SANS Institute (SANS) was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. In the next 25 years it grew to become the most trusted and, by far, the largest source for information security training and security certification in the world reaching more than 300,000 security professionals around the world today, with around 60,000 having been granted Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) security certifications – the leading certification that provides assurance to employers that their people and prospective hires can actually do the job. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners – from auditors and network administrators to chief information security officers, all sharing the lessons they learn and jointly finding solutions to the challenges they face – in varied global organizations from corporations to universities working together to help the entire information security community.
Join the SANS Team
At SANS, our culture is defined by Mission, Brand, People. Our goal is to hire people who understand the importance of continuing to fight against the “bad guys” (Mission) while delivering the highest quality training (Brand) to our students. We want employees whose personal values align well with our culture of fairness, honesty, customer focus, and pragmatic approach (People).
Position Summary
In your role as Business Development Assistant, your work focuses on SANS’ outbound sales strategy. You confidently share product or service information with prospects. You are also highly organized. You'll spend a lot of time making phones calls and preparing lists. Lead generation is your main responsibility, moving leads through our marketing and sales pipeline ensuring your Sales colleagues get fed actionable and well qualified marketing qualified leads. A sales development representative identifies challenges and provides practical solutions to prospects. You provide positive insights as a product knowledge specialist. Your main function is to be a driven problem solver, identifying potential clients. Building relationships with prospects will be the central part of your job. You must have impeccable communication skills, as well as being focused on lead generation and strategic outreach. The preferred location for this position is Nashville, TN.
Position Responsibilities
- To generate leads (through qualifying inbound marketing leads or outbound sales prospecting) and build relationships by nurturing warm prospects and finding new potential sales outlets
- Manage and maintain a pipeline of interested prospects and engage sales executives for next steps
- Identify best practices to refine SANS Institute’s lead generation playbook
- Follow-up on inbound marketing leads and identify qualified opportunities providing appropriate levels of information at the right time for interested prospects
- Be responsible for educating and developing prospects leading to hand-off to Sales teams
- Profile strategic accounts identifying key individuals together with Senior Sales team, researching and obtaining business requirements and presenting solutions to start the sales cycle
- Set appointments for Regional Sales team when a lead reaches a qualified stage
- Nurture new marketing leads by educating and developing prospects until they are ready to speak with a field sales representative
- Drive attendance for webinars and live seminars, set meetings for trade events
- Collaborate with Regional Sales and Marketing team members on strategic sales approach
- Ensure successful follow through of sales cycle by maintaining accurate activity and lead qualification information in Salesforce
- Contact customers and prospects, working in conjunction with the marketing team on specific campaigns
- Regularly conduct calls with customers upon their completion of training, with a view to generating new leads for hand-off to Sales teams
- Effectively use social media for sales purposes, building a relevant network and raising awareness of SANS
- Utilize various sales tools for identification and refining of target prospects
- Report to Marketing Director and Commercial team lead on weekly basis
Position Requirements:
- 1+ year of successful experience in Telemarketing or Sales, preferably in IT or cybersecurity
- Exceptional communication skills, both oral and written, coupled with excellent listening skills and a positive and energetic phone presence
- Extremely self-motivated with a diligent work ethic
- High level of integrity and strong commitment to building a successful company
- Ability to work independently as well as part of a team in a fast-paced environment
- Adept computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office
- Experience with Salesforce preferred
Equal Opportunity Employer
SANS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please contact SANS Human Resources.