Sales Manager at CommonLit in Surprise, AZ

CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, especially students in Title I schools, graduate with the reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills they need to be successful in college and beyond. We envision a world where all students get the opportunity to have a world class education. We operate an online reading program for grades 3-12, www.CommonLit.org, that is used by teachers in over 90,000 American schools.

The Opportunity

Within the Sales Team, the Sales Manager role is positioned to execute front-line sales in order to help achieve CommonLit’s double-bottom line: increasing earned revenue of the department and deepening school usage by increasing the number of schools participating in partnerships. Sales Managers own a full sales cycle as an individual contributor - from first outreach to a closed deal - working directly with both teachers and administrators to guide them to the right fit for their classroom or district. Sales Managers have clear, individual annual bookings goals. As such, the primary functions and responsibilities of this role include managing your own pipeline end to end - from outreach, calls and consulting, to closing and handoff - plus additional projects to contribute to the overall success of the organization.

Roles & Responsibilities

The primary function of the Sales Manager is to own the full sales cycle for individual school and district inbound lead. This includes meeting monthly and yearly sales targets, while tracking and reporting on the status of all current leads in both Salesforce and monthly pipeline reviews. Strong execution of this role requires:

• Data & Records Management: maintain clean and organized records of all opportunities in Salesforce
• Email Nurturing: create effective email copy that nurtures schools through the buying process
• **Effective Salespersonship:**Lead effective sales calls with teachers and administrators interested in a CommonLit partnership. This may include live, virtual sales calls and in-person vendor presentations and pitches. We expect effective salespeople to:
  • Own pre-call research and preparation to identify when to involve senior salespeople
  • Create tailored slide deck presentations, email copy, usage reports, and other materials to meet the needs of complex leads
  • Uncover customer needs and build relationships with potential customers
  • Leverage instructional knowledge to consult and guide customers toward a solution that's a strong fit for their needs
  • Secure an advance or clear next step from a lead
• Facilitate Partner Handoffs: work with the District Success and Professional Learning teams to ensure all new partners are successfully transitioned to District Success for implementation and support
• Direct Lead Outreach & Sourcing: when appropriate, contribute to team-wide strategy for direct sourcing of leads
• Additional Projects as determined by the team

Qualifications

• Education
  • Bachelor’s degree required
• Years of experience
  • 3+ years of experience as a K-12 classroom teacher required
    • demonstrated success as an 6-12 ELA teacher highly preferred
  • 1-2 years of experience in a sales or account management role required
    • experience with K-12 curriculum or edtech resources, selling to administrators and teachers, highly preferred
• Required hard skills (software, platform, language proficiency, etc.)
  • Exceptional speaking, listening, and written communication skills
  • Comfortable using or learning how to use Salesforce, Hubspot, Notion, Google Suite, Slack, Zoom, etc., for collaboration
  • Experience with LLMs preferred, experience using Claude highly preferred
• Soft skills
  • Alignment with CommonLit’s mission
  • Strong knowledge of education landscape and school/district procurement processes in order to bring CommonLit’s innovative program to Title I schools across the United States
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
  • Positive attitude and willingness to learn and assist with other projects as needed
  • Eager to problem-solve and find creative solutions both internally and externally with schools and districts
  • Strong attention to detail and desire for feedback
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team
  • Strategic thinker, self-starter, with strong time management and organizational skills
  • Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills, experience supporting change management at schools highly preferred
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills

Physical & Additional Requirements

• This role involves prolonged periods in a stationary position at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be US-based
• Must be available to work from 9-5 PM EST
• This role requires U.S.-based travel approximately 8–10 times annually.

Benefits

Compensation: The salary for this role is $70,000 - $80,000. This role is also eligible for commission.

At CommonLit, we are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive company culture that values work-life balance and adapts to life’s changes. We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support our employees’ health, well-being, and financial security:

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• HSA and FSA Plans, including Medical FSA, Limited FSA, and Dependent Care FSA options
• Company-sponsored basic life insurance, with additional options for supplemental life insurance
• Legal insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% safe harbor employer match
• Access to exclusive discounts, including pet insurance, hotel booking discounts, and more
• Remote work support, including a home office set-up stipend

Generous time off, including:

• 16 paid holidays annually
• Paid time off accruals and sick leave
• Paid family leave, including caregiver leave, medical leave, and 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• 2 floating holidays
• Volunteer and school visitation leave
• Jury duty leave
• Bereavement and compassionate leave
• Blood, bone marrow, and organ donation leave
• Flexible work options
• Low-stress weeks around Thanksgiving and in late December

As a remote-first organization, CommonLit has team members in nearly 30 states and Washington, D.C. We strive to create a collaborative and engaging workplace through various connection opportunities:

• Monthly remote activities, such as dumpling-making, yoga, and virtual escape rooms
• Monthly "CoffeeLit" sessions for connecting with colleagues
• Learning and development opportunities for teams and individuals