Director of Membership and Business Development

About Woodpack Global

Woodpack Global (formerly the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association) is the trade association for the wood pallet and packaging industry. It has more than 820 member companies in over 40 countries and is based in Alexandria, VA. Members include pallet and container manufacturers, recyclers, and the suppliers who serve them. The association offers advocacy, education, events, Pallet Central magazine, and the Pallet Design System (PDS) and Crate Design System (CDS) software.

Position Summary

The Director of Membership and Business Development is Woodpack Global's lead salesperson. The job covers five revenue lines: new memberships, PDS and CDS software licenses, member renewals, event exhibits and sponsorships, and Pallet Central advertising.

The role starts with a transition period working side by side with our Senior Director of Business Partnerships. During those months, the Director learns the accounts, the Annual Leadership Conference, LATAM Conferencia, and Fall Tour exhibit and sponsor programs, advertising, and the software sales process. Then the Director takes over lead responsibility for all of it, on an agreed transition schedule.

From there, the job is to grow. Woodpack is investing in sales growth. That means more outbound prospecting, a fuller pipeline, firm activity and revenue targets, and selling PDS and CDS as software products with their own growth plan.

The Director does not do this alone. Marketing runs recruitment campaigns and mailers, events staff handle exhibit hall logistics, the technical team runs software demos, and communications staff manage advertising copy and production. The Director owns the relationships, the pipeline, and the close.

The role also listens. Conversations with members are a main source of feedback on what Woodpack offers, and this person brings that feedback back to staff so programs and benefits get better.

This is a chance to build the sales function for an association with more than 800 member companies in over 40 countries, in an industry that moves goods for nearly every sector of the economy. The person who takes it on will shape Woodpack Global's growth over the next several years.

Key Responsibilities

Membership Sales and Recruitment

• Own new member recruitment in every category: industry, international, associate, end user, and partner members.
• Run a steady outbound program of calls, emails, plant visits, and regional prospect tours, with weekly activity targets.
• Build and work a prospect pipeline from event attendees, non-member PDS and CDS users, trade show booth leads, lapsed members, and member referrals.
• Run discovery calls, walk prospects through member benefits, follow up, and ask for the close.
• Work with marketing on recruitment campaigns and mailers.
• Shape and carry out the annual membership plan with the Senior Vice President and marketing.

PDS and CDS Software Sales

• Lead sales of Pallet Design System and Crate Design System licenses to members and non-members, in the U.S. and abroad, against annual targets.
• Build a repeatable software sales process, from trial request to demo to signed license.
• Turn trial users, webinar attendees, and booth leads into paying customers. Set up demos with the technical team.
• Use software conversations as a door into membership for non-member licensees.

Retention, Renewal, and Member Feedback

• Carry a book of member accounts (both software and membership) through the annual renewal season, starting with the members flagged as most at risk.
• Lead day-to-day membership servicing and member contacts.
• Make welcome calls to new members and check in with them through their first year.
• Execute and improve Woodpack's member onboarding and retention program, including asking members what's working and what isn't, making calls, site visits, surveys, staffing the Membership Committee, and recommending and implementing improvements.
• Reach out to lapsed members to win them back.

Events, Sponsorship, and Advertising

• Lead exhibit sales for all Woodpack Global events and manage both exhibit halls with events staff.
• Lead general sponsorship sales for the association and assist the Pallet Foundation Executive Director in securing sponsorships.
• Work alongside the Pallet Foundation Executive Director to solicit items for the ALC auction and help run it.
• Lead Pallet Central advertising sales, print and online, and manage ad copy with communications staff.
• Manage relationships with associate members, the suppliers who exhibit, sponsor, and advertise. Ensure they receive what they purchased, and line up next year's renewals.
• Find and build partnerships between Woodpack Global, its members, and companies that want to do business with the industry.

Pipeline, Records, and Reporting

• Log every member and prospect conversation and keep CRM records current.
• Report weekly on pipeline, outbound activity, renewals, software sales, and event and advertising revenue against targets.
• Work with the executive team on new revenue ideas and how to price and package them.
• Work with the Membership Committee on recruitment and retention.
• Represent Woodpack Global at association events, plant tours, and trade shows.

How Success Is Measured

Targets are set each year from the approved budget. In the first year, this role is measured on:

• New members recruited, by category
• Outbound activity: calls, meetings, and plant visits against weekly targets
• Renewal rate for assigned accounts, and the share renewed by the end of Q1
• New PDS and CDS licenses, and the license renewal rate, against annual targets
• Exhibit, sponsorship, and advertising revenue, and how many exhibitors, sponsors, and advertisers renew
• Lapsed members won back

Qualifications

Required:

• Seven to ten years in B2B sales, membership sales, or account management, with a record of meeting or beating quotas
• Comfortable with cold outreach, running a sales conversation, and asking for the close
• Experience selling software, subscriptions, or technical products
• Experience working a pipeline in a CRM and keeping records current
• Clear writing and speaking
• Able to travel to association events, member sites, and trade shows

Preferred:

• Association or nonprofit membership experience
• Familiarity with the wooden packaging industry and major industry actors
• Experience selling trade show exhibits, sponsorships, or advertising
• Background in manufacturing, packaging, logistics, or the wood products industry
• Spanish language proficiency
• Bachelor's degree

Employment, Salary, and Benefits

Full-time, regular, exempt position.

Salary range: $85,000-105,000

Benefits include:

• 401(k)
• Paid time off
• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Professional development opportunities

Woodpack Global provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.