Director of Sales, FBN Finance

Company Overview 

Farmers Business Network (FBN) is on a mission to power the prosperity of family farmers and rural communities around the world, transforming how the world farms with an integrated, technology-enabled agricultural platform.

We offer high ROI farm inputs, fintech and sustainability products and services powered by network data, and farm-tested insights from our global farmer community.  Our platform helps FBN members make confident decisions to ensure the economic viability of their farms, while also empowering them to be a part of the solution as the global community confronts its most pressing issues: providing food security for a growing population, transitioning to more sustainable agriculture, and responding to climate change.

We are a dynamic, innovative, and mission-driven AgTech company that offers competitive compensation and benefits as well as boundless career mobility. We are backed by top investors, including Fidelity, ADM, Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, DBL Partners, T Rowe Price and Temasek. We have been featured in these articles by the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, and were also named "One of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World" by Fast Company Magazine.

Sales Director, FBN Finance

This person will join our rapidly expanding FinTech business to continue to build and lead our team of Loan Advisors and Loan Advisor Managers. This role will lead our innovative sales process to connect with farmers to serve their financial needs. You will be critical to growing FBN’s lending business and ensuring farmer members have access to credit. We are building an innovative Farmers First®  FinTech offering that will address farmers’ financing needs. This is a unique opportunity to help create and grow a key business line at one of the fastest growing companies in the Ag industry.  

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Sales Strategy and Process Management: Refine, develop, and oversee the sales process. Iterate quickly on new ideas and opportunities. Continuously evaluate ways to make the team more productive and effective. 
• Team Leadership: Hire, train, and manage a high-performing team of Loan Advisors, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability.
• Cross-Functional Partnerships: Collaborate with marketing and product to drive Product-led growth and ensure lead quality. Likewise, collaborate with other internal sales teams and their leaders to enable cross-selling and support our goals for One FBN.
• Customer Experience: Support Loan Advisors in delivering consistent, high-quality service to farmer members, adhering to SLAs and identifying tools to improve customer satisfaction.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as a key liaison with funding partners, trade shows, PR efforts, and referral partners, driving business development and external partnerships.
• Training and Development: Develop and execute rigorous initial and ongoing training programs for Loan Advisors, ensuring alignment with sales best practices and compliance standards.
• Operational Excellence: Partner with operations, data analytics, legal, HR, and other teams to enhance borrower experiences and streamline internal processes.
• Performance Management: Establish forecasts, monitor team performance, and ensure alignment with business objectives while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Strategic Leadership: As a key member of the FBN Finance Leadership team -  be a part of the team (including product/engineering, marketing, credit, capital, legal, and data science) driving strategic decision making for the business.
• Feedback and Communication: Solicit feedback on tools and services, communicate new offerings and objectives to team members, and champion continuous improvement initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required characteristics/qualifications include:

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree (BS/BA) required.
• Leadership Experience: 10+ years of experience managing bankers or sales teams, with a proven track record of driving results.
• Industry Experience: 5+ years as an agricultural loan officer or banker, with deep knowledge of the farming community's financial needs.
• Ethical Commitment: Strong adherence to the highest ethical standards with a farmer-first mindset.
• Industry Expertise: Deep knowledge of agricultural lending products, financial constraints facing farmers, and industry regulations.
• Product Passion: Passionate about agriculture, with experience in developing and selling innovative products that serve farmers' interests.
• Sales Leadership: Proven success in sales strategy design and execution, with a record of developing, coaching, and motivating high-performing sales teams.
• Technological Proficiency: Comfortable leveraging digital technology and tools to enhance sales and business development, ideally with experience in the agricultural sector.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Superior skills in building and managing customer relationships, with the ability to influence both internal and external stakeholders effectively.
• Strategic Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to identify complex challenges and implement robust business solutions.
• Collaboration and Influence: Demonstrated ability to work across all levels of an organization and within the farming community to drive results in a collaborative environment.
• Business Acumen: Ability to understand emerging business categories, customer needs, and develop tailored, impactful solutions.
• Communication and Reporting: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to present data insights and share results effectively.
• Adaptability: Willingness to thrive in a fast-paced, start-up environment. 

Preferred characteristics/qualifications include:

• On-farm or over-the-phone sales experience
• Experience finding credit solutions for farmers with a wide range of financial profiles
• Experience advising farmers on the financial aspects of their operations