Sales Account Executive

Description

With a clear passion for Capstone’s mission and a strong drive to succeed, the right candidate for this role is ready to tackle a high impact sales role, helping schools and districts leverage Capstone products in their learning community. The principal accountability of the Account Executive I is to exceed sales goals by building relationships to drive revenue growth through acquiring new customers while also nurturing and growing established accounts and customer base.

Part of the sales territory for this role will include the states of Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, and portions of Texas.

Our preference is for this role to be hybrid, based out of either our North Mankato, MN or Edina, MN locations. However, fully remote work may also be considered.

Why You’ll Want To Join Capstone

Have you ever read something that increased your understanding of the world around you? An article, a book, a research paper, a piece of local legislation, even a poem or short story?

Capstone is a mission-driven community of passionate, creative people like you who believe in the power of literacy. Our mission is to make reading fun for kids, so that they never experience literacy as the barrier that prevents them from understanding and engaging with the world around them.  

For more than 30 years, Capstone has led the way in K–5 educational publishing, creating award-winning books and digital learning experiences (PebbleGo). The information landscape has changed dramatically since we first started out in 1991, and competition for kids’ attention is at an all-time high. This changing landscape inspires our continued growth and innovation – today’s kids need trusted sources of content more than ever, but their standards for what’s considered engaging have never been higher! At Capstone, we’re excited by that challenge – are you?

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Customer Interaction & Sales

• Building a successful sales territory and own the relationships to grow our business. 
• Understanding of the K-12 market including how to operate successfully in schools and districts in your territory. This role leads decision-makers and influencers to partner and purchase Capstone print and digital solutions; navigates K12 funding and procurement processes; and has a deep understanding of local/regional/county/state education initiatives in territory. 
• Understand the products, customer needs, and competitive landscape.  
• Design and execute sales territory plans by identifying opportunities within the market, developing effective outreach strategies, and aligning with revenue goals, that includes generating new business from acquire accounts, as well as upselling and cross-selling to maximize revenue with existing accounts.  
• Developing and managing a sales pipeline that leads to closed revenue and quota attainment.
• Actively seek out new customers and markets to determine needs and appropriate use of product with prospective customers.
• Cross-functional collaboration with other sales team members and business units successfully.
• Attending relevant industry conferences and events.
• Respond effectively to customer inquiries regarding identification of needs, product recommendations, sampling of product, pricing, process, and delivery. 
• Become familiar with expert resources and interact with counterparts in the field to assist in identifying main competitors within assigned markets. 
• Build partnerships and leverage experts and executive sponsors to build new partnerships in your territory.
• Accurately record activities and results, opportunities, manage leads, additional contacts, and other details as required in the company CRM system. 

Presenting 

• Prepare and deliver customized customer demo in product based on customer need.
• Prepare and present online webinars, distribute newsletters, special email and direct mailings based on market needs. 
• Plan, attend, and set up exhibits within assigned territories, demonstrating products, and following up on sales leads. 
• Present information to appropriate individuals in marketing, content strategy, editorial, and sales leadership regarding competition, needs, and trends. Recommend new products and product modifications, including catalog proofing, catalog content, and promotion recommendations. 

Education, Experience, and Skills desired: 

• 4-year college degree desired. Post-secondary education in the areas of sales, marketing, business, or education related background desired.
• Must be able to present and relate to district- and executive-level customers while driving a winning sales process.   
• Understanding of relevant legislation and policy for assigned territories (state and federal). 
• 2+ years of sales experience.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently – self-starter.
• Team player.
• Technology savvy and loves learning new tools and processes to make us better/faster/smarter.
• Strong expertise in the K-12 educational market, including a deep understanding of the buying process, industry trends, key products, and the evolving language of educators and decision-makers.
• Persistence.
• Relationship builder.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Excellent problem-solving ability.
• PC proficiency, including internet, Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Salesforce proficiency helpful.
• Demonstrates strong sales quota achievement year over year.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to articulate complex ideas/solutions clearly and concisely.
• Advanced listening skills and ability to successfully address customer needs, pain points, objections, and inquiries and align Capstone solutions with their objectives, goals, and vision.

Travel Requirements

This position requires some travel: ~5-15%.

Inclusion & Belonging

Capstone embraces equal opportunity and a culture of belonging for all employees and applicants. We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All candidate information will be kept private according to EEO guidelines. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to [email protected]. 

The pay range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered surrounding compensation including but not limited to: skill sets, experience and training, work location, and other business and organizational needs. At Capstone, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role. A reasonable estimate of the base range for this position is $55,000 - $68,000. This role is eligible for a sales commission plan, with the annual total on-target earnings (OTE) range of $80,000 - $100,000. 

Capstone strives to provide comprehensive and market-competitive benefits to meet the needs of our employees and their families. Click here to see our benefits. 

Pre-Employment Background Check Required

California Applicants: 

Applicants from California can access our California Privacy Notice here . 

Employment Authorization: 

At this time Capstone unfortunately cannot sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa. To be considered for one of our roles, applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.