Strategic Alliances Specialist

About the Role
We are looking for an energetic and target-oriented Strategic Alliances Specialist to join the Zookout team in Chennai. The candidate will be responsible for identifying, acquiring, and onboarding restaurants, cafés, salons, and other lifestyle businesses onto the Zookout platform, building strong merchant relationships, and driving business growth within the assigned territory.
Key Responsibilities
Identify and approach potential restaurant, café, salon, and lifestyle business partners.
Generate leads through field visits, cold calling, referrals, networking, and local market research.
Pitch Zookout's platform, deals, and business solutions to prospective partners.
Explain the benefits of partnering with Zookout and negotiate commercial terms.
Onboard new merchant partners and ensure completion of required documentation.
Achieve monthly and quarterly merchant acquisition and onboarding targets.
Build and maintain strong relationships with existing merchant partners.
Identify opportunities to improve partner visibility, customer reach, orders, and revenue on Zookout.
Conduct regular market visits and monitor competitor activities and market trends.
Maintain accurate records of leads, meetings, prospects, follow-ups, and conversions.
Coordinate with internal teams to ensure smooth onboarding and resolve partner issues.
Prepare regular sales reports and provide updates to the reporting manager.
Candidate Requirements
Bachelor's degree in any discipline preferred.
6 months–1 year of experience in sales, business development, merchant acquisition, field sales, or partnerships.
Freshers with strong communication, convincing, and sales skills may also apply.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong negotiation and relationship-building abilities.
Comfortable with field sales and meeting business owners in person.
Good understanding of the Chennai local market and geography.
Ability to independently manage leads, follow-ups, and multiple prospects.
Target-driven, energetic, and self-motivated.
Basic knowledge of smartphones, CRM applications, Google Maps, and MS Office/Google Workspace.
Two-wheeler and valid driving licence will be an advantage.
Key Skills
Sales · Business Development · Merchant Acquisition · Lead Generation · Cold Calling · Field Sales · Negotiation · Client Acquisition · Relationship Management · Target Achievement · Communication · Market Research
Performance Expectations
Consistently achieve assigned monthly merchant acquisition targets.
Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of restaurant and lifestyle business prospects.
Convert qualified leads into active Zookout partners.
Maintain strong relationships with restaurant owners and managers.
Contribute to Zookout's revenue growth and market expansion in Chennai.
Compensation
Competitive salary based on experience and performance.
Incentives
Attractive performance-based incentives linked to merchant acquisition and onboarding targets.
Career Growth
Strategic Alliances Specialist → Senior Strategic Alliances Specialist → Key Account Manager → Area Sales Manager → City/Regional Sales Manager
Ideal Candidate Profile
We are looking for someone who is confident, persuasive, commercially aware, hardworking, and comfortable speaking with business owners. Candidates who enjoy meeting people, working in the field, achieving targets, and building long-term business relationships will be particularly suited to this role.

Work arrangement
No