Sales Manager

Position Summary:

As a leading educational publisher, CGP Education currently seeks an experienced Sales Manager (SM) to play a vital role within our California team.

The company is based in Irvine, CA and the candidate will be expected to work both in the Irvine based office and the field.

This is a key role within the organization. The ideal candidate will enter CGP Education in this role with the goal of advancing to Director of Sales within 12 months. This will give the individual the time to learn the company, culture and customers prior to being held accountable for managing and developing the entire Sales department.

Position Responsibilities:

  • Assume the role as the lead of the field sales team and a senior member of corporate management. Eventually, lead the creation of field strategy, policy and implementation to the field staff.
  • Serve as the primary field staff contact and resource. Address questions or needs, promote sound strategy and support team in key customer meetings and presentations and overall, raise the level and credibility of our field team.
  • Accountability of managing the field team and market opportunities to assure that all sales goals are achieved. Constantly travel with field reps, open challenging doors and overcome obstacles to assure that CGP is successful.
  • Assume the role as the lead "voice" of the field and market to the rest of the management team. Communicate opportunities, obstacles and possible courses of action to management in an efficient and professional manner, while also being a problem solver.
  • Leverage existing county, district and school contacts to effectively position CGP Education, our product and our services as a premier provider in California.
  • Have a strong grasp of finance, ROI, budgeting and short/mid/long term strategic planning and execution.
  • Be extremely knowledgeable in multiple sales and relationship building strategies and have the capability to effectively execute or train others on these skills.
  • Provide feedback and consultation to the management team, based on previous experience and acquired market feedback, on specifics that assist in the development of a winning team and products.
  • Create accurate and detailed reports (both verbal and written) for the U.S. Management team.
  • Collaborate with the U.S. Management team to help create the strongest support materials that may be used within the market during appointments, training sessions, conferences, etc.
  • Demonstrate an ability to prioritize duties and multi-task in an efficient and effective manner.
  • Travel within the state, as needed, up to 75% of the time.

The Type of Person We Are Looking For:

  • Intelligent, creative and innovative. We need someone with a lot of experience, but who is also entrepreneurial and not set in a single way of thinking.
  • Someone who knows a lot about sales, customer relations and management, and what it will take to provide the above in a top quality, efficient and cost effective manner. Someone who also prefers to say "I don't know" rather than acting like they have all of the answers already.
  • An individual that believes that sales and management is an "art" and more about effective communication, good examples and hard work. Someone who first, would be willing to do anything that they would ask their team to do.
  • A person who already has a bit of a "following". Has connections at districts, has a successful track record already and knows who to call when we don't have the answers.
  • Not afraid to roll up their sleeves and do what is necessary for our success. This role will involve many facets and layers of responsibility and will only grow when the entire department begins becoming successful in its own right.
  • Hard working, easy to get along with, a team player. Commands respect, but also provides it to our customers and staff.
  • Someone with amazing attention to detail, has a broad, problem solving view of a project and can take something from beginning to end with minimal oversight.
  • Someone with terrific communications skills and the ability to lead a sales team.
  • This person may or may not have held a senior role within a company yet, but has the background, attitude, aptitude and drive to move into such a position.
  • Someone that we can rely on, trust, be challenged by and can hold a healthy debate. Someone who will be viewed as a senior level employee and ultimately, manage and be responsible for a revenue generating department. Someone who our entire company will also see as a competent resource and can work well with.
  • This is a unique market with no shortcuts to a successful sale. We are looking for someone preferably with a background in sales and education.
  • A person with excellent computer skills including Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and ACT.

The Type of Person That We DON'T Want:

  • Someone lacking confidence, who needs a lot of hand holding or does not have the ability to lead a project.
  • A "salesy" person who believes that they can "sell anything" or that price has anything to do with sales.
  • Someone who constantly looks for "short cuts" to success rather than just buckling down and working hard.
  • A person who believes that they already know it all or has a clear idea about the "right way" or "only way" to do something.
  • Someone hard to get along with, who has difficulty assessing their surroundings or having a clear idea of where they stand with people.
  • A person who likes routine, predicable, structured or corporate environments.
  • Someone who is just looking for a job or a paycheck.
  • Someone who isn't passionate about education, who doesn't like to have a little bit of fun in their job or is a bit too sensitive about a good joke now and then!

How to Apply

The SM position requires a unique blend of diverse experience, intelligent competitiveness, and a desire to constantly learn. This is a fabulous opportunity for an educational sales professional who would like to take their experience to the next level. If you want to be involved with creating something great that will improve and serve the education community for generations to come, please email a 1-page cover letter explaining why you're perfect for CGP and a resume with salary expectations to hr@cgpeducation.com.

The compensation package for this position includes a highly competitive salary, car allowance, annual incentive plan, 100% company paid medical/dental/vision, retirement plan, expense allowances and more!

If this sounds like a place and position for you, we would love to hear from you!