Specialist, Sales

Specialist, Sales

This role is comparable to industry positions such as Assessment Consultant or District Partnership Sales Representative.

The Specialist, Sales is the primary consultant and sales territory owner who embodies the consultative sales model to drive revenue. Specialist, Sales representatives are looked to as thought leaders within Pearson's School Assessment organization. They are well versed in School Assessment product offerings, beyond basic features and benefits, and work closely with customers to determine optimal solutions to meet customer needs.

Specialists will use their professional knowledge of the market, gained from extensive formal education and/or field experiences, to identify and sell solutions that address the problems that customers are trying to solve (i.e., provide intervention/treatment through accurate diagnosis and intervention).

Specialists are expected to deliver pre-sales consultation support in assigned geographic areas to help guide customers through the decision-making process. The primary goal for this role is to help the School Assessment division achieve quota by expanding and uncovering new sales opportunities, providing content and practice-based consultation, and support to customers at multiple points in their journey with Pearson School Assessment.

This role supports the California territory and requires candidates to be based in California.

Responsibilities:

This is a quota carrying and territory management position. The successful candidate will be self-directed and focused on the achievement of revenue goals.

• Meet or exceed assigned sales quota
• Sustain a strong level of knowledge about Pearson District Sales product and services through self-study, collaboration, and scheduled trainings
• Uphold a strong understanding of the Education K-12 vertical, competitive offerings, industry, and assigned territory
• Responsible for creation of a strategic business development plan that outlines the level of activity needed to meet territory objectives
• Stay current and informed in federal, state, and local funding options.
• Maintain accurate information and activity tracking in CRM (Salesforce)
• Produce accurate and timely forecasts as required by management

Moreover, a Specialist, Sales must be able to:

• Identify and develop new acquisition sales opportunities within assigned territory through networking, business development efforts, and provide content and practice-related pre-sales support to customers in assigned market.
• Responsible for identifying new prospects, setting up strategic customer meetings, and closings sales within assigned territory
• Prepare sales and pipeline reports showing secured sales, potential sales, and sales opportunity areas implementing the use of strategic sales analytics in assigned accounts
• Responsible for increasing sales in accounts with long-term customer relationships within assigned territory
• Responsible for identifying prospects, setting up strategic customer meetings, and closings sales within assigned territory.
• Seeks to build multiple relationships within a customer account to expand sales
• Effectively navigates multiple steps in the sales process with multiple decisionmakers demonstrating the ability to influence high level decision makers
• Ability to successfully move opportunities through the sales cycle, negotiate and close sales
• Conduct sales and other professional presentations with assigned customers/accounts and professional organizations
• Participate in developing and delivering the School's Assessment national webinars as part of our marketing and thought-leadership activities
• Participate in the RFP process

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Specialists need to be able to complete a significant portion of work independently. A successful Specialist must also be able to articulate (and use effectively in presentations) the professional and market trends pertaining to assessment in assigned areas (i.e., Special Education qualifying, attitude toward cognitive assessment, etc.).

Due to the significant customer contact demands associated with this position, Specialists must possess strong organizational skills and a broad understanding of many assessment tools so that they are able to respond customer needs appropriately and in a timely manner. The ability to shift focus quickly and be responsive to customer inquiries during live sessions is essential.

Qualifications:

• Degree in school psychology, classroom instruction, school administration, or other education related field of study, or equivalent work experience preferred
• 2+ years sales experience, with proven track record of success
• Experience selling to the executive decision makers in a cross-departmentally capacity in K-12 education
• Team player with a positive attitude and commitment to exceeding sales objectives
• Established relationships with high-level decision makers (i.e., Special Education Directors, Superintendents, etc.) in local territory regions
• Excellent phone, written and verbal skills
• Excellent business development skills
• Strong organizational skills with efficient time and territory management skills
• Salesforce experience
• The position requires a willingness to travel up to 50% of the time. The position also requires that the individual be comfortable in a relatively independent working environment, with primary contact with team members being virtual

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:

The full-time annual base salary is $80,000, with eligibility to participate in a sales incentive plan offering an additional $85,000 at 100% quota attainment. Information on benefits offered is here.

Applications will be accepted through Friday, May 1st, 2026. This window may be extended depending on business needs.