What are the responsibilities and job description for the Founding Sales Manager (Player-Coach) Zen Media position at Optimum7?
Founding Sales Manager (Player-Coach)
Location: Florida, Remote (EST Time Zone)
Company: Zen Media & Optimum7
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports to: CEO
About Us
Zen Media is a B2B marketing and PR agency helping businesses grow through strategic content, media relations, and AI visibility. We help companies get cited when buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI who to hire.
Our clients range from B2B technology companies to local businesses, including law firms, cosmetic surgeons, and dental practices. This role supports both Zen Media and Optimum7, two growing brands focused on measurable business results.
Role Overview
Our leadership team still handles most sales calls. We're looking for a Founding Sales Manager to take ownership of revenue, personally close deals, optimize sales processes, and build a high-performing sales team.
This is a hands-on player-coach role. You'll initially run the sales process yourself, then recruit and develop Sales Closers and outbound SDRs to scale revenue. Our sales infrastructure is already in place, including Salesforce and automated GTM workflows. Your job is to maximize its effectiveness and build a repeatable sales operation.
Key Responsibilities
- Hands-On Sales: Own the full sales cycle, from discovery and demos to negotiations and closing. Identify conversion bottlenecks and document what works.
- Team Building: Hire, train, and manage Sales Closers and outbound SDRs. Establish clear targets, coach through live calls, and manage performance.
- Sales Strategy: Optimize messaging, follow-ups, conversion rates, pipeline management, and forecasting across both brands.
- Revenue Growth: Own team revenue targets, convert initial projects into monthly retainers, and drive upselling and account expansion.
- Collaboration: Work with Marketing, Account Management, GTM Engineering, and the CEO to improve lead quality, sales execution, and revenue performance.
- Reporting: Track KPIs, including show rates, close rates, sales cycle length, and revenue per representative, and provide regular performance updates to leadership.
Qualifications
- 7 years of B2B sales experience, including at least 3 years in sales leadership.
- Proven track record of exceeding quotas and personally closing deals.
- Experience hiring, training, coaching, and managing sales representatives.
- Strong expertise in outbound prospecting, consultative selling, negotiation, and pipeline development.
- Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM platforms, sales metrics, and forecasting.
- Ability to build scalable sales processes, playbooks, and performance standards.
- Strong analytical skills, commercial awareness, and a high-ownership mindset.
- Agency, professional services, or technology sales experience is a plus.
Location
- Florida is strongly preferred; other U.S. Eastern Time Zone candidates will be considered.
- Remote, full-time position aligned with U.S. business hours.
What We Offer
- Competitive base salary plus a performance-based bonus tied to team revenue.
- Steady inbound lead flow and an established sales technology stack.
- Direct collaboration with the CEO and GTM Engineering team.
- The opportunity to build and shape the sales organization from the ground up.