Business Development And Sales Director

Description:

What We are Looking to Achieve:

The Aspen Institute aims to scale participation in and delivery of our leadership development seminars in pursuit of growing values-based leadership in the corporate, non-profit, and government sectors. Building upon an almost 75-year history as one of the premiere providers of humanities-based leadership development, we are poised for considerable expansion. This moment of growth offers unique revenue-generating opportunities in order to cross-subsidize other inclusive, mission-driven programming starting with our current tuition-based and custom-designed leadership seminars.

What We Seek:

We seek a mission-driven, self-directed individual with a proven sales track record to fill a newly-created position of Business Development and Sales Director.

Broad Overview of Role:

This role is primarily responsible for prospecting, pursuing, and closing new and, ideally, long-term business relationships, increasing the number of organizations and individuals who participate in our leadership seminar offerings (starting with our tuition-based seminars and custom-designed seminar services). Responsibilities also include tending existing relationships and renewing relationships with past clients, many of whom include industry leaders in many sectors. Because this is a newly-created position, we are looking for someone who can help develop the strategy and organization for considerable growth in sales, who is comfortable with building out systems, infrastructure, and strategies where many connections but little roadmap exists. Correspondingly, the successful candidate will have demonstrated sales success and high-level organizational skills to manage complex projects, strong independent sales pitch development skills, and compelling communication skills.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Nurture existing and expand new relationships with corporate, government, and other organizations for participation in our programs for individuals and programs for organizations.
Identify, develop, and implement near-term and long-term business strategies with the goal of increasing client participation in our seminar offerings and growing revenue.
Own and manage the full-sales-cycle (e.g., opportunity creation, qualification, discovery, pricing and proposals, negotiation, closed won/lost, etc.) with support from the Seminars team.
Help establish and then consistently meet quotas and revenue goals.
Proactively conduct independent research into target client base to drive pipeline development and sales strategy, in collaboration with department leadership and the Marketing and Communications team.
Partner with Marketing and Communications team on strategies and campaigns designed to drive leads and move prospects down the sales funnel.
Leverage industry expertise, market trends and deep knowledge of the leadership development marketplace to increase the number of clients and partnership opportunities.
Present the Aspen Institute and Executive Leadership Seminars brand story in a compelling and authentic way to potential clients; clearly articulating the value and unique differentiators of our seminars in the leadership development marketplace.
Represent the department at meetings with clients, industry networking events, and professional development conferences.
Establish annual work plans and revenue targets in close collaboration with department leadership.
Determine and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue vs. plan, contact rate, quote closure rate, service agreement acquisitions, new account acquisitions, and gross profit percentage.
Develop and implement the department sales process including managing detailed and consistent reporting in our CRM system following database management protocols.
Preferred Skills and Experience:

A minimum of 7-10 years of experience in a sales-focused role, preferably but not limited to another mission-driven institution. 10+ years of sales and business development experience preferred.
Demonstrated experience in and understanding of adult learning, talent development, and executive education. Background in or appreciation of the humanities (arts, literature, music) a plus.
Proven ability to meet and then overachieve sales goals.
Demonstrated experience in selling strategies and methodologies as well as strategic planning and execution.
Experience navigating complexity of sales, pricing, and financial decision making across sliding scale model, preferred.
Strong customer orientation and ability to foster long-term customer relationships.
Strong interest in the work and mission of the Aspen Institute and the ability to represent the organization externally.
Collaborative spirit and willingness to work across teams to think creatively about shared goals.
Success in developing and presenting complex ideas to executive audiences and effectively articulating customer positions, status, and strategies to senior management in a clear, concise, and decisive manner.
Outstanding leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Experience working with others from different cultures and backgrounds and an unwavering commitment to advance diversity, equity and inclusion
Humble, authentic, and team player; dedication to the values of the Institute and the Leadership Division.
Knowledge of sales technology including customer relationship management (CRM), preferably Salesforce and marketing tools like Pardot.
Proficiency in MS Office Applications and CRM tools (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, TEAMS, and Microsoft Dynamics).