About Essence Ventures
Essence Ventures was established with the goal to articulate through experiences, media, technology, and commerce, that Black is not a monolith. Essence exists to serve Black Women deeply through culture, equity and celebration — encouraging and equipping them to embrace the power of their roles standing at the forefront of their lives, homes, and communities. We accomplish this mission and vision through our incredible and distinct brands: ESSENCE Communications, Inc. (ESSENCE, Girls’ United, Naturallycurly.com), AFROPUNK and ESSENCE Studios. About the jobAre you a strategic seller with a passion for driving the full sales cycle, from prospecting to closing deals? Essence Ventures is seeking a Sales Director, based on the East Coast, to help grow our Essence Ventures portfolio of brands.
Reporting to the Vice President of Sales, you will collaborate closely with clients to understand their unique business goals and partner with them to achieve success.In this role, you will work alongside the Sales Strategy, Account Management, and Sales Activation teams, contributing to the development and execution of our creative propositions. You will be a key advocate for Essence Ventures, ensuring that our teams, clients, and agency partners have a clear understanding of our offerings in the marketplace.As a natural storyteller, with a diverse skill set, you will bring expertise in prospecting, forecasting, magazine and digital advertising and live event sales.
You should have a passion for experiential sales, digital media and a solid understanding of the custom content sales process. This position requires an energetic, motivated team player who can identify and develop profitable integrated marketing opportunities.Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment and effectively manage client relationships across various products within a media organization.What You’ll Do
- Plan account strategies for long-term profitable growth and position Essence Ventures as a thought partner and business leader.
- Generate/increase the revenue of new and existing accounts from an established list of advertising agencies and brands to meet annual revenue goals.
- Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key partners, clients, and stakeholders, ensuring alignment with company objectives.
- Generate additional revenue from untapped budgets.
- In partnership with cross functional teams, create compelling sales presentations and execute sales calls with agency planning/buying groups and clients to secure business, utilizing Essence Ventures guidelines and keeping the network’s best inventory interests in mind.
- Conduct market research and analysis to identify new partnership opportunities and industry trends.
- Oversee & “Quarterback” execution of all media, content and experiential buys, from pre-sell through post-recap.
- Ensure clients receive superior customer service.
- Attend internal meetings, client meetings and Essence events inclusive of travel as needed.
- Provide insight and expertise on our Essence Ventures solutions when brand agencies are prospecting and pitching new business.
What you’ll bring
- Ability to travel for sales calls and experiential brand events which sometimes take place on holidays and weekends
- Respect for others and a strong belief that others should do this in return
- Accountability for sales results and the ability to estimate across your book of business quarterly and annually
- Ability to apply in-depth understanding of the business, how own area integrates with other segments/divisions and how Essence differentiates itself from competitors to drive growth
- Strong understanding of digital media and industry standards
- Judgement to resolve customer problems; critical thinking skills to understand the broader impact across the organization
- Leadership skills to increase performance of the sales organization through effective collaboration with cross functional teams
- Ability to negotiate with and influence people at all levels
- Active listening skills with the ability to guide and influence others to adopt a broader point of view
- Positive energy and the ability to manage stress and serve as a model for others in the sales practice
- Skills to successfully coach and develop members of our team in sales support roles
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field; MBA preferred.
- 7+ years of experience in sales, business development, or partnership management, preferably within the media industry.
- Proven track record of successfully negotiating and closing large partnership deals.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think strategically.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport at all levels.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Must be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 lbs
- Requires prolonged periods of sitting, standing and walking throughout the workday, including during meetings, site visits (if applicable), or operational tasks.
- May involve occasional travel to which could include extended periods away from the primary workplace (if applicable and approved).
Full suite of benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, EAP, 401k)Salary: 150k to 165k Plus Annual Bonus and Commission
