Vice President, Sales

To Apply: VPMarketing610@bzzagent.com

Date Posted: Monday August 09, 2010

Company: BzzAgent

Location: Boston, MA

COMPANY

BzzAgent activates and sustains influential, brand-relevant dialogues offline and across social media.  Our 650,000+ consumer volunteers have participated in more than 1,000 word-of-mouth campaigns for many of the world’s most recognized brands including Philips, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Our trend-setting business was a New York Times Magazine cover story, and has also been covered by The Economist, the BBC, CBS News and National Public Radio.  For more information on the company, visit www.bzzagent.com.

POSITION

The Vice President of Sales will be responsible for meeting—and exceeding—BzzAgent’s sales targets, and being the lead force behind our continued growth.  This will be accomplished by managing and inspiring our team of accomplished Business Development Directors, and managing all aspects of the team’s work across prospecting, lead management, driving to deal closure and relationship expansion.  The VP of Sales will be a hands-on role, with an expectation that they will also manage their own portfolio of accounts, acting as a “player/manager” where appropriate.  The position reports to the President, and will involve daily, hands-on interaction with the President, CEO and Executive Team to help shape and grow our exciting business.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The VP of Sales will have the following responsibilities:

Sales Strategy
•    Refinement and optimization of our current prospect/client targeting strategy.  The VP of Sales will manage the overall
     portfolio of named accounts, and ensure that our sales resources are deployed against the most productive verticals,
     clients, and channels (client direct and agencies)
•    Setting quarterly sales targets in alignment with the President and CEO, and providing regular guidance on actual and
     predicted delivery against those goals.  The VP of Sales will play a hands-on role in preparing summary data presented to
     the Board of Directors on sales metrics, key themes learned from the marketplace, and expectations setting
•    Working hand-in-hand with Marketing and Product staff to play an active role in the evolution (and execution) of our
     offerings.  Skilled at being a constructive, cross-capability leader to evolve the company’s product set

Team Management
•    Management of our experienced base of sales reps (Business Development Directors), providing guidance, counsel and
     motivation to ensure their account portfolios are maximized to their potential and that sales targets are met
•    Setting and optimizing sales reps’ territory coverage plans, individual quarterly revenue targets and ongoing commission
     structure  
•    Management of sales operations (directly or as assigned), including tracking pipeline status, operational metrics (e.g.,
     days-to-close, ratio of active accounts per rep, etc.); includes liaising with VP/Finance to ensure regular financial reporting
     goals are met
•    Training and mentoring sales team, ensuring ongoing learning agenda across core sales skills, updates on key market
     trends (e.g., social media, digital media), etc.
•    Recruiting and hiring strategy as we expand and grow our business

Client and Market-Facing Roles
•    Management of own portfolio of key accounts, to both directly generate sales for the company and to serve as “real
     world” input for refining our offerings, crafting rebuttals and evolving our offering
•    Participation in account-specific activities (e.g., guidance on selling strategy and proposal writing, attending key client
     meetings)
•    Active listening role with prospects, clients and the broader market to recognize demand, understand where our
     solutions are delivering and identifying where opportunities exist to evolve existing offerings
•    Presenting at client events, conferences, panels, etc., to promote the BzzAgent brand and further our strong brand in
     the marketplace

DESIRED KNOWLEDGE

•    Experience managing a sales team within the social media, WOM marketing, new media and/or traditional Media Sales
     environment
•    Experience setting sales team goals, commission structures, individual plans
•    Experience in managing a broad portfolio of staff and accounts with accountability for overall sales targets
•    Comfort in working with a senior management team to help set (and achieve/exceed) sales targets, and provide regular,
     strategic updates on progress
•    Highly knowledgeable and passionate in social media developments and trends
•    Experience with opening doors and engaging executives in companies similar to BzzAgent’s current and prospective
     client companies
•    Success in a start-up business
•    Experience selling to VP/SVP level at major B2C marketers; comfortable acting as senior sponsor to give air cover to reps
•    Knowing the sales process—how to guide the team on developing leads, handling objections, moving deals at a rapid
     pace to close, managing accounts and nurturing existing relationships

QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

Ideal candidates will demonstrate successful experience with the responsibilities detailed above, and will possess many if not all of the following important traits:

•    Minimum of 10+ years experience in executive level sales management
•    Proven success with consultative sales—both advising clients directly and also at serving as a coach
•    Proven B2C sales skills (hunting, developing and closing skills), preferably (but not necessarily) in the development and
     sales of advertising/marketing/social media programs
•    Proven experience identifying high value partnerships, conducting sophisticated business interactions and initiating
     relationships at executive level  
•    Track record of successfully managing the development of complex mission critical sales initiatives
•    A highly motivated individual with prior track record at exceeding individual achievement records (such as President’s
     Club, Top Producer, Exceed Quota, etc.)
•    Proven ability to execute in fluid, less structured environments

ATTRIBUTES

•    Highly motivating, energetic personality able to quarterback a team and inspire those around them
•    Entrepreneurial, self-motivated mentality; driven at all times to meet and exceed goals
•    Passionate about WOM and social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) and conversant in latest industry trends and tools
•    Ability to both deliver output independently and collaborate well across functional areas
•    Strong listening skills that enable understanding client needs and delivering tailored marketing solutions
•    Capable of articulating core conceptual ideas in a succinct and easy conversational manner
•    Strong interpersonal skills enabling quick consensus and decision-making
•    Strong leadership skills that foster team work and instill our firm values of a transparent culture
•    Ability to build long-term client relationships built on a deep understanding of the client’s business and marketing goals
•    Enthusiasm to be a strong social media and WOM evangelist with clients and the broader marketplace

EDUCATION

We don’t care where you went to school. 

COMPENSATION
 
Compensation for this position will be competitive and commensurate with skills and experience; compensation will include base salary, commission-related bonuses, the possibility of earned stock options, paid vacation, health, dental, 401(k) and many other perks.

HOW TO APPLY  
 
Please visit our website at www.bzzagent.com and click on Careers, or e-mail your Word or PDF-formatted resume to VPMarketing610@bzzagent.com.   No recruiters, please, and no phone calls, fax or e-mail inquiries.  Regrettably, only candidates selected for next steps will be contacted.  Equal opportunity employer.