Director, Strategic Business Development

Key Responsibilities

Own an individual revenue target and deliver profitable new-client growth across assigned strategic channels, including opportunities in property and casualty insurance, financial institution, affinity, and other emerging markets.

Develop and execute account, markets, and channel strategies that prioritize the highest-value markets, prospects, buying centers, and routes to revenue.

Build and maintain a high-quality enterprise pipeline through executive networking, referrals, market intelligence, targeted outreach, events, and disciplined prospecting.

Open doors and establish trusted relationships with C-suite executives, senior decision-makers, economic buyers, technical buyers, user buyers, and internal coaches.

Apply Miller Heiman Strategic Selling principles to every material opportunity, including Blue Sheet opportunity planning, buying-influence mapping, red-flag identification, competitive analysis, and documented next actions.

Lead discovery that uncovers strategic priorities, business pain, decision criteria, value drivers, KPIs, and barriers to change; translate findings into compelling Cinch solutions and business cases.

Shape differentiated, multi-stakeholder solutions using Cinch’s suite of services and emerging channel-specific offerings; provide market feedback that informs product strategy and go-to-market decisions.

Orchestrate complex sales pursuits across Product, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Operations, Implementation, and Account Management while remaining the single-point commercial leader through close.

Create and deliver executive-level presentations, proposals, financial narratives, and mutual action plans that clearly connect Cinch capabilities to customer outcomes.

Lead commercial negotiations and contract development within corporate guidelines, balancing client value, growth potential, risk, margin, and long-term partnership economics.

Maintain disciplined Salesforce opportunity management, including accurate stages, stakeholder maps, activity, value, probability, risks, next steps, and forecast timing.

Provide fact-based forecasts and executive updates on pipeline health, deal strategy, competitive dynamics, opportunities, and challenges.

Partner with implementation and account teams to ensure a clear, accountable transition from signed agreement through launch and early-stage relationship success.

Monitor marketplace, customer, regulatory, and competitive trends; convert insights into new value propositions, partnership models, and growth opportunities.

Represent Cinch with executive presence and integrity at client meetings, industry forums, conferences, and other market-facing engagements.

Perform other duties consistent with the scope and seniority of the role.

Required Qualifications

10+ years of progressive success in enterprise sales, strategic partnerships, or business development, with a demonstrated record of personally sourcing, advancing, negotiating, and closing complex, high-value agreements in Insurance and Financial institutions.

Demonstrated proficiency using Miller Heiman Strategic Selling; ability to lead rigorous opportunity planning and coach internal pursuit teams through the methodology without formal reporting authority.

Experience selling transformative services, subscription-based offerings, platforms, or consultative solutions to C-suite and senior business leaders.

Strong strategic-selling capability, including account planning, stakeholder mapping, business-case development, competitive positioning, consensus building, and multi-threaded deal management.

Executive presence and credibility to gain access to senior decision-makers, challenge customer thinking constructively, and navigate complex organizations.

Strong commercial judgment and negotiation skills, with the ability to balance growth, profitability, customer outcomes, risk, and contractual requirements.

Proven ability to work independently as a self-directed individual contributor while mobilizing cross-functional resources through influence.

Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.

Strong Salesforce proficiency and a disciplined approach to pipeline management, forecasting, and sales analytics.

Ability and willingness to travel as needed for prospect, partner, client, and industry engagements.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in one or more Cinch priority channels, including property and casualty insurance—particularly personal lines/homeowners—financial institution, affinity marketing, financial services or adjacent home-services ecosystems.

Broad and relevant industry network with relationships across carriers, distributors, brokerages, financial institution enterprises, strategic partners, or other target accounts.

Deep understanding of industry business models, decision criteria, KPIs, market challenges, and drivers of change.

Experience creating or refining innovative business models, value propositions, products, or go-to-market strategies.

Formal Miller Heiman training or certification.

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

Success Measures

Achievement of individual new-business revenue, margin, and contract-value goals.

Growth, quality, velocity, and forecast accuracy of the strategic opportunity pipeline.

Access to and engagement with executive decision-makers across priority accounts.

Conversion of strategic pursuits into signed, implementable, and economically sound partnerships.

Quality of Miller Heiman opportunity planning, cross-functional alignment, and handoff to implementation and account teams.