Sales Specialist

Smithbucklin
, a 650-person, employee-owned professional services company with more than 70 years of success serving the association market, with primary offices in Chicago and Washington,

D.C., is looking for a Sales Specialist to join our Sales Services Unit in Chicago.

Our sales professionals manage every facet and detail of the sales process to drive growth for our client organizations through the sales of their assets. Our goal is to work closely with a client organization's leaders to identify the proper sales strategies to ensure that the organization has a diversified revenue stream that grows annually. Among our services are sales of exhibits and sponsor ships at trade shows;

year-round partner programs; and Advertising (print/electronic advertising; website ads; webinars; podcasts; video; regional conferences; and other products as identified by the organization).

At Smithbucklin, we embody a culture driven by optimism
, ambition
, expertise
, and thoughtfulness
, where every team member is empowered to exceed expectations and deliver exceptional results for our clients. Join us in shaping the future of association management, where our values serve as the cornerstone of our success.

• Consistently achieves or exceeds membership sales and recruitment goals
• Passionate about building relationships and helping organizations grow
• Thrives in a consultative sales environment focused on delivering value
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, ensuring an exceptional member experience
• Leverages a proven sales process to generate leads, nurture prospects, and close memberships
• Motivated by solving unique business challenges, and being rewarded for performance[

• Drive membership growth by identifying, prospecting, and converting new individual and organizational members across association clients
• Own and manage membership sales pipelines, consistently meeting or exceeding recruitment and revenue goals
• Conduct outbound prospecting through phone, email, Linked In, referrals, conferences, and other lead generation strategies
• Execute consultative sales conversations that communicate the value of membership and recommend the best membership options
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with prospective, current, and lapsed members throughout the membership lifecycle
• Collaborate with client team, marketing, and membership operations to execute recruitment and retention campaigns
• Provide creative input on new membership recruitment strategies, referral programs, promotional campaigns, and member value propositions to drive growth
• Utilize Salesforce and other CRM tools to manage opportunities, forecast revenue, document activity, and maintain accurate pipeline reporting
• Analyze sales performance and membership trends to identify new business opportunities and improve conversion rates
• Represent client organizations at conferences, webinars, and networking events to promote membership opportunities
• Partner with membership coordinators and support staff to ensure a seamless onboarding experience and outstanding member service

• Passion for consultative sales and relationship building
• Energized by achieving ambitious revenue and membership growth goals
• Proven ability to prospect, generate new business, and expand existing relationships
• Creative, resourceful, and proactive in identifying opportunities to increase membership
• Outstanding communication, presentation, negotiation, and organizational skills
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative team environment while taking ownership of individual sales goals
• Analytical mindset with the ability to leverage data to drive decisions and improve sales performance
• Ability to effectively balance multiple priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution or equivalent experience
• 3–5 years of experience in membership sales, business development, account management, customer success, association membership, or a related sales role

• Proficiency with basic computer programs, including the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Proven…