Territory Sales Manager - Higher Education

Specialist, Sales (Kolkata)

Territory Manager - Sales, Higher Education, India
Base Location: Kolkata (This role is subject to relocations as per business requirement)
Reports to: Cluster Business Manager, Sales

Why We Need You

• Pearson India is looking for a Specialist, Sales (Territory Manager - Sales) as part of Higher Education, India business, who will be responsible for growing sales of Pearson’s portfolio of courseware, digital and service solutions for Higher Education disciplines. 
• We are seeking a collaborative sales representative who demonstrates positive energy, initiative, and seeks to be on the front lines of driving and supporting teaching and learning innovation and helping institutions meet the necessary educational outcomes of access, achievement, and affordability to increase student success. 
• To be successful in this role, you must possess a need for achievement, have demonstrated success in meeting or exceeding goals, be comfortable with digital media, and have a passion for education.
• This is a remote position with approximately 80% travel requirement including and not limited to travel to local college campuses, institutes, channel partners and Pearson offices.

What You Will Do

• Responsible for revenue generation through acquiring new business accounts via prospecting, qualifying, negotiating, selling and closing sales of Courseware and Digital Higher Education Courseware & Digital product Portfolio through direct institutional sales and channel sales.
• Protect revenue and deliver up-sale targets with existing customers by developing strong account relationship and engaging with customer base successfully.
• Build strong customer relationship with the faculty members, Head of the Department, Board of Studies members, librarians and placement officers.
• Conduct digital product demos with prospective customers and efficient sampling of courseware (print tittles) portfolio in line with business seasonality.
• Responsible for timely payment collection as per the business schedules.
• Develop and manage an efficient distribution channel to improve sales performance.
• Conduct market research to understand competitors and market trends to position Pearson product with competitive advantage.
• Develop and maintain accurate and timely tracking and forecasting in OneCRM (salesforce.com).
• Demonstrate excellent organizational and follow up abilities from order to delivery and payment collection process in coordination with multiple stakeholders.
• Plan and conduct campus visits consistently and optimize each visit by meeting multiple stakeholders per visit.
• Maintain daily call ratio of 10 calls per day.
• Employ effective consultative sales techniques (including pre-call planning, productive questioning strategies, effective matching and closing) that lead to winning the business.
• Involve actively in Market Storm and new product launch initiatives. Execute promotional strategies defined by the Marketing team to attract more customers.
• Work collaboratively with cross functions not limited to customer success, subject matter experts, and operations to ensure the highest levels of faculty satisfaction are delivered and maintained.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of Pearson products, platforms and capabilities.
• Stay abreast of issues impacting the educational industry and factors influencing the market environment.
• Demonstrate collaboration by sharing successful tactics across the district, region and nationally.
  Prepare timely reports for sales review meetings and business updates.

Who We Are Looking For

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and successful work experience. Having an MBA degree will be an advantage.
• A minimum of 4 years of exceptional sales performance in the higher education market or related industry.
• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office tools, mobile technologies, computer applications and business systems like ERP/Sales Force.

Essential Skill and Attributes

• Strong commercial awareness; possess highly developed skills in decision-making, persuasion, influencing, presentation, Product Demo, and negotiation.
• Team player with a positive attitude and commitment to exceeding sales objectives.
• Established relationships with high-level decision makers in local territory/regions.
• Knowledge of higher education institutes preferred.
• Have the credibility, experience, and judgement to operate effectively across different levels in the organization and internal stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills: ability to define problems, collect details data, analyze, and interpret results and recommend changes and improvements.
• Resilient and able to perform under demanding, business environment and competitive market.
• Possesses Growth Mindset, positive energy, ability to navigate fast-paced business environment.
• Initiative-taking; self-directed, highly organized with ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.
• Change agility – able to adapt quickly and lead others through change.
• Learning agility – aptitude for learning new technologies and skills.

Key Relationships (Internal)
Line Manager, Regional Manager, Business Head, Marketing Team, Product Team, Supply Chain Team, Customer Support, Finance Control Team, Account Relationship Manager (Digital)

Key Relationships (External)
Channel Partners & Distributors, Retailers, Deans, Faculty Members, Librarians (HE / Test Prep), Institute Heads/Directors, Authors (occasionally), Board of Studies members

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