Sales Development Representative

About the role

The Sales Development Representative generates qualified sales opportunities with organizations in an assigned territory or segment: either government grantmaking or a hybrid segment for corporate CSR and enterprise nonprofit grantmakers. The role researches target accounts, identifies the stakeholders responsible for grant and application programs or CSR initiatives, starts and nurtures conversations with them, and schedules qualified meetings for Account Executives.

The role works closely with Account Executives on account plans and follow-up, including prospects with longer buying cycles. Accurate qualification and timely, relevant outreach help organizations find better ways to run the programs that serve their communities.

Key responsibilities

• Prospect into target organizations in the assigned territory or segment, researching each account to identify the stakeholders most likely to own grant, funding, or application program needs.
• Run outbound outreach by phone, email, and social channels to start conversations with target stakeholders, working toward the activity and meeting goals set for the role.
• Conduct discovery conversations to understand each prospect’s program challenges, and qualify opportunities against Submittable’s criteria before scheduling meetings for Account Executives.
• Nurture prospects who are not yet ready to engage or who have longer buying processes, following plans agreed with Account Executives so follow-up stays timely and consistent.
• Answer prospect questions promptly and accurately, and bring in an Account Executive when a question goes beyond the role’s scope.
• Build and maintain working knowledge of Submittable’s platform and how its features address prospects’ needs.
• Keep prospect, account, and activity records accurate and current in the CRM and sales engagement tools to support pipeline tracking and smooth handoffs.
• Share prospect feedback and suggest improvements to messaging, outreach sequences, and processes with the Sales Development team.

Skills & Competencies

• 1+ year of experience in sales development, business development, inside sales, or a similar role with outbound prospecting and meeting goals.
• Working experience with a CRM and a sales engagement platform; experience with Salesforce, Salesloft, and Gong preferred.
• Familiarity with the industries in the assigned territory or segment and how organizations in them make purchasing decisions, preferred.
• Prospecting and qualification: researches accounts to find the right stakeholders, asks discovery questions that uncover a prospect’s needs, and books meetings that meet agreed qualification criteria.
• Communication: writes clear, concise outreach and holds phone conversations tailored to each prospect’s role and organization.
• Handling objections: responds to questions and concerns with accurate information, and follows up on anything that can’t be answered right away.
• Collaboration: works with Account Executives on account plans, shares complete notes at each handoff, and follows through on agreed next steps.
• Organization: manages a high volume of outreach and follow-up across many accounts, prioritizes by account potential and timing, and tracks commitments to completion.
• Learning and feedback: asks for feedback, applies it, and adjusts outreach based on results.