Account Executive – New York, NY or surrounding area

Excelsior University is an accredited, not-for-profit university with a main campus in Albany, New York and an educational site in St. Petersburg, Florida. The institution has been delivering on its mission to provide educational opportunities to students since 1971, particularly welcoming learners from diverse backgrounds who may not see themselves reflected in traditional higher education. Excelsior is committed to student support and academic excellence.

The Center for Executive and Professional Education (CEPE) at Excelsior University supports individuals and organizations across the full employee lifecycle through partnership programs managed by Strategic Partnership and Alliance and Center for Leadership (C4L) teams. The Center delivers programming in three key areas: career readiness and workforce essentials; professional and career advancement; and executive leadership and education.

About the role

Reporting to the Senior Director of the Center for Leadership, the account executive is responsible for business-to-business consultative sales and key account management. The role requires outstanding relationship building and consultative selling skills combined with the ability to hit and exceed sales and profitability targets. This position may require regional and national travel, including weekends and overnight.

This position is for a candidate located in New York, NY or surrounding areas. The employee will work remotely with weekly travel to local businesses to develop new clients.

Responsibilities

• In conjunction with the Senior Director for C4L, set aggressive yet achievable sales targets and a detailed annual sales plan aimed at achieving these targets.
• Prospect, acquire, and retain high-value client engagements.
• Use performance consulting skills to diagnose client needs and propose educational solutions with business impact.
• Lead key accounts to achieve and maintain required levels of client satisfaction, revenue, profitability, and margins.
• Forecast sales pipeline and manage time and activities to address pipeline fluctuations.
• Utilize value-based pricing to establish the Center for Leadership as a high-value, differentiated brand.
• Convert marketing qualified leads into sales opportunities.
• Inform the development of campaigns to reach target markets in efficient and effective ways.
• Leverage partnerships, faculty, and external relationships to generate leads and additions to the Excelsior University learning community.
• Use social media (e.g., LinkedIn) to make connections and generate leads.
• Deliver on revenue, margin, and client satisfaction metrics, adjusting processes and policies as needed based on market demand and goal achievement.
• Leverage digital tools such as Salesforce and ZoomInfo to support growth.
• Support a community of practice with talent/learning and business leaders through targeted outreach and events.
• Develop relationships across the university to align C4L initiatives with institutional priorities and academic offerings.
• Collaborate with other CEPE, C4L, and SPA team members to ensure best use of resources and best practices.
• Ensure consistency with Excelsior’s brand to deliver a consistent, branded, and accurate message.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• 5+ years of sales experience, preferably in talent and leadership development consulting and B2B sales.
• Passion for helping leaders excel and improving business outcomes.
• Business development, account leadership, and large sale closing skills.
• Capability and experience in working with senior executives from major corporations.
• Knowledge and relationships within Human Resources, Learning and Development, and Organizational Development fields preferred.
• Demonstrable success leveraging consultative sales methods and practices.
• Knowledge and experience in working with a variety of industries, or ability to quickly assimilate information about diverse industries and business models.
• Proven track record of sales in the professional services industry.
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Demonstrated capability in leveraging social media (e.g., LinkedIn) to make connections and generate leads.
• Ability to use Salesforce CRM preferred.
• Understanding and experience with account management and new business development.
• Closing skills in line with a high-level sales process in professional services.
• Learning and development industry experience preferred.
• Ability and desire to work with multiple, diverse stakeholders across complex organizations and recognize opportunities for growth.
• Strong project management experience and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks effectively.
• Demonstrated creativity, enthusiasm, and openness to innovation.
• Ability to master a wide body of knowledge and information.
• Strong interpersonal, oral, written communication, and presentation skills.
• Organizational, analytical, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to excel working fully remote or hybrid in a professional, private, and quiet workspace managing multiple priorities and meeting deadlines.
• Ability to review/prepare accurate detailed documents.
• Self-disciplined with proven ability to work independently and with initiative to successfully achieve goals and objectives.
• Ability to travel, including conference attendance, partner/student engagements, off-site meetings, occasional weekend/evening hours, and overnight travel.
• A valid U.S. driver’s license.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution required.
• At least 5 years of work experience in a related role, such as sales, business development and account management, marketing, admissions, or recruiting.
• Experience working in higher education or other learning-related field with adult learners is a plus, as is additional professional work experience.

Pay

The hiring salary range for this position is $100,000.00 - $110,000.00.

Benefits

Excelsior University offers competitive compensation and a generous benefits package that includes paid time off, retirement, and excellent health insurance.