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Administration

Sales Associate

Through both telephone and mail-based efforts, Sales Associates (SAs) schedule live business meetings (or “visits”) for an Associate Director of Sales (ADs) to discuss our research agenda with senior executives. By “opening the door” for their ADs to bring an executive onboard as a member, the SAs are rewarded with an immediate and powerful sense of accomplishment, as well as an understanding of their direct impact on CEB’s bottom line.

Responsibilities Include

  • Achieve a set monthly goal of live business meetings for an AD through presentation and persuasion tactics.
  • Manage a territory of prospective members using an internal database.
  • Generate additional leads through external sources.
  • Collaborate with the Research and Member Services departments when faced with potential cross- selling opportunities.
  • Involvement with closing techniques and strategies with ADs.
  • Provide administrative support to ADs.

The Ideal Candidate Will Possess:

  • Ownership for attaining performance goals
  • Results-oriented drive and a solid work ethic
  • Ability to communicate effectively
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Excellent time management and prioritization skills
  • Interest in developing relationships with corporate executives
  • A strong academic record
  • Superior poise and judgment Strong service ethic

A Day in the Life of a Sales Associate

The “average day” of the Sales Associate (SA) is centered on communication efforts with prospective members. In addition to time spent networking, SAs will find two other constants to their days: prospective member research and support to their Associate Directors (ADs).

Already this week, I scheduled three visits for my AD, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work against my monthly goal today. My mornings tend to be very productive so I decided to get in few minutes early today. I find that executives are more likely to be in their offices and answering phone calls before the working day technically begins. After looking over my prospective members to contact, I decide to try to get in touch with one CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) in particular. I had spoken with him about a week ago, and sent him some samples of our MLC (Marketing Leadership Council) research that I thought would be particularly interesting to him considering the merger that his organization is going through. He had instructed me to get back in touch in a week or so. I end up getting his voice mail, so I leave a message telling him that I will follow up with an email as well. As soon as I hang up the phone, I also send him an e-mail outlining the voice mail message I left.

I continue to spend the first part of my morning working toward scheduling my next meeting, but find I keep getting voice mail. I implement the same strategy as I used on the first call, providing a time that I’ll call the executive back, and follow up with an e-mail stating the same information.

At 10:30, I have a pull-up with my team and Sales Associate Manager (SAM). My SAM goes over the visit goals for the entire Sales Department for the rest of the week, and we talk about how our team is going to contribute. My SAM has asked two of the tenured SAs to tell the team about the strategies that they using this week to exceed their visit numbers. One of the SAs is calling executives to inform them of our upcoming teleconference on Brand Development to see if they are interested in hearing more about our research from their Associate Director.

Our meeting lasts about 15 minutes, and as I’m walking back to my cube, the newest person on my team approaches me. She’s having trouble scheduling her visits, and would like some advice from me. I’m more than happy to spend some time talking with her about how I’ve been incorporating our latest research material into my scripting.

After chatting for a few minutes with my new teammate, I check my voice mail. I have a message from my AD, who has been on the road for three days straight. He’s enlisting me to help him out with some follow-up work he wants to get out by the end of the day. I want him to bring these executives onboard almost as much as he does. I spend the rest of my morning sending out e-mails, voice mails and mailings to the executives he had visited earlier in the week.

After lunch, it’s time to pick up the phone again and start calling these executives. I manage to get in touch with a CMO I've been trying to get ahold of for three weeks. She’s pretty unfamiliar with CEB and only has a few minutes to talk, so it’s up to me to articulate the value of becoming part of our MLC program in a very short period of time.

Luckily, before I got on the phone, I did my homework and am able to impress her with my knowledge of her company. I’m also able to tie one of the problems she’s been facing as the CMO with some of MLC’s recent research. She accepts a business meeting with my AD on the spot for the next week. After I hang up the phone, I draft an e-mail to send out to my team to announce my AD's visit.

I spend the later part of my afternoon doing follow-up phone calls and e-mails to executives that my AD has already met with. I managed to schedule a few phone conversations for my AD to have when he is back in the office at the end of the week.

It’s 4:30, and the day is starting to wind down. It’s time to spend the last hour of my day following up from what I did in the very beginning- calling the executives I had emailed last week. I don’t get anyone on the phone, but I’m not discouraged. As my early afternoon visit proved, you never know when you’ll catch someone on the phone and schedule a visit. I work to wrap up my day, and head up to the Penthouse of the building, where the sales department is having a happy hour for a few hours. It is always fun and encouraging to hear some of the stories that my team members have had this week.

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