Job Summary:

The Sales Development Specialist plays a key role in filling the sales funnel and advancing and driving new business opportunities. This role will support the Regional New Business teams by gaining a strong understanding of Inland’s products, processes, and target audiences in order to effectively generate, nurture, and qualify leads while identifying all potential business opportunities. This role will further be responsible for the lead generation funnel and ensuring it is balanced and contains opportunities that align with Inland’s overall sales goals, capabilities, and strategy. The preferred candidate should be able to demonstrate strong communication skills, thrive in a fast-paced environment with multiple challenges, and explain results through CRM reports and data. Additionally, this role is designed to serve as a feeder position, and individuals must have the desire to aggressively learn and grow into a Sales Representative.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This list of essential functions is not exhaustive and may be supplemented as necessary.

• Generates and manages a leads funnel within a defined US geographical region. Oversees lead qualification and management strategy, along with the tools that support the process.
• Develops and maintains prospect database based on information available through CRM and prospecting software.
• Initiate contact with prospective customers via phone calls, emails, MS Teams, and in-person visits to identify key decision makers and to introduce Inland’s products and services.
• Performs database management including reporting, campaign dashboards and tracking, and list acquisition to ensure database contains leads that meet Inland’s capabilities.
• Ensures leads for Inland are aggressively explored, captured, and contacted.
• Gathers, shares, and places strategy on competitor information to advance business negotiations.
• Leads discovery meetings with interested prospects to identify needs, gather information, and determine business opportunities before moving further in the sales process.
• Overcomes prospective customer objections and/or obstacles with a positive, energetic, and optimistic attitude.
• Uses effective sales tactics to uncover and address the needs and pain points of prospects.
• Develops productive relationships with potential customers to aid in identifying business opportunities.
• Aligns with New Business Team and sales goals to manage pipeline and conversion rates through top of funnel stages.
• Coordinates and assists with scheduling meetings for Regional Business Development Representatives for regional travel and tradeshows. Assists the sales team in preparing quotes, proposals, and presentations tailored to meet customer needs.
• Participates in industry trade shows and events to showcase our products, network with potential clients, and generate leads.
• Captures market feedback from potential customers and shares with sales and marketing teams.

• Maintains consistent level of understanding about Inland’s products and services, sales tactics, strategy, and internal company processes. Stays updated on industry trends, competitor activities, and market developments to identify new business opportunities.

• Develops and fosters relationship with the Marketing, Sales, and other internal groups to increase awareness of Inland Packaging’s products and/or services in the marketplace.
• Consistently meets and/or exceeds targeted quotas.
• Creates and audits SOPs for position responsibilities and processes.

Essential skills and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Sales, Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field with 2 years of outbound sales and/or lead generation experience and/or a combination of education and experience required.
• Excellent organizational, written, and oral communication, listening and presentation skills. Must be able to communicate in a variety of presentation environments.
• Outgoing and personable with excellent interpersonal skills
• Experience translating prospect needs and pain points into further negotiations.
• Ability to negotiate, persuade, and overcome objections.
• Willingness to learn and adapt in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to develop productive relationships and communicate effectively with management, peers, plant personnel, suppliers, and customers.
• Self-starter with the ability to manage time and meet deadlines.
• Receptive to constructive criticism.
• Able and willing to learn and position multiple product offerings.
• Must be proficient with various computer software applications including: MS Office Suite, CRM, Prospecting Tools along with the ability and desire to learn new systems.

Core Competencies

• Driving For Results (Self)
  • Setting high goals for personal accomplishment that align with organizational projects and expected outcomes; using measurement methods to monitor progress towards goals; tenaciously working to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction for that achievement and continuous improvement.
• Customer Focus
  • Ensuring that the customer perspective is a driving force behind business decisions and activities; crafting and implementing service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs.
• Cultivating Networks
  • Initiating and maintaining strategic relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the organization (e.g. customers, peers, cross-functional partners, external vendors, and alliance partners) to advance business goals.

Nonessential skills and experience:

• Advanced degree in business, sales, communications, management, or a related field.
• Experience with CRM Systems.

Work Environment:

• Operates in a demanding, fast-paced, people-oriented manufacturing environment with frequent changes and interruptions, and multiple project assignments.
• Works with a variety of people including vendors, customers, employees, team members, and managers.
• In office position, with the opportunity for a hybrid work arrangement after initial training period (6 months ).

Required Work Schedule:

• Typically works standard business hours.
• Must be flexible for occasional meetings and responsibilities outside of standard business hours including nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Some travel required for internal plant tours, tradeshows, customer meetings, and conferences. Travel upwards of 20%.

Physical Requirements:

• Position is generally sedentary, 20/40 corrected vision; no unusual physical requirements are necessary.