Business Development Representative (One-on-One Advising)

The Business Development Representative (BDR) for One-on-One Advising is a key driver of Kaplan Advising's growth, responsible for generating and qualifying new leads, engaging prospective families through proactive outreach, and building a strong pipeline of qualified opportunities for the 1:1 Advising sales team. This role serves as the front line of family acquisition, expanding Kaplan's reach and accelerating enrollment growth by ensuring senior advising team members spend their time with high-intent, well-matched prospects.

Primary/Key Responsibilities

• Conduct high-volume outbound prospecting via phone, email, and other channels to engage prospective families and generate interest in Kaplan's admissions consulting services.

• Qualify inbound leads from marketing campaigns, web inquiries, webinars, and referral sources to assess fit, intent, and readiness for a consultation.

• Schedule qualified consultations for the Senior Advising Manager team, ensuring smooth handoffs and accurate context on family goals, student profiles, and timing.

• Research and identify prospective families, schools, community partners, and referral channels to continuously expand the top of the funnel and uncover new sources of pipeline.

• Maintain accurate and timely records in CRM systems, logging all outreach activity, family interactions, and lead status updates to ensure pipeline visibility and data integrity.

• Meet and exceed activity and outcome targets including outbound touches, conversations held, qualified meetings booked, and pipeline contribution to revenue goals.

• Collaborate with team members to share feedback on lead quality, messaging effectiveness, and conversion trends, helping to refine campaigns and optimize lead generation strategies.

• Follow up consistently and persistently with prospective families across multi-touch sequences, nurturing interest and re-engaging cold or stalled leads to maximize conversion rates.

• Stay current on Kaplan's advising offerings, the K12 and college admissions landscape, and competitive positioning to articulate value clearly and answer initial family questions with credibility.

• Uphold Kaplan's standards of professionalism and integrity by maintaining a student- and family-focused approach in every interaction, ensuring trust and a positive first impression of the brand.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Marketing, Education, or a related field.

• Minimum of 1 year of experience in a sales development, inside sales, customer engagement, admissions, or related outreach role, ideally within education or a high-touch service environment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build rapport quickly and articulate value to families

• Comfort with high-volume outreach including cold calling, email prospecting, and multi-channel sequences

• Working knowledge of CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and sales engagement tools

• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage a large pipeline and prioritize effectively

• Resilience, coachability, and a growth mindset; ability to handle objections and rejection while maintaining momentum

• Curiosity and active listening skills to uncover family needs and qualify fit accurately

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience as an SDR, BDR, or Admissions Counselor in education, EdTech, or professional services

• Familiarity with K12 and/or College Admissions markets