Are you ready to jump-start a career that will put you on a path with a purpose? Do you love coaching reps and building teams? Are you insightful, helpful, inspiring, and driven? zlien is looking for an SDR manager which will be a vital leadership role within our growing sales organization.

We empower contractors to always get what they earn, and it’s our cause to kill liens, slow payment, and bad outcomes. Our software platform makes lien rights in the construction industry simple, so contractors and suppliers can complete projects on time and with the peace of mind that they are going to get paid. As the SDR manager, you will be responsible for developing new hires and SDRs into successful contributors and future leaders at zlien.

zlien’s sales team has grown significantly in the last year, and we expect this growth to continue over the next 5 years. In that time we will hire young reps, we will hire experienced reps, we will hire managers into the company, and we will certainly promote within the company. We expect the revenue to grow in-step with the team’s growth, and we are looking to our Sales Managers to steward that growth as the pillars of the sales organization.

The SDR Manager position in Austin is an exciting opportunity for an aspiring sales leader to fill an important gap in the zlien sales leadership team. The manager in Austin is responsible for coaching and training new hires to drive pipeline and ensure revenue growth. This role is the fountainhead for the sales organization with direct influence over each new rep’s contribution to revenue and team culture.

Why zlien?

zlien is one of the South's fastest-growing tech companies with 100% growth year over year. Named City Business “Best Places to Work,” “Top Company Culture” by Entrepreneur Magazine, and voted best company for leadership, perks and benefits, work-life balance, and professional development as well as best CEO for woman and diversity by Comparably.

Why you will love coming to work every day:

We push ourselves to break records and to drive the growth of the company while we celebrate wins and have fun every day. We will invest in you, we will challenge you, and we will push you to grow. You will be surrounded by the best colleagues and given the opportunity to shake up a billion dollar industry.

• We care where you will be in 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years and we're invested to help you get there.
• You're joining a stellar team where you can have a huge impact and help us change the world.
• We have a very competitive health benefits package and a fun office environment with music playing all day long.
• We have monthly company parties and catered lunch every Wednesday.
• We offer unlimited vacation and an annual personal travel stipend.

Responsibilities of the SDR Manager
 

Coach - zlien has a culture of continuing education and intellectual curiosity. It is the sales managers’ responsibility to foster that culture of learning through direct coaching on the front lines. The team is hungry for knowledge and is eager to improve professionally, and the manager is the custodian of each team members’ professional growth. This requires deliberate coaching in 1:1 sessions, in group settings, and indirectly through tools like ExecVision, Slack, Salesforce or Salesloft. The coaching topics covered by the manager include prospecting, discovery, objection handling, ideal customer profiles, sales demo certification, closing techniques, and much more. The manager provides feedback on strengths and growth areas, gives reps external resources to learn from, and creates an environment that is consistent with the core values of the company.

Example activities: 1:1 call coaching, call shadowing, demo shadowing, group coaching sessions, pipeline reviews.

Motivate - Sales is a turbulent profession. There are good days and bad days, good months and bad months. The sales manager guides his team through the bumps, keeps the energy high, and keeps the morale positive and steady. Over-performing reps and under-performing reps alike need leadership to maintain focus for the team to execute its plan. The sales manager is responsible for steering the emotional wheel of his sales team, and to drive the team through the highs and lows that are so common in the sales cycle. This requires vision and conviction about the direction of the company and of the team, and it requires innovation to design creative ways to keep the mood light and the environment fun. The manager is on the sales floor, running sales competitions, recognizing good performance, sussing out negative influences, and inspiring individuals to take on new challenges and to expand their skill set.

Example activities: sales competitions, set individual and team goals, team building events and celebrations.

Drive Production - zlien’s sales team is scaling by building a team of reps who repeatedly hit and exceed their quotas. Our target time to ramp up a new sales rep is 4 months, this is a priority to achieving our goals. The sales manager works closely with new reps to help them achieve their individual targets and milestones through their tenure at zlien. Reps that fall below target are expected to be coached to production. Performance is directly related to effort and activity, and the sales manager is responsible for maintaining high performance for his team.

Example activities: monitor rep player cards, coach poor performers, lean into high performers for production, pipeline reviews.

Build the Sales Machine - As zlien scales its sales team, the sales manager has the opportunity to influence how the sales machine is built. This requires strategic thinking on the direction of the sales organization, the go-to-market strategies employed by the sales and marketing teams, the economics of the business and how it is affected by investment in sales growth, and much more. The sales manager is expected to identify gaps in the organization and bring insights to the sales leadership team that lead to positive impacts on the growth of the team and of the company.

Example Activities: salesloft cadence design, lead distribution workflow, target market design, team structure, forecasting, establish KPIs, design dashboards.

Hire the Right People - Perhaps the most important responsibility of the sales manager is to recruit and evaluate potential new hires. The sales manager is part of the hiring team and is on the front lines of choosing who joins the team and who does not. This requires a leader’s approach to identify the characteristics that are most important to hire for and refining processes that elevate the candidates that are the best fit. To the contrary, the sales manager is also responsible for identifying existing reps who are a poor fit for the team, and evaluating whether zlien should continue to invest in the rep or if the rep should be terminated.

Example Activities: interview, prepare interview questions, establish candidate criteria, recruit passive candidates, evaluate performance, hire, fire, put a rep on a performance improvement plan.

As an SDR Manager You Will:
 

• Lead a team of SDRs to identify qualified opportunities and to book meetings for the sales team.
• Run sales contests and spiff
• 1:1 call coaching for reps - objection handling, setting the meeting, etc.
• Group coaching sessions and training presentations
• Pipeline reviews and forecasting team production
• Setting individual and team goals
• Organizing and executing team events and celebrations
• Monitor rep player cards and coach underperformers into solid production
• Interview prospective sales candidates, participate as a member of the hiring team in developing the candidate criteria and recruit passive candidates.
• Evaluate performances by monitoring reports and uphold a culture of sales excellence through performance plans and terminations

What does it take to do this job?

• 3+ years of front-line sales experience, preferably in the tech space and/or media sales
• 1+ year of management and leadership experience required
• Expertise in sales tools; salesforce.com, Salesloft or Outreach preferred
• Detailed understanding of sales processes, sales reporting including sales forecasting, territory planning & management required
• Self-confident with the ability to work with and influence senior management
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships, gaining trust and confidence as a strategic partner from all levels within the organization
• Very strong work ethic and team player with a positive “figure it out, do what it takes” attitude
• Strong problem solving, organizational, and communication skills
• An understanding of IT technologies / IT pros and how they like to work, communicate, learn, and have fun
• Grace under fire (you can make critical decisions and problem solve amid chaos)