Field Account Executive - SLED

Zones.•Dallas, TX

22h•Onsite

About The Position

Zones LLC is seeking a Field Account Executive (FAE) for its State, Local Government, and Education (SLED) sales division. This is a field-based, quota-carrying role focused on driving growth within the SLED sector. The FAE will be responsible for cultivating strategic customer and partner relationships, expanding existing accounts, acquiring new customers, and presenting Zones’ technology solutions and services to meet the evolving needs of public-sector organizations. The ideal candidate is an experienced public-sector technology sales professional with a deep understanding of SLED procurement, contracting vehicles, competitive solicitations, technology solutions, and the IT reseller/channel ecosystem. This role involves close collaboration with internal teams such as inside sales, solution architects, services teams, OEM partners, contract specialists, and leadership to develop and implement account strategies aimed at achieving sustainable revenue and gross-margin growth.

Requirements

5+ years of successful technology sales experience, preferably in State, Local Government, K-12, or higher education.
Demonstrated experience carrying and achieving a sales quota.
Proven track record selling IT products, solutions, and/or services.
Strong understanding of SLED procurement processes and government buying cycles.
Experience selling through contracts, cooperative purchasing agreements, or other public-sector procurement vehicles.
Strong prospecting, relationship-development, negotiation, presentation, and closing skills.
Experience working with technology OEMs, distributors, and channel partners.
Ability to develop relationships at both the technical and executive levels.
Strong CRM, forecasting, pipeline-management, and business-planning skills.
Ability to travel regularly throughout the assigned territory.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, Information Technology, or related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
Existing relationships with SLED technology decision makers and procurement organizations.
Experience selling cybersecurity, networking, cloud, data center, end-user computing, managed services, or professional services.
Experience responding to or managing government RFP/RFQ opportunities.
Familiarity with state term contracts, cooperative purchasing agreements, NASPO ValuePoint, OMNIA Partners, Sourcewell, or similar procurement vehicles.
Experience developing strategic account plans and territory business plans.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute strategic account plans for assigned SLED customers.
Build trusted relationships with key decision-makers including CIOs, CTOs, IT directors, procurement leaders, and department heads.
Identify new business opportunities within existing accounts and develop strategies to increase Zones’ market share.
Prospect for and acquire new SLED customers within the assigned territory.
Maintain a robust pipeline of qualified opportunities to meet and exceed sales quotas.
Conduct regular customer meetings, business reviews, technology discussions, and executive engagements.
Cultivate multi-year relationships to position Zones as a strategic technology partner.
Develop a thorough understanding of State, Local Government, K-12, and higher-education purchasing processes.
Navigate government procurement requirements, competitive bids, RFPs/RFQs, cooperative contracts, master agreements, and other purchasing vehicles.
Identify upcoming solicitations and influence opportunities prior to formal procurement.
Utilize available state, local, education, cooperative, and national contract vehicles to expedite customer purchases.
Coordinate with Zones’ contracts and proposal teams on RFP/RFQ responses and other public-sector opportunities.
Stay informed about public-sector technology spending priorities, budget cycles, fiscal-year deadlines, and procurement timelines.
Position Zones’ portfolio of hardware, software, cloud, cybersecurity, networking, data center, collaboration, managed services, professional services, and lifecycle solutions.
Engage customers in consultative discussions to understand their business and technology challenges.
Collaborate with technical resources to develop solutions that align with customer requirements and budgets.
Identify opportunities to transition transactional product purchases into higher-value solution and services engagements.
Develop executive-level presentations and business cases that demonstrate the value of proposed solutions.
Build productive relationships with key technology manufacturers and channel partners.
Collaborate with OEM representatives on account strategies, joint customer engagements, demonstrations, events, and opportunity development.
Leverage partner resources, funding, incentives, technical expertise, and solution capabilities to improve win rates.
Coordinate joint go-to-market strategies with strategic technology partners.
Consistently achieve or exceed assigned revenue and gross-margin objectives.
Maintain accurate forecasts and opportunity information within Zones’ CE system.
Manage opportunities through the entire sales cycle, from prospecting and discovery to proposal, negotiation, award, and close.
Develop accurate close plans for strategic opportunities.
Monitor competitive activity and develop strategies to differentiate Zones.
Identify risks, obstacles, and stalled opportunities and develop appropriate recovery plans.
Maintain disciplined sales activity and pipeline-generation practices.