Business Development/Sales Intern — Mandarin (Melbourne)

Sandalwood Consulting is a Melbourne-based consulting and execution-focused team helping local businesses connect with Chinese-speaking communities in Australia. We work across marketing, business development, community visibility, and cross-cultural growth. Our business development focus is helping local businesses identify growth opportunities, improve client communication, explore partnership channels, and build stronger visibility within the Australian Chinese market. About the Role We are looking for Mandarin-Speaking Business Development/Sales Interns to join our 4-week practical internship program. This role is suitable for students or early-career candidates who are interested in business development, sales, client communication, market research, consulting, local business growth, and cross-cultural commercial opportunities. This is a client-facing and execution-based internship. You will not only support research or internal preparation, but also actively participate in identifying potential clients, reaching out to business owners, understanding client needs, introducing Sandalwood Consulting’s services, and helping move potential opportunities forward. You will receive guidance from our team, including service training, outreach direction, sales materials, communication templates, and manager-level support. However, this role requires a proactive attitude and a willingness to communicate with real businesses. You may be involved in approaching potential clients, arranging introductory conversations, joining client meetings, following up on leads, and supporting the early stages of business negotiation. Key Responsibilities You may be involved in:
- Identifying and approaching potential local business clients who may need marketing, visibility, branding, or Chinese-market growth support
- Reaching out to business owners, managers, founders, or decision-makers through LinkedIn, email, WeChat, phone calls, or offline channels where appropriate
- Introducing Sandalwood Consulting’s service lines in a explicit and professional manner
- Supporting initial client conversations to understand business needs, current marketing challenges, customer groups, and growth goals
- Preparing simple client briefing notes before meetings or follow-up conversations
- Joining or observing discovery calls, sales meetings, and business development discussions where appropriate
- Following up with potential clients after initial contact and maintaining clear communication records
- Supporting the preparation of basic proposals, service introductions, pricing explanations, and meeting summaries
- Maintaining lead lists, outreach records, and BD pipeline updates
- Reviewing potential clients’ current online presence, including website, Google, Xiaohongshu, Instagram, WeChat, or other public channels
- Working with the internal team to match client needs with suitable Sandalwood services
- Learning how to move a lead from first contact to meeting, proposal discussion, and potential cooperation What We Are Looking For We are looking for someone who is:
- Comfortable communicating in Mandarin
- Interested in business development, sales, consulting, marketing, or client-facing work
- Able to research local businesses and identify potential commercial opportunities
- Confident in written communication, especially for outreach messages and client follow-up
- Willing to learn how to understand client needs and business pain points
- Proactive, responsible, and able to work in a fast-moving startup environment
- Organised and able to maintain clear notes, lead lists, and follow-up records
- Based in Melbourne or familiar with the Australian Chinese community is preferred Preferred Skills You may be a strong fit if you have:
- Experience in sales, business development, customer service, retail, hospitality, consulting, marketing, or community outreach
- Strong interest in communicating with business owners, founders, managers, or local operators
- Basic understanding of LinkedIn, Xiaohongshu, Instagram, WeChat, Google Business Profile, or local business marketing channels
- Ability to write clear Mandarin outreach messages and simple English business communication
- Experience doing market research, competitor research, or customer analysis
- An interest in business, marketing, communications, entrepreneurship, consulting, or commercial strategy Formal work experience is not required. We care more about your communication sense, learning speed, execution ability, business awareness, and ownership. This is an unpaid, learning-focused internship for an initial period of 4 weeks. The program is designed for students or early-career candidates who want practical exposure to business development, sales support, client communication, market research, and startup consulting execution. High-performing interns may be considered for future opportunities, including:
- Paid part-time roles
- Extended internship opportunities
- Client relationship support roles
- BD Manager roles Upon successful completion, we may provide:
- Professional reference
- LinkedIn recommendation, where appropriate Future opportunities are not guaranteed and will depend on performance, role suitability, business needs, and mutual agreement. Application Process
- Resume and short introduction review
- Online interview
- Final confirmation for the 4-week internship program The interview may include discussing local business opportunities, preparing a simple outreach message, reviewing a potential client’s online presence, identifying business problems, or proposing a basic BD approach. How to Apply Please send your resume and a short introduction. #J-18808-Ljbffr Apply on Kit Job: kitjobau.com/job/3rwdmp