Job Description

Cision employs the brightest, most passionate people in the tech industry. We’d love for you to join our growing team! We invest in our people through training and professional development while supporting you along the way—all so you can meet your career goals. To us, the most important measure of our success is yours.

This role oversees and manages the execution of the Sales strategy and drives growth within assigned markets through the delivery of exemplary client service for product offerings. This job manages a comprehensive portfolio and leads and motivates the team to develop a high performing culture that consistently acquires, retains and achieves projected top line revenue goals in alignment with the overall organizational strategy

Duties & Responsibilities:

Leads, coaches and manages 3 -7 employees and activities to execute strategic selling to attain or surpass annual sales targets. Directly supervises and motivates the Account Executive, Senior Account Executive, and/or Strategic Account Director and makes all hiring, performance management and disciplinary decisions for these roles.
Develops and implements a comprehensive business plan/strategy for the assigned market in alignment with the organization's business goals, objectives and sales targets utilizing prescribed methodologies and tools. Works closely with Sales Operations and the Client Engagement team to leverage Cision’s evolving product and technology developments and proactively monitor industry trends and best practices to enhance overall service delivery and client experience.
Orchestrates the ongoing monitoring and reporting of clients’ sales performance analytics in alignment to projected sales growth. Drives accurate, relevant and timely performance metrics/reporting for the clients’ senior management and C-Suite leaders to facilitate accurate forecasts, effective planning and sound business decisions.
Develops, fosters and sustains key alliances with strategic partners enabling organizations to best understand customers' brand, competition and challenges, and anticipates changing business priorities to optimize account growth.
Grows the portfolio through proactive new business development, account assignment, right-selling of appropriate service/products to clients and collaborates with colleagues and internal stakeholders to train account executives to identify prospects, analyze, mitigate and resolve clients’ business/service challenges.
Leads and oversees the execution of all phases of the sales process including but not limited to; facilitating prospect training with other applicable members of support teams, creation of proposals, contract negotiations, client presentations, service level agreements, onboarding, renewals and final close.
Champions activities when partnering with internal support teams to streamline processes and shorten the sales cycle.
Liaises with industry associations and actively networks for new business opportunities.
Performs other duties as required.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Media Relations, Communications, PR/Marketing, Investor Relations or a related field is required.
Minimum of 8 – 10 years experience in sales account management across multidiscipline industries is required with at least 3 - 5 years' experience leading successful sales teams. Expertise within a global media distribution organization is a strong asset.
Requires working knowledge of Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and Freedom of Information and Privacy Act and Regulatory Filing (Canada).
In-depth knowledge and proven track record of success with SaaS sales and/or cloud methodology is required. Exposure to Miller Heiman or similar sales methodologies is an asset.
In-depth exposure and success attaining sales targets and building the sales pipeline.
In-depth expertise with Salesforce or similar CRM platform coupled with reporting capabilities.
Advanced and demonstrated ability to build relationships, persuade and influence clients, C-Suite executives, leaders and stakeholders. Comprehensive expertise and exposure to social media and digital marketing initiatives.
Advanced analytical skills and creative problem-solving skills, including negotiation and conflict resolution.
Advanced time management, attention to detail and organizational skills. Adaptable and flexible with an ability to respond to changing work priorities, pressure and demands.
Advanced listening and verbal communication skills, interpersonal skills, a consensus and relationship builder with a collaborative leadership style.
Champions the latest sales methodologies, tools, best practices and processes in the industry / marketplace.
Ability to work independently and as a member of a team.
In-depth knowledge of MS Office Suite is preferred, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Working knowledge of web conferencing tools like Zoom.
Fluency in English & French, written and oral is an asset