PiP is searching for an Account Executive, Higher Education, on behalf of our client, a global academic publisher of books, journals, and a growing suite of library technology products and services. The role is remote, located in the Hartford CT area.
Overview
The Account Executive manages the business relationship with Higher Education faculty within a designated geographical territory and conducts sales calls to assist them with matching the company’s digital and print course materials to their course requirements. Key responsibilities include prospecting and qualifying opportunities, conducting well-structured consultative sales calls, effectively and persuasively demonstrating technology product capabilities, establishing relationships with faculty members, administration, bookstore partners and other stakeholders. Successful Account Executives strategically and systematically manage a large geographic territory using in person and virtual techniques, maintain our sales database daily (MSCRM), and juxtapose account growth outreach with maintenance activities which ultimately results in successful adoption and retention of the company’s course material products.
This position is based out of the Hartford CT area and must be able to travel overnight during peak selling seasons. Overnight travel expectation for this territory is approximately 25% on an annual basis but has most intensity during fall and spring months.
Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities
Sales
The strategic territory selling plan is created with the help and direction of Sales Management:
- Reps conduct high quality sales calls and technology demonstrations using professional consultative selling techniques. During peak selling seasons, daily travel to assigned campuses is required.
- Sales engagements are made via well-planned campus visits, video calls, telephone, and email exchanges.
- Account Executives are expected to focus on new customer acquisition strategically and persistently at assigned accounts. AEs identify and create new sales leads in assigned territory each selling season; proactively sell to those identified targets while retaining existing business to meet your annual sales goal.
- Use consultative selling techniques to identify needs, counter objections, combat inertia and close new business. Must be able to create a compelling and logical rationale for the value of our products versus the competition and work to gain new market share in their assigned territory.
- Utilize sales technology tools within the course of daily selling. Be able to nimbly utilize technology and use the insights it provides to accelerate pipeline movement.
- Grow market share at the territory and key title level each selling season; strong internal collaboration is necessary to achieve success.
- Successfully demonstrate the company’s technology and utilize sales enablement tools in sales calls.
- Ensure all data within the CRM is accurate. Maintain and update the sales pipeline daily.
- Be solutions-oriented, persuasive, and resilient as you meet the needs of prospects and customers in a timely manner.
- During peak selling seasons, position demands an excess of 40+ hour work weeks.
Product and Market Knowledge
- Communicate market feedback and product information to Product, Technology, and Sales Management Teams.
- Develop deep product knowledge through learning programs to be able to persuasively articulate value proposition of products in a competitive landscape. Address objections and answer questions of prospective customers effectively independently or via specialized team members.
- Provide Product Teams with market development leads, faculty advocates, and potential textbook authors.
Planning, Reporting, and Database Maintenance
- Strategically execute and complete Lead Generation (identifying courses, decision makers, enrollments, and text-in-use information) for targeted course markets at accounts identified within assigned territory.
- Track sales opportunities in the CRM to prioritize your pipeline and optimize revenue.
- Strategically plan campus outreach via campus visits/video calls/phone calls, complete expense reports on a timely basis and manage annual travel and expense budget effectively.
Conference Attendance/Business Travel
- Daily full day and overnight travel is required to key accounts during peak selling seasons.
- Required to attend bi-annual sales meeting and other company-wide meetings as required by Management.
Customer/Author Relations
- Provide excellent customer service when dealing with potential or existing customers by providing information, resources, and troubleshooting in a timely manner
- When communicating with customers and authors, take appropriate actions to ensure they have a positive experience and image of the company.
- Effectively consult with current customers to upsell, cross-sell and referral sell when working with installed base of business.
Qualifications & Education
Any combination equivalent to, but not limited to, the following:
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree required with evidence of high academic achievement.
- Demonstrated record of success in academic and professional background.
- 2 to 4+ years sales experience required.; creative, curious, persuasive, competitive, strategic, and persistent sales demeanor.
- Strong technology demonstration skills.
- Dedicated work ethic (workload regularly exceeds 40 hours/week during peak selling seasons and must be willing to work hours needed and to travel based upon assigned geography).
- Must be equally adept at working independently and within a team environment
- Proficient in PC environment and must possess working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, database applications and PowerPoint.
- Excellent written, oral, and presentation skills.
- Superior time management and organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
- Ability to be flexible and adapt quickly and creatively to changing business needs.
Preferred:
- Field-based sales experience strongly preferred for remote based sales positions.
- Sales experience in the publishing industry or related industries is a plus.
- Familiarity and comfort in working with CRM systems is preferred.
- Familiarity with other sales technology programs and video conferencing experience.
Any combination equivalent to, but not limited to, the following:
- Reasoning/problem solving ability
- Superior verbal and written communication skills
- Digital dexterity and Data Literacy
- Ability to set and follow through on priorities
- Ability to plan and manage multiple projects and effectively multi-task
- Ability to effectively manage time to meet deadlines and work professionally under pressure
- Effective internal/external communication with customers
- Effective decision making
- Effective application of sales techniques
- Proficient analytical and mathematical skills
- Ability to effectively make presentations to internal/external groups
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Any combination equivalent to, but not limited to, the following:
- Travel/convention attendance—setting up booth displays, lifting large boxes of books
- Sales travel/campus visits—ability to traverse typical terrain of college campuses, carry books for sampling purposes on campus visits.