Sr. Manager, Academy Sales

Description

At Duarte, we’ve shaped how the world’s most influential leaders and brands communicate since 1988. Empathy sits at the core of everything we create, the ability to know yourself, understand others, and adapt, and it runs through every deliverable we craft. We hold a high bar, and we drive our industry rather than follow it.

As the Sr. Manager, Academy Sales, you lead, coach, and develop Duarte’s Academy sales team to achieve and exceed revenue goals across the full range of Academy sales, from straightforward opportunities to complex enterprise engagements. This is a hands-on sales leadership role focused on elevating seller effectiveness, improving team performance, and building the capabilities required to grow Duarte’s enterprise business.

You spend a significant portion of your time directly coaching sellers through active opportunities, including call reviews, deal strategy, pricing, proposal development, account planning, pipeline inspection, and live client conversations. You help sellers strengthen their consultative approach, navigate complex buying environments, and build trusted relationships with HR, Learning & Development, Talent, Communications, and executive buyers.

Our people live four behaviors, the ROAD:

• Rally self and others: Lead with candor, develop people, and create a team culture grounded in trust, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Own the outcome: Establish clear expectations, reinforce sales discipline, and hold the team accountable for revenue attainment
• Astonish with value: Help sellers understand client needs, elevate conversations, and develop solutions that create meaningful business value
• Drive the industry: Strengthen Duarte’s enterprise sales approach and advance how we bring communication and learning solutions to the market

Measurement

• This role is responsible for driving team revenue performance, but success will also be assessed on:
• Consistent achievement of the Academy revenue target
• Forecast accuracy and healthy pipeline coverage
• Improvement in win rate, average deal size, average order value, retention, and sales-cycle efficiency
• Seller effectiveness across discovery, executive engagement, stakeholder alignment, negotiation, and deal progression
• Consistent use of account and pursuit plans for strategic opportunities
• Salesforce accuracy, pipeline hygiene, and sales-process discipline
• The quality and consistency of coaching, feedback, and seller development

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Sales Leadership & Coaching

• Lead, coach, and develop a team responsible for new business, account expansion, and the full range of Academy sales opportunities
• Adapt your coaching approach based on the opportunity, providing deeper strategic support for complex, multi-stakeholder pursuits and efficient enablement for faster, well-defined sales
• Coach sellers through active opportunities, deal strategy, pricing, proposal construction, account planning, pursuit planning, and client conversations
• Review live and recorded sales calls and provide actionable feedback that improves discovery, executive engagement, stakeholder alignment, negotiation, and deal progression
• Help sellers navigate complex enterprise sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and executive decision-makers
• Strengthen consultative selling behaviors that improve seller effectiveness and overall team performance
• Participate in executive meetings for high-priority pursuits and support business reviews for strategic accounts
• Coach sellers to move from transactional conversations to transformational client partnerships using Duarte’s methodology and storytelling approach
• Use sales data to identify development needs and strengthen both individual and team performance

Revenue Performance & Accountability

• Create a performance culture in which achieving quota is the expectation and exceeding it is the goal
• Own pricing and discount discipline, coaching sellers on deal structure, when to hold price, and how to build a strong business case for non-standard terms or scope
• Hold sellers accountable for activity, pipeline development, opportunity progression, and revenue attainment
• Provide timely, direct, and constructive feedback that improves performance while building trust and credibility
• Create clear development plans and milestones for sellers who need additional support, along with meaningful growth opportunities for top performers

Pipeline Management & Forecasting

• Establish and lead a consistent operating cadence that includes sales meetings, individual coaching, pipeline inspection, forecast reviews, and business reviews
• Ensure Salesforce serves as the source of truth for pipeline health, forecasting, account activity, and opportunity progression
• Maintain strong data hygiene and deliver accurate forecasts across weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual timelines
• Identify pipeline risks, growth opportunities, resource needs, and coaching priorities through regular forecast and opportunity reviews
• Use metrics such as meetings booked, stage progression, win rate, average deal size, average order value, conversion rates, and pipeline coverage to guide coaching and decision-making
• Lead the team’s outbound motion, ensuring sellers consistently develop new opportunities and expand relationships with HR, Learning & Development, and executive buying groups

