Senior Salesforce Platform Specialist

William Blair•Chicago, IL

15h

About The Position

Partner with sales leadership to maximize the effectiveness of the intermediary distribution channel. This role is the technical backbone of our Salesforce ecosystem, responsible for both high-level platform architecture and the granular, day-to-day execution required to serve our internal clients. You will lead the development of linkages between Salesforce and third-party systems while ensuring the platform's data infrastructure can handle the unique complexities of the financial advisor market. We are looking for someone empowered to build sophisticated solutions but equally committed to the operational rigors of data hygiene and a user-centric support mindset that drives long-term partnership and client satisfaction.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, or related field required
5-7 years of business/sales analysis experience required
Expertise with Salesforce.com and associated programming languages (and other customization techniques)
Finance/Asset Management industry experience is strongly preferred, particularly within intermediary distribution channels
Expertise in data gathering, sales data analysis skills, and querying complex databases
Ability to deliver high-quality written communication and reports to senior leadership
Deep knowledge of databases – ability to query for data and produce results
Deep understanding of Salesforce programming logic (Declarative and/or Apex)
Detail oriented and able to prioritize tasks
Excellent problem solving and analytical skills
Delivers clear, effective communication and commits to understanding others
Works cooperatively with others to accomplish objectives
Demonstrates initiative and persistence
Ability to collaborate and build trusted relationships
Proficiency in MS Office

Responsibilities

Partner with sales leadership to maximize the effectiveness of William Blair’s sales organization.
Identify and prioritize opportunities to leverage sales strategies and capabilities to enhance growth.
Work to establish efficient and effective operation of the sales staff.
Administer Salesforce.com in support of senior leadership and the sales team, ensuring user satisfaction with functionality and data availability.
Lead the development and maintenance of linkages between Salesforce and internal or third-party systems to ensure a seamless data flow.
Explore and implement various initiatives related to sales team design, sizing, territory optimization, etc.
Ensure the alignment of initiatives and processes with business objectives.
Develop sales quotas and forecasts for the sales team in conjunction with growth and profit plans.
Develop and prioritize performance metrics that correlate to sales performance.
Collect and analyze data to evaluate performance, including sales data, pricing, market share and specialized/unique sales information.
Determine the level of initiative success, degree of sales execution and the attainment of growth objectives.
Identify areas of additional opportunity, as well as high impact trends.
Bring significant findings to the attention of senior management.
Oversee the development and maintenance of reporting on all aspects of sales and client service.
Draft reports on complex or broad impact findings/issues.
Review drafts developed by less experienced staff.
Maintain subject matter expertise of complex, high impact sales metrics, trends and best practices.
Maintain external relationships with industry counterparts to stay abreast of trends and best practices.
Recommend changes to current sales techniques and processes based on market research and new trends.
Guide and mentor less experienced staff.
Provide direction and suggest approaches to gathering and interpreting data.
Serve as an escalation point for questions and data issues.
Additional responsibilities as requested.