Sales Development Representative

Help companies turn equity from a spreadsheet headache into something their people actually understand and value.

The Optio story

Optio started in Oslo in 2018 with a simple belief: employee ownership is one of the most powerful tools a company has, and it shouldn't be buried in spreadsheets, legal PDFs and confused inboxes. We built a platform that runs the whole equity lifecycle, from plan design and grants through vesting, exercises, reporting and compliance, with our own equity specialists working alongside it.

Today we work with venture-backed scale-ups, PE-owned businesses and listed enterprises, with teams across Scandinavia, DACH, Southern Europe, Poland, the UK and South Africa, and new markets opening in Canada and Japan. The UK is one of our most important growth markets, and London is where we're building the next chapter of it.

About the role

Every company with a share plan has someone who carries it. Usually that's a CFO, a Head of Reward or an HR leader juggling a spreadsheet, a law firm, a payroll provider and a stream of employee questions. They know it could be better. They just haven't had the right conversation yet.

That's where you come in. As a Sales Development Representative, you'll be the first person from Optio many of these leaders speak to. Your job is to find them, understand what's really going on in their equity program, and open the door for our Account Executives to show them a better way.

You'll be speaking with senior decision-makers from your first week and learning a specialist market as you go. Do it well, and it's a clear route to more career paths at Optio.

What you'll do

• Run outbound prospecting across phone, email and LinkedIn, reaching CFOs, Heads of Reward, and HR leaders.

• Research accounts before you reach out, so every first touch shows you understand their business and where equity fits in it.

• Follow up on inbound interest quickly and qualify it properly, so the right opportunities move forward and the wrong ones don't waste anyone's time.

• Hold discovery conversations that uncover how a company runs its share plan today and where it's costing them time, money or trust.

• Book qualified meetings and hand them to Account Executives with the context they need to win.

• Work with Marketing on campaigns, events and messaging, and feed back what you're hearing in the market.

• Keep HubSpot accurate and current, so the whole revenue team can trust the pipeline.

• Build real knowledge of equity compensation, our platform and the market, and represent Optio at industry events.

On a typical day, you will

Start the morning with your AE, agreeing which accounts matter most this week. You'll spend a focused block researching a handful of companies, then get on the phones. One call is a quick no, another turns into a twenty-minute conversation with a Finance Director about how their last vesting date went. You'll follow up on yesterday's inbound, send a few thoughtful, personal messages, and log what you learned so nothing gets lost. Before you finish, you'll share a line that worked or an objection you heard with the team, because that's how we all get better.

Who you are

Prior SDR or sales experience helps, but it isn't required. What matters most is how you show up. You're early enough in your career to be shaped by a team that wants to invest in you, and ambitious enough to make the most of it.

• The self-starter: You build your own structure and get moving without waiting to be told.

• The curious one: You want to know how companies work, why they make the decisions they do, and what's really behind a "not right now."

• The listener: You ask good questions and hear the answer, rather than waiting for your turn to pitch.

• The qualifier: You can tell the difference between a polite chat and a real opportunity, and you're honest about which one you're looking at.

• The resilient one: A no is information, not a verdict. You pick the phone back up.

• The confident communicator: You're comfortable speaking to a CFO and you write like a person, not a sequence.

• The learner: You're coachable, you own your mistakes and you want to get very good, very quickly.

How to apply

Send us your CV and a few lines on why this role caught your eye. Our process is three conversations:

1. An introductory call with our Head of Sales Development.

2. A case interview where you'll deliver a short sales pitch to the hiring manager and an Account Executive.

3. A final conversation with our CRO.

Final note

If you're not sure you tick every box, apply anyway. We care far more about curiosity, drive and how you treat people than a perfect CV. If you want to learn a specialist market, talk to senior people every day and build a career on it, we'd love to hear from you.