Business Development Representative

Job Description:

Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.

Rakuten Advertising provides advertising technology and consumer insights to the world’s leading brands and retailers. Working with agencies and brands around the world, Rakuten Advertising unites technology, client strategy and consumer insights to deliver advertising experiences that drive increased brand awareness and marketing performance. With access to Rakuten’s diverse media properties and audiences, combined with an award-winning performance network and proprietary consumer research, Rakuten Advertising creates the right conditions to reach new customers and sustain long-lasting loyalty.

Job Summary:

Rakuten Advertising is seeking a highly motivated, energetic, and dynamic Business Development Representative to join our growing team based in North America. As a BDR, you will play a crucial role in identifying and qualifying potential leads and prospects for our advertising solutions. You will be responsible for initiating and nurturing relationships with potential clients, setting appointments for the sales team, and be a key contributor to driving revenue growth for Rakuten Advertising. Ideal candidate will have the skillset to test and learn and optimize outputs based on data and market feedback.

Key Responsibilities:

Prospecting:

• Research, identify, and engage with prospective clients in the US and Canada markets, navigating organizational structures to connect with key decision-makers
• Use various lead generation tools and methods to discover new business opportunities
• Research potential leads and accounts to develop personalized outreach strategies
• Develop a deep understanding of Rakuten Advertising's products and services
  
  

Outreach and Engagement:

• Proactively seek new business opportunities in the market
• Initiate outbound and inbound sales calls, emails, and other communication methods to engage with prospects
• Tailor messaging to effectively communicate the value of our advertising solutions
• Build and maintain strong relationships with leads through regular follow-ups
  
  

Qualification:

• Conduct in-depth conversations with prospects to assess their needs and requirements
• Qualify leads based on predetermined criteria to determine their readiness for the sales process.
• Deliver qualified opportunities against BDR team targets that align with strategic sales objectives
  
  

Meeting Setting:

• Schedule qualified meetings for the sales team
• Ensure meetings are well-prepared for and meeting attendees are the right points of contact.
  
  

Reporting:

• Provide regular updates to management on the progress of leads and opportunities as well as provide collaborative feedback on messaging, market insights, product, and client needs
• Maintain sales data integrity through timely and accurate updates in Salesforce and other sales platforms
  
  

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills via phone and email
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong desire and ability to move up within the organization
• Demonstrated ability to perform in a dynamic environment
• Goal-oriented, team player, and able to work independently
• Knowledge of digital advertising, marketing, affiliate, or agency experience
• Familiarity with sales and marketing platforms such as Salesforce, Relevance AI, Gong, Salesloft, Surfe, Hubspot, Apollo.io, or Seamless AI
  
  

Minimum Requirements:

• 2 years of experience in a business development/sales development role
• Bachelor’s degree in sales, marketing, business, or related field
  
  

Five Principles for Success

Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen

Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best

Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory

Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile

Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.

USD $57,672.00 - $98,280.00 annually