Senior Account Executive, Phaidra

• Enterprise Software Sales Experience: 7+ years of proven success in enterprise software sales, with a strong track record of exceeding quotas and closing complex deals. Experience with value-based selling methodologies and familiarity with CRM software (e.g., Salesforce)
• Bringing New Technology to Market: Demonstrated experience in commercializing novel and disruptive technologies, requiring strong consultative selling skills and the ability to educate the market
• Industrial Domain Knowledge: Experience working with industrial customers and navigating their unique operational and organizational structures
• Customer-Centric Approach: A genuine passion for understanding customer needs and delivering solutions that drive their success, especially concerning sustainability and ESG initiatives
• Exceptional Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication abilities, capable of presenting compelling solutions to diverse audiences
• Strategic and Analytical: Strong analytical skills with the ability to develop strategic sales plans and understand key sales metrics
• Self-Motivated & Independent: Highly self-driven, able to work autonomously and manage a sales territory effectively
• Resilience & Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving market and effectively address customer skepticism towards new technologies
• Education: Bachelor's degree required; Bachelor of Engineering preferred
• Values Alignment: Embodies Phaidra's values of transparency, collaboration, agility, ownership, and empathy

Desirable

• We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Senior Account Executive to drive the adoption of Phaidra's AI Factory solutions within the enterprise and data center markets
• You will be instrumental in bringing a disruptive new technology to market, helping our customers leverage the power of AI to achieve faster time to value, scalability, and cost-effectiveness in their operations
• Strategic Account Management: Develop and execute account plans to drive sales of Phaidra's AI Factory solutions, specifically targeting large enterprise customers and leading data center operators
• New Business Development: Identify and qualify new sales opportunities, building and managing a robust pipeline from lead generation to close
• Value-Based Selling: Articulate Phaidra's unique value proposition, demonstrating how our AI Factory solutions translate into tangible business benefits, such as increased energy efficiency, reduced operational costs, and enhanced sustainability, particularly within data center environments
• Technical Acumen: Understand and effectively communicate complex AI concepts to both technical and business stakeholders, positioning Phaidra as a leader in the industrial AI space
• Relationship Building: Cultivate strong, long-term relationships with key decision-makers and influencers within target accounts
• Negotiation & Closing: Lead contract negotiations to successful closure, ensuring mutually beneficial agreements
• Market Intelligence: Stay abreast of industry trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging AI factory developments to inform sales strategies
• Collaboration: Work closely with product, engineering, and customer success teams to ensure seamless customer onboarding and satisfaction
• Sales Performance: Consistently meet and exceed sales targets and key performance indicators
• Day 30 Checkpoints: Foundation & Learning
• Focus: Onboarding, product immersion, market landscape understanding, internal relationship building
• Product & Technology Acumen:
• Checkpoint: Able to articulate Phaidra's core value proposition and key features of the AI Factory solution in their own words, without relying on scripts
• Evidence: Successfully completes initial product training modules. Can explain the difference between Phaidra's approach and traditional industrial controls
• Discussion Points: Review understanding of reinforcement learning in the context of industrial optimization. Address any technical gaps
• Market & Industry Understanding:
• Checkpoint: Demonstrates a foundational understanding of the current state of the AI Factory market and key trends in the data center industry (e.g., sustainability drivers, operational challenges, key players)
• Evidence: Can discuss the NVIDIA AI Factory vision in a Phaidra context. Has researched and identified top 10 target accounts within their assigned territory/segment
• Discussion Points: Review target account selection criteria. Discuss initial market insights and potential challenges
• Internal Process & Tools:
• Checkpoint: Proficient in using Phaidra's CRM (e.g., Salesforce) for basic contact/account management and activity logging. Understands the sales process stages
• Evidence: CRM is updated with initial target accounts and activities. Attends all scheduled internal sales and product training sessions
• Discussion Points: Ensure comfort with internal communication tools and cadence
• Relationship Building:
• Checkpoint: Has conducted 1:1 introductory meetings with key internal stakeholders (VP of Sales, VP of Solutions, CTO, key Solution Engineers, Customer Success team members)
• Evidence: Documented notes from these meetings
• Discussion Points: Confirm understanding of roles and responsibilities within the sales cycle
• Initial Outreach Plan:
• Checkpoint: Develops a preliminary 60-day outreach plan for initial target accounts
• Evidence: Shares draft plan with VP of Sales for feedback
• Discussion Points: Refine strategy for initial engagement and messaging for "new technology to market."
• Day 60 Checkpoints: Engagement & Pipeline Initiation
• Focus: Active outreach, initial customer conversations, qualifying opportunities, pipeline generation
• Active Outreach & Discovery:
• Checkpoint: Has conducted at least 15 qualified discovery calls or initial meetings with new prospects in target accounts
• Evidence: CRM reflects documented discovery calls with key insights captured. Can articulate identified customer pain points and how Phaidra potentially solves them
• Discussion Points: Review call effectiveness, question quality, and ability to uncover customer needs
• Pipeline Generation:
• Checkpoint: Has generated at least 3-5 qualified opportunities (e.g., MQLs/SQLs that progress past initial discovery) within their assigned territory/segment
• Evidence: Opportunities entered into CRM with clear next steps and identified decision-makers/influencers
• Discussion Points: Assess opportunity quality and probability. Discuss strategies for accelerating pipeline
• Value Proposition Refinement:
• Checkpoint: Can confidently present Phaidra's high-level value proposition and address common initial objections related to new technology adoption in the data center space
• Evidence: Successfully delivers a simulated pitch to VP of Sales/Solutions
• Discussion Points: Provide feedback on pitch effectiveness, storytelling, and handling objections
• Collaboration & Leverage:
• Checkpoint: Effectively engages and leverages internal resources (Solution Engineers, Customer Success) for initial customer engagements
• Evidence: Evidence of joint calls or collaborative preparation for customer meetings
• Discussion Points: Review resource utilization and identify any friction points
• Market Feedback:
• Checkpoint: Provides initial qualitative feedback from customer interactions back to the product/solutions teams
• Evidence: Shares insights gathered from the market that could influence product development or sales strategy
• Discussion Points: Discuss actionable feedback and how it can be integrated
• Day 90 Checkpoints: Progression & Ownership
• Focus: Driving opportunities, forecasting, independent territory management, demonstrating ROI
• Opportunity Progression:
• Checkpoint: Has progressed at least 1-2 qualified opportunities into the "demonstration," "proof-of-concept," or "proposal" stage
• Evidence: Deep understanding of the specific use case, ROI potential, and political landscape for each advanced opportunity. Clear next steps and action plans in CRM
• Discussion Points: Deep dive into active opportunities, forecast accuracy, and potential roadblocks
• ROI & Business Case Development:
• Checkpoint: Able to articulate and begin to quantify the potential business value (e.g., energy savings, efficiency gains) of Phaidra's solution for specific data center customers
• Evidence: Can walk through a basic ROI calculation for a hypothetical customer
• Discussion Points: Refine approach to building compelling business cases
• Territory & Account Planning:
• Checkpoint: Presents a comprehensive 6-month territory plan including target accounts, key initiatives, and a projected pipeline
• Evidence: Detailed plan submitted and reviewed with VP of Sales
• Discussion Points: Strategic review of territory plan, ensuring alignment with company goals
• Independent Contribution:
• Checkpoint: Demonstrates increasing autonomy in managing their sales cycle, requiring minimal oversight for routine tasks
• Evidence: Proactively identifies and addresses challenges. Demonstrates initiative in self-learning and problem-solving
• Discussion Points: Provide feedback on independence and decision-making
• Continuous Improvement:
• Checkpoint: Actively participates in sales team meetings, shares best practices, and contributes to the overall sales strategy
• Evidence: Engages in discussions, offers insights, and seeks constructive feedback
• Discussion Points: Discuss areas for continued professional development and growth within Phaidra

