Torchora
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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Hunting Associate (Sales & Business Development)

💰 $45,000 - $65,000 Annually + Commission

SalesBusiness DevelopmentLead GenerationEntry-Level

🎯 Role Definition

The Hunting Associate is the engine of the sales organization, a proactive and strategic professional dedicated to identifying and qualifying new business opportunities. This role serves as the first point of contact for potential customers, making a critical first impression and laying the groundwork for future revenue. Operating at the top of the sales funnel, the Hunting Associate is responsible for researching target markets, executing multi-channel outreach campaigns, and engaging key decision-makers to generate a pipeline of high-quality leads for the senior sales team. Success in this position requires tenacity, strong communication skills, and a relentless drive to achieve and exceed goals.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Recent College Graduate (Business/Marketing/Communications)
  • Customer Service or Client Success Representative
  • Junior Marketing Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Account Executive
  • Senior Business Development Representative / Team Lead
  • Channel or Partner Sales Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Account Management
  • Sales Operations Analyst
  • Marketing Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Proactively identify, research, and qualify potential new business opportunities and target accounts within assigned territories or verticals using tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, and industry databases.
  • Initiate first-contact engagement with key decision-makers and influencers at target companies through strategic, high-volume cold calling, personalized email campaigns, and social selling techniques.
  • Clearly and compellingly articulate the company's value proposition, tailoring the message to align with the specific pain points, industry, and business needs of each individual prospect.
  • Conduct high-level discovery calls to deeply understand a prospect's current environment, business challenges, and strategic goals, effectively qualifying their potential against established criteria (e.g., BANT, MEDDIC).
  • Secure and schedule qualified meetings, discovery calls, and product demonstrations for senior Account Executives, ensuring a smooth and well-documented handoff with all relevant context.
  • Meticulously manage, track, and update a pipeline of prospects and leads within the CRM system (e.g., Salesforce), ensuring all communications and activities are logged accurately and in real-time.
  • Consistently achieve or exceed monthly and quarterly targets for key performance indicators (KPIs), including outbound activities (dials, emails), conversion rates, and the number of qualified appointments set.
  • Collaborate closely with sales and marketing leadership to help develop, test, and refine targeted outreach strategies, messaging, and multi-channel campaigns for different market segments.
  • Maintain a deep and current understanding of our product suite, its features, benefits, and its specific application to various business challenges and use cases.
  • Stay consistently informed on industry trends, market developments, and the competitive landscape to identify new avenues for opportunity and inform prospecting tactics.
  • Develop and execute strategic, multi-touch outreach sequences to nurture leads over time, building relationships with prospects who are not yet ready to engage in a sales conversation.
  • Provide structured feedback to marketing and sales leadership on the quality of inbound leads, the effectiveness of campaign messaging, and general market reception to our outreach.
  • Master the full sales technology stack, including the CRM, sales engagement platforms (e.g., Outreach, SalesLoft), and various data enrichment tools to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Represent the company with the highest level of professionalism and integrity, building a positive brand impression during every single interaction with potential clients.
  • Prepare and deliver regular activity reports and pipeline forecasts to sales management, clearly communicating progress, highlighting challenges, and identifying key opportunities.
  • Actively participate in team meetings, ongoing training sessions, and skill-building workshops to continuously improve prospecting techniques, product knowledge, and sales acumen.

Secondary Functions

  • Support the creation and refinement of sales enablement materials, including call scripts, email templates, and other outreach content based on front-line experience.
  • Assist the marketing team by providing real-world insights from prospect conversations to guide content creation, keyword strategy, and campaign targeting.
  • When required, attend industry events, trade shows, and webinars for the purpose of networking, brand promotion, and generating new leads for the pipeline.
  • Collaborate with the Sales Operations team to help ensure high data integrity within the CRM and provide suggestions for optimizing sales processes and workflows.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • CRM Proficiency: Hands-on experience managing pipelines and logging activities in CRM software like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho CRM.
  • Sales Engagement Platform Expertise: Demonstrated ability to build and execute sequences using platforms such as Outreach, SalesLoft, or Apollo.io.
  • Prospecting Tools: Skill in using data and lead generation tools, including LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Lusha, or similar databases.
  • Business Communication: Professional-level proficiency in composing clear, concise, and persuasive emails and other written correspondence.
  • Productivity Software: Competency with Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel) and/or Google Workspace (Sheets).
  • Basic Sales Analytics: Ability to understand and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) like activity volume, connection rates, and conversion rates.

Soft Skills

  • Resilience & Grit: The ability to handle rejection, stay motivated, and maintain a positive attitude in the face of challenges.
  • Exceptional Communication: Superior verbal, written, and active listening skills; ability to build rapport quickly over the phone and online.
  • Goal-Orientation: A tenacious, self-motivated, and results-driven mindset with a strong desire to exceed targets.
  • Time Management & Organization: Excellent organizational skills to manage a high volume of leads and outreach activities simultaneously without letting things fall through the cracks.
  • Coachability: A strong willingness to receive, process, and implement feedback from peers and managers to improve performance.
  • Innate Curiosity: The desire to learn about new industries, business challenges, and technologies.
  • Problem-Solving: The ability to think on your feet, overcome objections, and find creative ways to connect with busy professionals.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree or equivalent practical experience in a customer-facing environment.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 0-2 years of experience in a sales, customer service, or business-focused role. Internships in relevant fields are highly valued.

Preferred:

  • 1+ years of direct experience in a B2B sales development (SDR) or lead generation role, with a proven track record of meeting or exceeding activity and pipeline generation targets.
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