Talent & Team Leadership

• Recruit, onboard, coach, and develop sales talent as the business grows
• Build and maintain a pipeline of future sales talent
• Establish credibility with experienced sales professionals through sound judgment, strong sales acumen, and effective coaching
• Lead with confidence and resilience through change, helping the team adapt to evolving expectations and sales strategies
• Create an environment that balances transparency, support, accountability, and high performance
• Support the accurate administration and calculation of sales commissions

Strategic Partnership

• Partner closely with Duarte’s commercial leadership to execute sales strategy and organizational priorities
• Serve as a trusted advisor by providing candid feedback, thoughtful recommendations, and practical solutions
• Translate strategic objectives into clear plans, measurable goals, and consistent execution
• Collaborate across Marketing, Sales Operations, Customer Success, Delivery, Operations, Finance, and other teams to support revenue growth and client success
• Help evolve and strengthen Duarte’s enterprise sales methodologies and operating practices

Skills & Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 8+ years of successful B2B sales experience selling learning, leadership development, talent development, organizational effectiveness, communications, consulting, professional services, or similarly complex solutions
• 5+ years of experience selling to and coaching sellers who serve HR, Learning & Development, Talent Management, Organizational Development, Communications, or executive leadership buyers
• 3+ years of experience as a first-line sales manager leading individual sellers in an enterprise or consultative sales environment
• Demonstrated success carrying and coaching complex enterprise pursuits involving multiple stakeholders, executive buying groups, customized solutions, significant contract values, and extended sales cycles
• Proven ability to improve seller performance through hands-on coaching, including call reviews, deal inspection, opportunity strategy, account planning, pipeline reviews, and participation in executive meetings
• Experience coaching both new-business acquisition and expansion within strategic enterprise accounts
• Strong working knowledge of Salesforce, including hands-on pipeline management, forecasting, opportunity inspection, and sales execution
• Experience negotiating contracts and pricing, including discount decisions, non-standard terms, and defending sound commercial decisions with clients and internal stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to hold experienced sales professionals accountable while maintaining trust, credibility, and engagement
• Exceptional coaching, communication, influence, and leadership skills, with a track record of developing high-performing enterprise sellers
• A strong interest in developing people and improving performance through day-to-day coaching in active opportunities
• Ability to operate independently while partnering effectively with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders
• Ability to analyze data across multiple platforms and translate findings into actionable development priorities
• Understanding of AI tools and how they can support research, resource creation, workflow improvement, seller effectiveness, sales-cycle efficiency, win rates, opportunity value, and retention

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience selling and leading teams within a leadership development, learning, talent development, organizational effectiveness, communications, consulting, or professional services organization
• Experience supporting enterprise clients through transformational initiatives involving leadership, culture, communication, talent, or workforce development
• Experience leading sellers responsible for both strategic account expansion and new-client acquisition in a services-based business

Language Skills

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret contracts, client requirements, business correspondence, sales documentation, and other job-related materials. Ability to write clear reports and correspondence. Ability to present effectively, respond to questions, and communicate recommendations clearly with customers, employees, leaders, and other stakeholders.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to solve practical problems and manage a variety of concrete variables in frequently changing situations. Ability to interpret instructions provided in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

Compensation & Benefits

Base pay is part of a total compensation package that includes monthly stipends for health, wellness, and technology, plus benefits such as 100% subsidized medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees. In addition, this position will be eligible for performance and profit-based bonus.

The national average salary range for this role is $115,000 to $158,600. Actual compensation is based on skills, experience, and a location-based adjustment applied for where the employee resides.