Adobe Sales Manager

Position Summary:

The Sales Manager (SM) will lead the Adobe software sales and customer success teams to achieve financial and strategic goals, create great customer experiences, and further develop both the DSS/Douglas Stewart and Adobe brands and positive reputation with resellers and education customers.

The SM reports to the VP of the DSS business unit and participates in leadership, goal-setting, and building of DSS corporate culture as a member of the leadership team.  The SM will lead a combined team of 10-20 people including 2 distinct teams – 1) Education Success Managers primarily focused on existing customer success and retention; & 2) Business Development Managers focused on new business.  Collaborating with Adobe management and supporting their goals and business requirements are critical aspect of the SM position.

Overview of Essential Duties / Functions:

Execution

• Lead the team to achieve quarterly and annual targets for gross margin, revenue, and active use
• Manage pipeline – track, forecast, identify gaps and mitigation, and communicate sales pipeline vs targets
• Deliver team performance on annual planned initiatives and strategic goals with the evaluation and report of progress
• Assist team to present to customers and win strategic sales opportunities  
• Present business results and initiatives to sales team, DSS executive leadership as well as Adobe management
• Develop and communicate vision and expectation levels to team members relating them to DSS and Adobe strategic direction and values
• Assist team in building strategic sales plans for their focus accounts and review progress regularly
• Manage expenses vs budgets for team T&E and training

Planning & training

• Create and implement training plans for the sales team recognizing achievement towards knowledge and competency standards
• Create and deploy and continuously refine the business model for understanding and creating the appropriate customer and product segmentation to achieve business goals
• Determine the individuals in the roles, monitor and constantly improve team performance within the given team structure
• Utilize modern communication tools (web conference calls, online collaboration tools, etc.) regularly and efficiently to maintain strong flow of communication with local and remote team members
• Collaborate with leadership in the annual planning and budget process contributing to the creation of the revenue and gross margin forecast
• Work with leadership on compensation plan design and tracking for the sales team

Partnering

• Create great relationships with Adobe management, staff and strategic customers and reseller partners
• Travel to meet with partners estimated = 10% of total time spent traveling at industry trade shows, customer visits, and Adobe training or business meetings
• Other related duties as assigned.

Major Areas of Accountability:

• Drive pipeline process to achieve sales and revenue goals
• Consistently provide feedback and communication to team members related to individual, team performance.
• Participate in planning.
• Partner with other departments to achieve overall company business goals and objectives.
• Make operating decisions needed to achieve business results.
• Regularly interface with the “market” – customers and resellers to be the voice of the customer to DSS and Adobe.

 Education / Experience:

• Sales leadership and senior selling experience within a B2B environment
• Experience with and deep understanding of IT channel partner business model and SAAS software
• Proven ability to motivate and lead teams
• Education industry/customer experience preferred but not required
• Track record of delivering successful business results in a similar role
• Proficiency with communication technology tools (live video web conferencing, online collaboration tools, instant messaging, etc.)
• CRM tools – Salesforce or others
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, set priorities and make informed decisions
• Bachelors degree preferred or equivalent experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to identify and solve problems

 Personal Characteristics:

• Quick learner
• Driven to succeed
• Adaptable
• Team player

 Physical Requirements

• This position requires the ability to occasionally move throughout the office to access file cabinets, office equipment, etc.
• Consistently operates a computer and other office equipment
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the work-day
• Ability to travel to tradeshow or customer events

Compensation

• Compensation will be a combination of base salary plus commissions tied to sales targets/quotas.