# Business Development Representative

**Company:** [Perplexity](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/perplexity)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Sales Development
**Salary:** $90k – $130k/yr
**Experience:** 1+ years
**Skills:** Salesforce, Bant, SQL, APIs, AI, SaaS, Social Selling, Business Intelligence
**Posted:** 2026-01-22

> Drive revenue by qualifying enterprise prospects using BANT, closing small-mid accounts, and executing targeted outbound campaigns in specific verticals. Requires exceptional communication, vertical expertise, sales acumen, and technical aptitude for AI solutions.

## Job Description

## What You’ll Do

**Drive Revenue & Qualify Opportunities**
- Balance dual responsibilities of direct revenue generation and pipeline development for the broader sales team
- Qualify enterprise prospects using BANT criteria to identify high-value opportunities for Account Executive handoff
- Own and close small to mid-sized accounts (lower seat/FTE requirements) through efficient email communication and concise 15-minute discovery calls

**Strategic Outbound & Market Development**
- Execute targeted outbound campaigns to penetrate specific industry verticals
- Use social selling to represent the Perplexity brand—posting, commenting, and experimenting with new formats to stay top-of-mind with prospects
- Research and map accounts within assigned verticals to build comprehensive prospect lists
- Develop vertical-specific messaging that resonates with industry pain points and use cases for Perplexity Enterprise
- Contribute to top of funnel strategy

**Sales Operations & Excellence**
- Maintain pristine data hygiene in Salesforce, ensuring all prospect interactions and qualification criteria are documented
- Respond rapidly to inbound inquiries with consultative, value-driven communication
- Build and iterate on outbound sequences that drive consistent pipeline generation

## What You'll Need

**Core competencies**
- **Exceptional communication skills**: Ability to articulate complex AI/search solutions clearly via email and phone, adapting tone and technical depth to various stakeholders
- **Vertical expertise**: Demonstrated understanding of at least one key industry (e.g., Financial Services, Healthcare, Legal, Consulting) with ability to speak to industry-specific challenges
- **Sales acumen**: Proven ability to qualify prospects using BANT methodology while maintaining velocity in the sales cycle
- **Technical aptitude**: Comfort discussing enterprise software, APIs, and AI capabilities at a high level
- **Self-starter mentality** with ability to manage competing priorities (closing deals vs. qualifying for AEs)
- **Data-driven approach** to tracking conversion rates, response times, and pipeline metrics
- **Intellectual curiosity** about how AI and advanced search transform enterprise workflows
- **Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment** where processes are still being defined

## Nice to Haves
- 1-2 years in SaaS sales development or business development roles
- Experience selling to technical and non-technical buyers
- Familiarity with enterprise AI/ML solutions or search technologies
- Track record of consistently achieving 100%+ of quota
- Pulling data with Salesforce Reporting, SQL or Business intelligence tools
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience
- Experience at a high-growth technology startup

## Similar roles

- [Sales Development Representative](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/78f094ff-906a-44c0-831e-c90e1b9c698b) - Roger Healthcare - San Francisco, CA - $90k – $120k/yr
- [Sales Development Representative](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/9c9aecea-1add-4e56-b3a0-d139085e9b4c) - Censys - Remote - $90k – $130k/yr
- [Sales Development Representative, Inbound](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/55a67a56-ea39-4fa8-b8ab-c34b9d97a883) - Miter - New York, NY - $90k – $90k/yr
- [Sales Development Representative, Outbound](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/9fb4ff4d-2910-4742-91db-6017316007a5) - Miter - New York, NY - $90k – $90k/yr
- [Sales Development Representative](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/d7acf38c-37de-4f61-9086-57f61378af82) - Astronomer - New York, NY - $90k – $115k/yr

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/664a1d0d-a09f-4f2e-9cea-57fd0681c771
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/664a1d0d-a09f-4f2e-9cea-57fd0681c771