Customer Acquisition Manager, California (Remote)

Company Description

FORWARD is an Integrated Program Administration solution that helps state and local governments and non-profits administer programs to households and small businesses. We deliver the essential technology and staffing to efficiently and accurately administer complex programs, empowering governments to serve more people, faster and more securely.

Our fully remote team works hard, but we fully embrace the advantages of this new paradigm. We work autonomously, collaborate asynchronously, and take ownership of our work.

This consultant will work closely with the Senior Manager on Inbound & Expansion.

Job Description

The California-State-focused Customer Acquisition Manager will be tasked with achieving ambitious sales goals for California State. You will identify, manage, and close opportunities that arrive to FORWARD through a variety of channels, including our state and local lobbying efforts, referrals, website, conferences, or other networking events. You will also take ownership of the ongoing relationship management of our existing customer base as well as manage other opportunity channels that may be identified in the future. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who knows California State policymakers and stakeholders well, thinks strategically about current and future product use cases, anticipates customer needs, and wants to grow professionally with a fantastic team of colleagues.

Successful applicants will be collaborative and highly self-driven, thrive in ambiguity, and be strongly motivated by setting and achieving ambitious sales goals.

Responsibilities include

Identify, track, and respond to new opportunities in the State of California:

• Leverage existing relationships, develop new relationships, and act as a trusted business partner to public sector customers
• Manage opportunities through their entire lifecycle: prospecting, qualifying, developing, and negotiating contracts to close
• Input prospect information into tracking sheets and Salesforce, and generate leads reports as requested
• Guide the creation of pitch decks and proposals for customers
• Inbound Opportunities
  • Help identify ways FORWARD can administer newly funded or expanded programs from the legislative budget
  • Connect with key stakeholders and department staff to understand their pain points and identify opportunities for FORWARD to support their work
• Expansion Opportunities
  • Maintain close ties with existing customers and occasionally be present during fulfillment conversations in order to be considered a trusted thought partner for our customers
  • Continued strategic outreach to existing customers with the goal of identifying and proposing pilot programs and expansion opportunities
  • Identify and propose pilot programs for customers, stand up new pilot programs, design a playbook for successful programs, and facilitate a smooth handoff to Operations Team
• Hire and train additional team members, as needed, to support and grow customer aquisition activities
• Support conference and site visit planning, including:
  • Coordinating on-site meetings in California State, planning networking or social events, and booking hotel or other accommodations for team members

Additionally, successful applicants will:

• Consistently achieve ambitious sales targets
• Collaborate closely with both the Growth and Operations teams
• Report to senior-level management on goals, metrics, and lessons learned
• Serve as a thought leader to customers and be seen as a trusted advisor on how to run assistance programs at-scale
• Think strategically about product use cases and anticipate customer needs

Qualifications

• Strong ties and relationships in California State, especially amongst policymakers, state agency leaders, city and county leaders, and/or other advocacy organizations
• Public sector experience preferred
• B2G sales and/or account management experience preferred
• Ability to build strong relationships and influence government agency partners
• Strong discovery and presentation skills - ability to effectively identify and understand customer needs and connect needs to business opportunities
• Highly solution-oriented
• Creative problem solving
• Ability to take the initiative and work both independently and as part of a team
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize workload
• Eager to be part of a team that puts a premium on assuming best intentions and giving one another grace
• Salesforce experience preferred but not required
• 25% travel in CA

Salary Range: $90,000-$110,000/yr.

Additional Information