Startup Sales Associate

Job Description

Zendesk for Startups is a business initiative at Zendesk focused on helping startups drive growth and prepare for scale by creating great customer experiences with Zendesk products! Zendesk has more than 145,000 customer accounts globally, and we`ve been working with the world’s most disruptive startups since their early stages, like Airbnb, Uber, Instacart, Coinbase, Nubank, Limebike, and Deliveroo!

As a Startup Sales Associate, you will play a crucial role in ensuring that the next generation of great startups is successful with Zendesk, too. You will ensure Startups program participants have a great experience with our products and our program by providing fast, personalized service, ultimately driving them to become paying Zendesk customers. Through your engagement with startups, you will also help us see opportunities for growth with customers and continually improve the startup program experience.

This will require you to review startup inbound leads to determine if they qualify for the startup program, take initiative to connect with startup leaders interested in customer support and our products, and make customer support and engagement recommendations based on their business goals. You will need to balance communication with different teams and tons of startups to ensure that startups stay engaged and accomplish their goals during the 6 month startup program.

What is the Zendesk for Startups program? More info here.

Overall Responsibilities:

• Oversee inbound startup application process
• Manage startup experience once startup is in the program, including ensuring they take full advantage of program benefits
• Facilitate introductions to the right teams, e.g. Startup Success, Sales or Community, to ensure startup gets access to the right resources
• Meet with startups to understand their goals and success metrics and provide recommendations and standard methodologies based on their use case
• Constantly analyze how we can improve the customer experience for startups from application to graduation from the startup program
• Represent Zendesk at virtual and in-person events (when Zendesk decides to attend these in the future)

Tactical Deliverables

• Review startup applications to approve or disqualify leads for the startup program
• Persistently follow up to provide help and ensure that startups that qualify join the startup program
• Once a startup joins the startup program, complete an onboarding call with the startup to ensure they have the necessary help
• During the program, keep startups engaged by providing valuable resources that align with their goals
• Nurture inbound leads that are not ready to join the startup program
• Build new EMEA office hour weekly webinar to highlight Zendesk standard methodologies and answer startup questions
• Ensure great first impression by managing communication with startups who need more info or are having issues
• Oversee administration of key projects related to collaborating with our sales team
• Manage communication with the Zendesk SMB Sales Team to ensure we assist them with questions or issues regarding the startup program
• Capture customer & internal Zendesk feedback on ways to improve our inbound startup process

How to be Successful:

• Detail oriented to ensure the right startups are approved/rejected from the startup program
• Persistence and maniacal focus on follow up to ensure startups interested in Zendesk join our program and fully use our products
• Creativity and eye for business to provide meaningful suggestions to help a startups business grow
• Ability to move between tactical projects and strategic conversations internally and externally
• Ability to maintain good relationships with SMB Sales Reps and socializing how we can help them make more $$$
• Passion for working with startups and helping them help their customers

Reporting Plan

You will report directly to the Head of Startup Sales. However, must be able to operate independently and continue to improve the process above.

Collaboration

• Partner with Startup Sales, Partner Team, and Marketing Teams when you see issues in the inbound funnel that need to be addressed
• Work with Startup Success & Community Teams to provide insight into which startups may be future investment accounts, while ensuring all trialists take advantage of online office hours, community support, training, and other resources
• Communicate with SMB/Startups Sales during startup trial to ensure smooth transition to commercial conversations
• Test and document standard methodologies to be shared as team grows!

About Zendesk - Champions of Customer Service
Zendesk started the customer experience revolution in 2007 by enabling any business around the world to take their customer service online. Today, Zendesk is the champion of great service everywhere for everyone, and powers billions of conversations, connecting more than 100,000 logos with hundreds of millions of customers over telephony, chat, email, messaging, social channels, communities, review sites and help centers. Zendesk products are built with love to be loved. The company was conceived in Copenhagen, Denmark, built and grown in California, taken public in New York City, and today employs more than 4,000 people across the world. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.

We believe in service. Learn more about how we provide support to our local communities with volunteering, grants and product donations. 

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here. 

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to benefits@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.

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