• Meeting with People Operations team member (30 minutes): The purpose of this interview is to meet the candidate, learn more about their background, discuss what they are looking for in a new position, and cover formalities around their application
• Meeting with VP of Sales (60 minutes): This is an introductory call with the hiring manager so that the candidate and the hiring manager can get to know each other better. It will mainly focus on the candidate’s previous experience and background. The interviewer will assess the candidate's sales strategy, hunter mentality, pipeline management, closing capabilities, and leadership potential. This interview should validate the candidate's sales process, track record, and alignment with Phaidra's commercial goals
• Meeting with VP of Solutions (60 minutes): The purpose of this interview is to evaluate the candidate's technical acumen, ability to conduct value-based selling, problem-solving skills, and approach to collaboratively developing customer solutions. This interview will assess the candidate's capacity to translate technical capabilities into business value
• Meeting with CTO (45 minutes): The purpose of this interview is to assess the candidate's technical depth, understanding of AI/ML trends, ability to articulate complex technical concepts, and their vision for the future of AI in industry
• Meeting with CEO (60 minutes): The purpose of this interview is to evaluate the candidate's strategic alignment, long-term vision, culture fit, executive presence, and potential impact on the company's growth and mission. Overall, this is a higher-level discussion on the candidate's strategic thinking and fit with Phaidra's unique culture and ambition