Sales Development Representative

Rice University’s OpenStax is hiring a Sales Development Representative to manage and qualify leads from instructors, teachers, and institutions interested in its educational resources. The role assesses instructor needs, provides product demonstrations, transfers qualified opportunities to Educational Resources Consultants, and maintains accurate Salesforce records.

Responsibilities:

• Builds and maintains relationships with new and existing clients, including instructors, teachers, and institutions interested in OpenStax
• Conducts sales calls and meetings, including virtual meetings via phone and video conferencing
• Assesses customer needs by verifying and qualifying leads from all sources against a defined qualification checklist
• Recommends appropriate products and services, matching each instructor with the OpenStax resources that best fit their course
• Educates prospective and current clients on the benefits of products and services, including providing demonstrations to individual instructors interested in OpenStax Assignable
• Responds promptly to new leads in accordance with the team’s response-time targets
• Transfers qualified opportunities to the appropriate Educational Resources Consultant with clear documentation and returns leads that are not yet ready to Marketing for further nurturing
• Maintains accurate lead and contact records, statuses, and handoffs in Salesforce
• Works with Customer Experience to verify instructor status and route questions to the appropriate team
• Collaborates with Sales, Marketing, and Data Intelligence to improve lead routing, scoring, and qualification criteria, and identifies patterns in incoming leads
• Performs all other duties as assigned
• Helps document and refine the lead qualification checklist and related standard operating procedures
• Reports on lead volume, response times, and handoff quality
• Participates in team meetings and training related to OpenStax educational materials and products
• Supports webinars, conferences, and other outreach events as needed

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree
• In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience above and beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis
• One or more (1+) years of experience in sales, sales development, customer service, or a related customer-facing role
• Proficiency in sales, with the ability to learn and refine skills over time
• Ability to act independently in creating and executing sales plans and managing customer service issues
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including a friendly and professional manner when communicating with customers in person or over the phone
• Strong customer service and relationship-management skills, with the ability to build relationships with clients who may remain customers for multiple years
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of client data
• Strong work ethic and self-motivation
• Ability to manage a steady volume of leads, prioritize effectively, and follow a defined process with strong attention to detail
• Comfort learning new software tools and products, including CRM systems
• Experience in an inside sales, sales development, customer support, or similar customer-facing role
• Experience with Salesforce, Pardot, or another CRM and marketing automation platform
• Experience in education, educational technology, or publishing, including familiarity with how K–12 schools or colleges select instructional materials
• Familiarity with open educational resources
• Experience delivering product demonstrations via video conference