Account Specialist - Minnesota or Wisconsin

STAR Autism Support is looking for an Account Specialist in Minnesota or Wisconsin to join our Sales team!

• Title: Account Specialist
• Department: Sales
• Schedule: Full-Time, Monday through Friday, regular business hours 
• Location: Remote: Minnesota or Wisconsin
• Reports to: Inside Sales Team Manager
• Compensation: $60,000 - $70,000 plus estimated variable pay of $20,000 

STAR Autism Support (SAS) is a family-founded educational consulting company based in Portland, OR.   SAS provides curriculum materials, workshops and training to school and agency staff who work with students with autism and other developmental disabilities. Our unique and practical approach provides school districts with curriculum resources and a continuum of professional development activities to address the educational needs of student’s early childhood through post-secondary throughout the country and internationally.  

At SAS our goal is to cultivate a supportive, positive and welcoming work environment where all staff can successfully thrive. We value and celebrate equity, diversity, and inclusion.   Our vision of equity includes a continuous commitment to becoming an antiracist, multicultural organization.   We strive to provide all employees with a culture of curiosity and continued learning. 

Position Summary/Objective           

The Account Specialist is responsible for developing sustainable long-term partnerships with our current clients as well as growing the scope of STAR’s impact with new clients. The Account Specialist supports the success of school districts, educators, and special education centers by matching them with the appropriate STAR solutions and services to meet their goals.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Proactively communicates to district special education leaders to introduce them to STAR products that uniquely meet the instructional needs of students with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) (this is our company mission)
• Drives the sales cycle by working with current and new customer accounts to conduct needs analyses, provide overviews and demos of STAR products and services, and create pricing plans that align with their unique needs and goals
• Owns and fosters the business relationship with the buyer/decision maker for each customer account through regular virtual communication and touch points
• Collaborates with the Customer Success team to ensure that customer expectations are met throughout the implementation period and customer lifecycle to drive renewal and expansion of accounts year over year
• Works closely with the Professional Services and Customer Success teams to ensure training days are delivered and that software is being utilized, which will be key performance indicators (KPI’s) for the company and for each sales professional   
• Partners with Marketing to identify prospective new district relationships, manage each opportunity through the sales stages, close the sale, and handoff to our Customer Success and Training teams
• Manages a sales pipeline of renewals and new sales opportunities so that we can meet the goals for the territory and the department
• Updates customer profiles through CRM (Salesforce) and other internal platforms by adding relevant client data and submitting activity reports to management
• Participates and attends trade shows, conferences, and professional association meetings around the country to network with current and prospective customers
• Remains current on industry, customer, and competitive trends

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent years of experience 
• 3+ years’ experience with district level sales in K-12 education, special education industry or EdTech
• Experience in building and maintaining customer relationships 
• Previous experience with renewals, expansions, and new customers
• Experience working with a diverse set of customers with varying needs and communication styles
• Demonstrated competence in emotional intelligence, influence, and negotiation skills  

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of the principles and methods for promoting and selling products and services 
• Experience with Salesforce 
• Experience working with a national company with a distributed remote workforce and customer base 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities     

Organizational KSA’s

• Strong verbal and written business communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively
• Has a growth mindset, is curious, and interested in ongoing learning and development  
• Adaptable and easily able to pivot as needed
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail 
• Self-motivated and proficient at working both independently and as part of a team
• Intermediate Microsoft office skills and competence in a digital environment 

Role KSA’s

• Strong organizational skills and can successfully manage multiple priorities at any given time
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to work with multiple stakeholders across the organization 
• Self-motivated and proficient working both independently and as part of a team
• A proven track record of gaining trust and respect by consistently demonstrating sound critical thinking skills and maintaining composure in stressful situations
• Self-starter who is motivated by achieving both individual and team goals 
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills
• Strong Microsoft Office skills

Supervisory Responsibility
This position has no supervisory responsibilities

Travel

Purpose of Travel: Representing STAR at 2-4 state tradeshows/conferences within designated territory, organizing and executing regional lunch & learns, scheduling sales/networking visits in school districts, yearly Sales/Customer Success Summit, etc. 

Work Environment 
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The job is mostly performed from a home office, at a workstation with a telephone, headset, and computer. The job is performed occasionally in airports, hotels, school districts, and conference locations with different environments and noise levels. Home offices should be secure, quiet, and distraction-free as possible. Your work area should be ergonomic, clean, safe, and free of obstructions and hazardous situations.

Physical Demands (Capability Requirements)
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to enter text or data into a computer by means of a keyboard. The employee is required to sit for long periods of time and occasionally required to stand for long periods of time and walk up and down stairs. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move boxes between 10-50 pounds, with or without assistance.  The employee must occasionally bend, stretch, and lift to set up and take down a booth at conferences. The employee is required to express or exchange ideas verbally to impart oral information and to convey detailed spoken instructions. Specific vision abilities required by this job include clarity of vision including reading small print and the use of computers. Specific hearing abilities required include the ability to hear, understand, and distinguish speech in person and over the phone. 

 The employee must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or qualify for an accommodation