Business Development Manager - Retail Decor

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

CIP Retail is looking for a driven Business Development Manager to grow our business by landing brand-new customers. This is a 100% new business role — you will not inherit house accounts, and there is no BDR or lead-gen team handing you warm leads. You own the full cycle: finding prospects, building relationships, and closing the deal.

For more than 50 years, CIP Retail has designed, built, and installed branded retail environments for national and international retail brands. We're a turnkey shop — our team handles everything from initial design and engineering through manufacturing and on-site installation, all under one roof. The products you'll be selling include custom décor packages, branded environments, storefront and wayfinding signage, environmental and dimensional graphics, millwork, store fixtures, and specialty fabrication built to a brand's exact spec.

You'll build relationships and win new work across retail, grocery, restaurant, convenience store, hospitality, sports & entertainment, healthcare, and commercial construction markets.

You won't be doing it without support. CIP Retail invests in trade show presence to build your visibility, and a CRM system is being rolled out to help you manage and forecast your pipeline. You'll also have a dedicated marketing/sales engineer who can help with demos, presentation materials, and technical support as you move deals forward.

You'll fit well here if you come from an architecture, interior design, or commercial construction background and know how to sell custom solutions — branded environments, décor packages, millwork, signage, graphics, fixtures, and specialty fabrication. If you're energized by hunting for your own opportunities rather than working a handed-off pipeline, this role is built for you.

What You'll Do

• Source your own pipeline from scratch — this is full-cycle new business development, from first prospect to signed contract, with no warm leads provided
• Build and run a sales pipeline through networking, cold outreach, referrals, LinkedIn, trade shows, and industry events
• Prospect and close new business across grocery, retail, restaurant, hospitality, healthcare, and mixed-use markets
• Present to architects, interior designers, developers, general contractors, brand managers, and executive decision-makers
• Read and interpret architectural drawings, renderings, and specs to shape proposals
• Partner with our Design, Engineering, Estimating, Project Management, and Manufacturing teams to build custom solutions
• Prepare budgets, proposals, and quotes, and lead negotiations through contract award
• Track opportunities and keep forecasts accurate in the CRM
• Represent CIP Retail at trade shows and industry events, and stay on top of market and competitor trends
• Hand off awarded projects cleanly to our Operations team

• 5+ years of business development or consultative sales experience in retail environments, architectural products, commercial interiors, millwork, store fixtures, signage, branded environments, or design-build services
• A track record of generating and closing new business on your own — not managing existing accounts or working leads someone else found
• Comfort selling custom solutions to executive-level decision-makers
• Working knowledge of architectural drawings, specs, and construction documents
• Strong communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
• A self-starter mindset with the ability to work independently across multiple projects
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel
• Able to commute to our Fairfield, Ohio facility (Northern Cincinnati)

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in architecture, interior design, construction management, business, or marketing
• Existing relationships with architectural firms, developers, general contractors, or retail/restaurant operators
• Experience selling to national or regional retail brands
• Familiarity with AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, or Bluebeam

Compensation & Benefits

Because this is a new-business-only role with no fed leads, we back it with real upside: your commission plan is uncapped, so what you earn is directly tied to the pipeline you build and close.

• Competitive base salary plus an uncapped, performance-based commission plan
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid vacation and holidays