HighFive Partners | Ed Tech Surveys, Interviews, and Resources

Vice President of Sales - Search

Written by Teresa Chung | March 29, 2019

HighFive was able to successfully place a talented sales leader with a proven ability to manage inside sales, sales development reps (SDRs), field sales reps, and sales operations with a K12 Ed Tech company.

Vice President of Sales

CLIENT

This K12 Ed Tech company commands $15M+ in ARR. Seeking rapid expansion to $50M+, the client was searching for a talented sales leader with a proven ability to manage inside sales, sales development reps (SDRs), field sales reps, and sales operations. In parallel, the executive team was eager to include more diverse individuals in their firm’s leadership team.

The client’s existing sales team was talented but relatively inexperienced. They needed a professional who could serve not only as a savvy sales leader, but a coach and a role model who could oversee the hiring needed to continue scaling up the overall sales operation. These skills would need to come alongside a diverse ethnic background and fresh way of thinking. Finally, the client sought a candidate to work in-office, ideally sourced from the local region.

CHALLENGE


HighFive maintains a taxonomy of Ed Tech companies nationwide. We used this target list to conduct a landscape analysis of diverse leaders with the requisite sales experience. Our initial analysis suggested that, in order to reach the search’s diversity goal, the client should consider sourcing outside of their own backyard.

SOLUTION

Based on this recommendation, the client expanded the scope of the search. We used our target list to reach out to all diverse candidates with an appropriate sales background, presenting  a compelling value proposition of why they should consider this opportunity.

This process successfully sourced a highly qualified candidate who would require a six month delay before starting the position. We were able to negotiate a consulting arrangement that would allow them to transition into the role over this period.

RESULT

This consulting engagement was highly successful, and our client was enthusiastic about adding this sales leader to the team full-time after their six month consultancy concluded.

Our deep industry knowledge, proprietary database of talent, and creative approach helps us find skilled leaders who bring a diversity of thought, perspective, and background to our clients’ companies.