Sales Development Representative; Lead Account Management

Cognia is a fast-growing law company with bold plans to achieve our strategic goals over the next five years. This role is a fantastic opportunity to join a high-energy team and contribute to the success of the business.

The fundamental purpose of the Sales Development Representative (SDR) is to generate and qualify new business leads, while also acting as a trusted point of contact for assigned accounts.

This role combines proactive hunting and lead generation with account management responsibilities, ensuring prospects and clients have a consistent go-to person as opportunities develop into lasting relationships.

As the Lead Generator you will:

• Identify, research, and target prospective clients, building and maintaining a pipeline of high-quality leads
• Proactively engage with senior legal leaders to position Cognia's value proposition and secure meetings
• Work with assigned LT/Executive Sponsors to plan and progress lead-generation activities
• Qualify opportunities by understanding client needs, using case studies and KPIs to build a business case
• Develop creative outreach tactics and campaigns to open doors and build trust
• Manage and update Pipedrive for your own leads and accounts

As the Deal Driver you will:

• Work with Cognia Leadership Team (LT), SMEs, and the wider team to develop leads, shape opportunities, qualify deals, implement win plans, orchestrate Team Cognia, and progress deals through the sale cycle until closure
• Act as primary point of contact and ‘owner' for new business opportunities received by Cognia
• Oversee assigned leads by managing touchpoints during the sales cycle, shaping opportunities into winnable deals
• Move deals through Pre-Sales and Qualification, ensuring fit with Cognia and working with prospects/clients to build express needs and KPIs
• Develop and manage win plans for qualified deals
• Orchestrate all Team Cognia engagement with clients, including Executive Sponsors and SMEs
• Demonstrate ownership for progressing and managing bids through stage 1 and 2, contributing actively to drafting proposals and solutions
• Support contract and commercial discussions with accounts/deals

As the Account Manager you will:

• Work with Executive Sponsors, SMEs, and Team Cognia to prepare and manage account plans with strategies and actions to achieve business objectives and metrics
• Manage ongoing execution of account plans, ensuring planning and follow-up activities are completed
• Establish and nurture strong client relationships at all levels, including procurement
• Lead and orchestrate Team Cognia in support of these relationships
• Understand the competitive landscape of accounts, developing strategies to engage and win versus competitors
• Shape client needs to address business objectives, increasing opportunity and improving Cognia's win chances
• Develop leads, shape opportunities, qualify deals, and orchestrate Team Cognia to progress deals through to closure
• Support all contract and commercial discussions within accounts/deals
• Collaborate with delivery teams to review and enhance account performance, identifying areas for additional support

This is a hybrid role, requiring 3 days per week in our London office, with the flexibility to work remotely for the remaining 2 days.

Requirements

• Experience in services sales, ideally within professional services, legal, consulting, or outsourcing
• A proven ability to generate and qualify new business leads and manage opportunities through early-stage deal cycles
• Account management experience, serving as a go-to contact for clients and nurturing relationships over time
• Resilience and persistence to manage longer sales cycles
• Strong communication and objection-handling skills, with the ability to build trust quickly
• Proficiency in MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and CRM systems, with the ability to learn new tools quickly
• Knowledge of the Legal/Professional Services or ALSP market is desirable
• A university degree is preferred but not essential if you have strong sales experience

Personal qualities:

• Driven, motivated to win, and positive outlook
• A hunter mentality: thrives on opening doors, creating new opportunities, and finding ways in
• Self-starter, able to work independently while knowing when to involve others
• Relationship builder, confident engaging senior stakeholders
• Agile, creative, and curious, willing to test new approaches and learn fast