Sales Development Representative

About Us

Across the FT Group, our people are united by a mission to deliver world-class information, news, and services to our global audiences. We're a digital-first organization made up of journalists, technologists, product managers, event planners, strategists, commercial and finance experts, marketing and communications specialists - and much more. Our strength is in our employees, who hail from all different backgrounds and walks of life.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace

At the FT, we aim for employees across all regions to have a voice so that diverse perspectives are heard and valued. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work and have the flexibility they need to meet their personal needs. We'll continue to remove barriers for all, and in particular, barriers facing employees from underrepresented groups.

 

The Team

The FT and Nikkei Asia reach a global audience of senior decision-makers who rely on our coverage to inform their views on the political, economic, and social forces shaping the business world. The FT Professional division is responsible for licensing the FT and Nikkei Asia content to organizations around the world and offers information solutions ranging from group and enterprise subscriptions to customized data feeds. 

For more than 140 years, Nikkei has provided unparalleled coverage of Japan's economy, industries, and markets. The group's business portfolio includes publishing, broadcasting, and the Nikkei 225 stock index. Its flagship newspaper, The Nikkei, has a circulation of approximately 3 million. With 37 global bureaus and over 1,300 journalists, Nikkei is ideally positioned to provide Asian news and analysis to a global audience. We distribute economic information about Asia through English-language media, “Nikkei Asia” to the whole world. The Financial Times (FT), the global business newspaper, joined the Nikkei group in 2015. As content partners, Nikkei Asia and the FT share select articles with their respective audiences and collaborate editorially on joint projects.

 

The Role

The Sales Development Representative will support both the FT’s Professional and Nikkei Asia sales teams and will be responsible for pre-qualifying leads and prospects for the field sales team to close into new business revenue. The role will support the field sales team through several activities which include: pre-qualification of leads/opportunities; identifying potential budget holders; proactive prospecting for new contacts, booking appointments with prospects and clients; and gathering testimonials/evidence for proposals, leveraging existing opportunities within the FT client base for Nikkei Asia. As such, SDRs must be comfortable making dozens of calls per day.

The SDR role is a training role with a clear career path to more senior roles within the FT Professional department. The SDR will follow a comprehensive training syllabus that will expose them to various industries and allow them to acquire valuable new business and account management skills.

 

What You'll be Responsible For 

• Prospect and build a sales pipeline for the field sales team via outbound calling and email communication

• Research and contact potential budget holders/decision-makers

• Pre-qualify leads and book appointments/callbacks for the field sales team

• Develop a proactive outreach plan with each sales manager

• Contact readers to gather testimonials and evidence to support sales proposals

• Carry out account mapping research to identify new contacts and opportunities for cross-sell

•  Assist with inviting clients/prospects to events and set up meetings for the account management team

• Liaise with the marketing teams on campaign activity to generate leads and improve the quality of leads

• Record conversations with prospects on the CRM system for reporting purposes

• Weekly reporting, including successful calls made and challenges faced

 

What You Need to be Successful in this Role

• Articulate and tactful communication skills, particularly on the phone

• Proactivity, readiness to learn and develop an understanding of FT product offerings and value proposition

• Good research skills

• Highly motivated and strong desire to succeed

• Organized and able to prioritize busy workload in a fast-paced environment

• Ability to work accurately, with strong attention to detail

• Display initiative in undertaking all aspects of the role

• Good team