Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for New Business Sales Consultant
💰 $ - $
SalesBusiness DevelopmentB2B Sales
🎯 Role Definition
A New Business Sales Consultant is a quota-carrying, front-line revenue generator responsible for sourcing, qualifying, and closing new customers. This role focuses on proactive prospecting, building a predictable pipeline, delivering consultative demos and proposals, negotiating commercial terms, and coordinating cross-functional resources to ensure smooth customer onboarding. Success is measured by new account acquisition, pipeline velocity, conversion rates, average deal size, and contribution to scalable revenue growth.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Sales Development Representative (SDR) or Business Development Representative (BDR)
- Inside Sales Representative or Telesales Executive
- Territory Sales Representative or Junior Account Executive
Advancement To:
- Senior New Business Sales Consultant / Senior Account Executive
- Enterprise Account Executive or Strategic Account Executive
- Sales Manager / Team Lead -> Director of Sales or Head of New Business
Lateral Moves:
- Customer Success Manager (onboarding & expansion focus)
- Product Specialist / Solutions Consultant
- Channel / Partner Sales Manager
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Prospect, research, and prioritize target accounts using a mix of outbound outreach (cold calls, cold email, LinkedIn) and inbound lead follow-up to build and maintain a robust, predictable new business pipeline aligned with quarterly and annual revenue targets.
- Execute high-volume multi-touch outreach cadences that combine personalized email, phone, social selling, and account-based marketing tactics to secure qualified discovery meetings and sales demos.
- Conduct structured discovery conversations to uncover business challenges, decision-making processes, technical requirements, budget, and timing; qualify leads using standardized frameworks to accelerate the sales cycle.
- Deliver compelling product demonstrations, proof-of-value sessions, and solution presentations tailored to the prospect’s use cases, ROI metrics, and stakeholder needs.
- Develop and present detailed, consultative proposals and quotes that outline scope, commercial terms, and implementation timelines; manage stakeholder expectations throughout the proposal lifecycle.
- Negotiate contract terms, pricing, and service-level agreements with procurement and legal teams, escalating appropriately to close deals while protecting margin and company policy.
- Build and manage territory and account plans that prioritize high-potential prospects, map decision-makers, define engagement strategies, and forecast expected revenue contribution.
- Maintain accurate, up-to-date records of all sales activities, contacts, opportunities, and pipeline movements in the CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) to ensure reliable forecasting and reporting.
- Achieve or exceed monthly, quarterly, and annual quota for new logos, ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), or bookings by consistently converting pipeline into closed business.
- Collaborate closely with marketing to refine messaging, nurture campaigns, and convert marketing-qualified leads into sales-accepted leads through coordinated outreach and content usage.
- Coordinate internally with solution engineering, product, implementation, and customer success teams to scope pilots, implementation plans, and seamless handoffs after contract signing.
- Run competitive analyses and gather market intelligence to position offerings effectively, counter competitive objections, and identify areas for product differentiation.
- Track and report key sales metrics (conversion rates, average deal size, sales cycle length, pipeline coverage) and provide actionable insights to sales leadership to improve processes and win rates.
- Manage and respond to RFPs, RFIs, and tender processes for targeted enterprise opportunities, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely submission.
- Execute targeted account-based selling campaigns for named accounts, including stakeholder mapping, multi-channel outreach, and executive-level engagement.
- Design and test messaging hypotheses and outreach templates; iterate based on response rates, conversion metrics, and A/B testing results.
- Build long-term, trust-based relationships with C-level, VP, and director-level stakeholders in target organizations to secure strategic partnerships and reference customers.
- Identify and close upsell and cross-sell opportunities at the point of initial sale when aligned with customer needs and long-term value creation.
- Participate in industry events, trade shows, webinars, and networking activities to generate new leads, build brand awareness, and foster pipeline growth.
- Mentor junior sales team members, share best practices, conduct role-plays, and contribute to a consistent team selling approach and playbook.
- Ensure compliance with internal sales policies, discounting matrices, CRM hygiene standards, and contractual obligations to protect revenue integrity and legal risk.
- Lead discovery workshops and stakeholder alignment sessions for complex opportunities to accelerate decision-making and reduce time-to-close.
Secondary Functions
- Feed customer feedback, feature requests, and competitive trends into product and marketing to influence roadmap and go-to-market strategy.
- Assist in developing sales collateral, case studies, and ROI calculators that support rapid deal progression and executive-level conversations.
- Support channel or partner onboarding and co-selling initiatives where appropriate to expand reach and accelerate adoption.
- Participate in sales forecasting reviews and territory capacity planning to help scale the sales organization predictably.
- Take part in internal training sessions and pilot new sales tools or methodologies to continually improve sales effectiveness and efficiency.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- Expert proficiency with CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot, or Dynamics) for opportunity management, forecasting, and pipeline hygiene.
- Proven experience with sales engagement and outreach tools (Outreach, SalesLoft, Apollo) and LinkedIn Sales Navigator for prospecting and multi-touch cadences.
- Strong command of consultative selling methodologies (MEDDIC/MEDDICC, SPIN Selling, Challenger, or Solution Selling) to drive complex deals.
- Demonstrated ability to build financial business cases and ROI models that quantify value and accelerate procurement approval.
- Contract negotiation skills, familiarity with commercial terms, NDAs, SOWs, and SaaS licensing models.
- Experience preparing and delivering polished sales presentations, proposals, and product demos (remote and in-person).
- Data-driven approach to sales: comfortable using analytics and dashboards to track KPIs, conversion funnels, and territory performance.
- Ability to manage CRM reporting, forecast accuracy, and pipeline hygiene to meet leadership reporting standards.
- Proficiency with productivity and collaboration tools (G Suite / Microsoft 365, Zoom, Slack) and basic familiarity with marketing automation platforms (Marketo, Pardot).
- Experience responding to RFPs and coordinating multi-stakeholder proposals for enterprise buyers.
Soft Skills
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with comfort presenting to C-level and mid-market stakeholders.
- Strong consultative mindset and active listening — able to translate customer pain into tailored solutions and measurable business outcomes.
- Resilience and coachability: persistent in following up while receptive to feedback and continuous improvement.
- Strategic thinking and territory planning — able to prioritize high-impact accounts and create repeatable playbooks.
- Relationship-building and stakeholder management to cultivate long-term client partnerships and executive sponsorship.
- High emotional intelligence and negotiation acumen to manage complex buying processes and competing priorities.
- Time management and organizational discipline to balance high-volume outreach with deep-dive enterprise engagements.
- Problem-solving orientation and creativity in overcoming procurement obstacles and technical objections.
- Collaborative teamwork across marketing, product, and operations to ensure customer success and smooth handoffs.
- Results-driven mindset with accountability for meeting and exceeding quotas and KPIs.
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in sales or customer-facing revenue roles.
Preferred Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Finance, or related fields.
- MBA or advanced business certification is a plus for enterprise-focused roles.
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Business Administration
- Marketing
- Communications
- Finance
- Economics
- Technology / Information Systems (for technical solutions selling)
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range:
- 2–6 years in B2B sales, inside sales, or business development with at least 1–2 years in a quota-carrying new business role.
Preferred:
- 3–8 years of progressive sales experience with a demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding new business quotas, experience selling SaaS or technology solutions preferred, and prior success in enterprise or mid-market account acquisition.