field. Our research teams support thousands of organizational decisions every year by delivering affordable, tailored research. Hanover operates on an annual, fixed-fee model, and partnership provides clients with access to a team of high-caliber researchers, survey experts, analysts, and statisticians with a diverse set of skills in market research, information services, and analytics. Hanover serves over 1,000 organizations worldwide.