Trade Development Manager Jobs in Detroit, MI (NOW HIRING)

Farbman Group is hiring a Business Development Manager to lead new client acquisition for Huntington Construction, our general contracting and construction management company, while championing the full Farbman Group platform. This is a hunter role for someone who thrives on building a pipeline from scratch, developing relationships with property owners, developers, brokers, and facility decision-makers, and converting those relationships into signed construction and services agreements — and, ideally, into broader platform engagements across property management, brokerage, maintenance, and trade services.

You will spend the majority of your time generating and closing Huntington Construction opportunities — tenant improvement projects, capital improvement and renovation work, ground-up and value-add construction, and decommissioning/restoration projects — while also identifying and opening doors for NAI Farbman brokerage, Farbman property management, Huntington Maintenance, and the Apex trade companies (mechanical, wall & finish, electrical/circuitry, and HVAC/ClimateGuard Pro).

What You'll Do

• Own new business development for Huntington Construction: build and manage a pipeline of prospective clients across owners, developers, institutional and private real estate investors, property managers, brokers, banks, and facility/asset managers.

• Develop and execute a territory and account-based BD strategy across Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio (with expansion into Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida as the platform grows).

• Identify, qualify, and pursue construction opportunities including tenant improvement build-outs, capital projects, renovations, restorations, and decommissioning work; manage the sales process from first contact through proposal, bid, and contract award.

• Build and nurture relationships with commercial brokers, banks and lenders, property management firms, developers, and institutional owners as recurring referral sources for Huntington Construction and the broader platform.

• Actively cross-sell the full Farbman Group platform — introducing prospects and clients to NAI Farbman brokerage services, Farbman property management, Huntington Maintenance, and Apex Mechanical Solutions, Apex Wall & Finish, Apex Circuitry, and ClimateGuard Pro — and coordinate warm handoffs to the appropriate platform leader.

• Represent Huntington Construction and Farbman Group at industry events, trade association meetings, chamber events, and networking functions; build visibility and brand recognition in each target market.

• Partner with Huntington Construction's estimating and project management teams to ensure proposals, budgets, and timelines are competitive and accurately reflect client needs.

• Maintain disciplined CRM pipeline management — tracking leads, opportunities, proposal status, win/loss data, and follow-up cadence — and report regularly on pipeline health and results to Farbman Group leadership.

• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications on collateral, case studies, proposals, LinkedIn content, and campaigns that support BD goals for Huntington Construction and the platform.

• Stay current on market trends, competitor activity, and regional development pipelines to proactively identify opportunities ahead of formal bid processes.

• Contribute to the BD outreach tracker and playbook already in place for Huntington Construction and the Apex trade companies, helping refine target lists and messaging by market and vertical.

Requirements

• 5+ years of business development, sales, or account management experience in commercial construction, general contracting, commercial real estate services, facilities management, or a closely related B2B field.

• A proven hunter with a track record of building pipeline from cold outreach and converting relationships into signed contracts — construction or tenant improvement sales experience strongly preferred.

• Existing relationships with commercial brokers, property owners, developers, lenders, or facility managers in Michigan, Illinois, or Ohio are a strong plus.

• Comfortable representing multiple service lines (construction, maintenance, trades, brokerage, property management) and translating client needs into the right Farbman Group solution.

• Strong communicator and relationship-builder — equally effective in a boardroom pitch, a networking event, or a follow-up email.

• Organized and disciplined with CRM/pipeline tracking, proposal follow-up, and reporting.

• Self-motivated and entrepreneurial; comfortable operating with autonomy while collaborating closely with construction, maintenance, property management, and brokerage leadership.

• Willingness to travel regularly within Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, with occasional travel to other platform markets.

• Bachelor's degree in business, construction management, real estate, or a related field preferred, or equivalent industry experience.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Employee assistance program
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• 401(k) plus match