Pioneer Valley Books is looking to find a dynamic professional to join our Sales and Support team. This position will be servicing customers in the southern region of the country. Our preference is to find a candidate from this region. The Educational Account Manager serves as the front face of the company to new and established customers. This role actively identifies opportunities that include building relationships with teachers, administrators, and decision makers. This role develops and implements strategic plans to meet prospecting, sales, and follow-up expectations. In this role, the Educational Account Manager will gain a deep understanding of our offerings and effectively communicate the benefits of each product or service. The Educational Account Manager will utilize the phone, e-mail, Zoom, Slack, and other tools as part of their consultative sales efforts. Additionally, this role will interact with customers and potential customers at conferences, events, and other functions. The Educational Account Manager holds consultative conversations about our literacy products and tools with decision makers, moving the conversation to a sale. This process will include prospecting, relationship building, problem solving, negotiating, processing orders, and providing follow-up. Additionally, this role will maintain positive relationships with our existing and new customers, as well as with other employees and departments within the company. This role will help define the sales process and provide meaningful input for improvements in sales strategies.Sales:
- Consistently meet or exceed sales targets and revenue goals to contribute to organizational growth and profitability.
- Utilize negotiation skills and closing techniques to meet the customer's needs and increase sales
- Perform research and evaluate analytics to identify and execute business expansion and development for existing/new/potential retail and school/district customers
- Follow up on leads including but not limited to those from online ads, ads, sample requests, and free trials
- Provide accurate sales forecasts and regular reports to management on territory performance.
- Track and analyze sales performance using key performance indicators
- Develop and maintain a deep understanding of our products and services with the ability to make appropriate recommendations to decision makers
- Understand and effectively explain product and service offerings
- Stay current on industry trends and activities of competition, and actively improve systems to gain market share and make informed decisions
- Develop presentations as needed
- Actively seek out new accounts and follow up to result in increased sales
- Attend local, national, and regional trade shows and work in our exhibit booth, as needed
- Review and provide feedback on marketing materials
Account Management
- Be the first point of contact for customers, handling needs and expanding product and service awareness
- Act as a trusted advisor, leveraging internal and external resources to establish and support relationships
- Develop account plans using research and relationship-building for customized solutions
- Foster and maintain strong, long-term customer relationships to enhance satisfaction and retention
- Collaborate effectively with internal teams to ensure seamless customer experiences
Team Collaboration
- Participate in ongoing sales training and development programs, including weekly sales team meetings and other meetings as appropriate
- Actively participate in and contribute to the sales team and other internal teams within the company
Company Support
- Actively interact with team members to meet sales requirements and other company objectives
- Support the Customer Support team as needed, including helping with quotes and sales orders when a backlog exists
- Consistently evaluate processes to ensure the highest level of customer service is provided while also improving systems internally
- Gather appropriate and meaningful feedback received from customers and take action on feedback, as needed
- Other tasks/projects as assigned.
Qualifications:
- 3-5 years of work experience in prospecting, consultative sales, and account management in the educational industry. Ideal candidate will have 1-3 years experience as a teacher in grades K-3 using our products in the classroom, and 1-3 years sales experience in the educational Industry.
- A bachelor's degree in business or education or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience
- A familiarity with literacy products and the educational market is highly preferred
- A quick learner, able to multitask
- Ability to maintain a customer centric approach in all aspects of the job function, including but not limited to:
- Decision making/problem solving
- Internal and external customer engagement and collaboration
- Ability to problem-solve and exercise good judgment
- Ability to prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently, and work well under pressure to meet deadlines
- Professional orientation and demeanor, handling and responding to external and internal requests in a timely and courteous manner
- Proven ability to set priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Strong technical savvy
- Demonstrable working knowledge of Microsoft Suite and Google Suite
- Proficient understanding of databases
- Confidence in managing multiple applications related to a customer service environment, such as order management and CRM/ERP platforms, RFP management software, customer-facing company websites, and ticketing systems
- Skilled in using internal communication tools such as email, Slack, and Zoom
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively and collaboratively with both internal and external customers
- Ability to work well within both a team environment and independently
- Exceptional organizational skills, with attention to detail to ensure a high degree of accuracy