Director of Sales, US

Exa•Denver (Ideally but not essential), CO

About The Position

The purpose of the role is to lead and develop a high-performing US sales team while driving new business and growth across key accounts. The role will combine team leadership with direct engagement in strategic customer relationships and complex network and connectivity opportunities, from identifying customer needs through to solution development, negotiation and close. The successful candidate will be a credible and authentic sales leader, able to build trusted relationships with senior customers and internal stakeholders. They will take ownership of US sales execution, providing direction, coaching and commercial leadership to the team while ensuring delivery against revenue and sales objectives.

Requirements

Proven experience leading and developing a sales team, preferably within telecommunications, connectivity, digital infrastructure or related technology markets.
Able to lead from the front while developing and empowering others to deliver results, rather than relying on personal sales performance.
Consistent history of over-achievement of quarterly/annual sales quotas.
Strong understanding of relevant technology, telecommunications and digital infrastructure markets and trends.
Experience managing multiple complex sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders and significant commercial value.
Strong commercial judgement and the confidence to challenge opportunities, forecasts and assumptions.
Effective prioritisation and time management skills.
Effective internal influencing skills, with a credible and authentic leadership style and the ability to build trusted relationships with customers, colleagues and senior stakeholders.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong sales focus and a clear sense of ownership and accountability.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach and develop a high-performing sales team, creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous development.
Establish a strong sales operating rhythm covering 1:1s, pipeline management, forecasting, account planning and performance development.
Provide clear direction, prioritisation and support, removing obstacles and developing team capability.
Take ownership of day-to-day US sales execution and performance.
Develop account plans and identify new business and growth opportunities across key accounts.
Build trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders and support the team on complex, strategic and high-value opportunities.
Identify opportunities to expand EXA's relationships and network footprint and develop new customer relationships.
Be accountable for sales and revenue targets across the assigned customer base.
Maintain an active pipeline of qualified and forecasted sales to meet and exceed monthly, quarterly and annual objectives.
Ensure opportunities are appropriately qualified, accurately staged and supported by clear next actions and close plans.
Challenge pipeline assumptions and ensure forecasts reflect realistic customer buying processes and decision timelines.
Maintain strong forecast discipline and ensure the team provides an accurate and realistic view of expected sales performance.
Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Operations, Finance, Legal and other internal stakeholders to identify opportunities, develop solutions and support business growth and renewals.
Build strong internal relationships and act as an effective bridge between customer requirements and EXA's internal teams.
Ensure that customer commitments are commercially and operationally deliverable.
Coordinate cross-functional resources around strategic opportunities and customer requirements.
Act as a strong advocate for customers internally while balancing customer requirements with EXA's commercial and operational objectives.
Develop a strong understanding of customer, competitor and market dynamics across the US connectivity and digital infrastructure market.
Identify target customers, market opportunities/developments and whitespace within existing and prospective accounts.
Provide feedback to senior leadership on customer requirements, competitive positioning and opportunities for EXA.
Contribute to the development and execution of the US sales strategy.