Your Background

To be a good fit for the Sales Manager opportunity, you will have:

• A bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong experience in direct sales of consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals or medical products in a B2B environment.
• Solid experience in sales management, including the ability to:
  • Build, coach and motivate sales teams. Quick question for you - click here
  • Drive significant sales growth; top candidates will have a track record of success in leading a smaller company in substantial expansion; experience in startup environments is a strong plus.
  • Combine strategic vision with hands-on execution.
  • Develop and implement scalable sales infrastructure.
  • Create and promote a culture of accountability.
• Strong understanding of customer and market dynamics and requirements.
• A metrics-driven approach.
• Strong computer proficiency, including familiarity with MS Excel and Salesforce or similar SFA/CRM.

Just as important will be the following competencies and characteristics:

• An intelligent and analytical mindset as well as the ability to keep team members' spirits up.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to create and maintain strategic business relations.
• A structured approach, strong planning and organizational skills and the ability to manage priorities.
• A proactive approach to learning and the ability to learn quickly.
• Solid decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
• Self-motivation, a competitive spirit and a robust work ethic.

Experience with the following is preferred but not required:

• Startup environments.
• Cannabis products.
• Pharmaceutical or medical sales.
• Other regulated consumer products.

You will spend time out in the field, accompanying sales team members and calling on customers and prospects. You'll need a valid California driver's license, proof of auto insurance and your own vehicle. You'll also need to be willing to travel overnight about 10% of the time. Primarily this will include travel to Northern California, but you may visit other states as well.

As you would expect with a sales leadership position, you'll need to be flexible and willing to work evenings, weekends and holidays as necessary.

Role Overview

Note: this is a high-level overview of the role. To take a deeper dive into the details, see the Role Specifics tab.

We are currently looking for an extraordinary sales leader with the experience and vision to build and manage our business sales and market space. Reporting to the CEO, you will take over a team that currently includes seven Territory Managers and two Inside Sales Representatives. We currently sell to licensed dispensaries in California.

All this is about to change, and you will take a square one approach to assessing the current sales organization and implementing the changes necessary to drive and support growth. As the head of sales, you will lead and manage a results-oriented team that is driven by sales, and be an integral part of the development and performance of all sales activities. The role includes tactical and strategic elements, from doing direct sales yourself to defining the sales vision.

Key objectives will include:

• Defining sales plans, initiatives and strategies to expand the overall customer base and revenue stream.
• Recruiting, hiring and training the team, leading them to achieve profitability and growth in accordance with company vision and values. This will include establishing a robust training program.
• Ensuring we have structures and processes in place to support upcoming growth. Quick question for you - click here
• Creating a positive and motivating sales culture that promotes accountability and resourcefulness.
• Updating our sales compensation to promote top and bottom line growth and to help the sales team earn the rewards they deserve.
• Establishing, monitoring and managing to KPIs and targets.
• Building key relationships with vendors, customers and other stakeholders in this space.
• Supporting planned future expansion into other states.

Pictured: All Kurvana products are made from the most coveted strains & genetics, and are triple-lab tested and pharmaceutical grade. Our packaging makes them easy and convenient for vaping.

Roles Specifics

Note: this is a detailed description of the role. To get the 30,000-foot view, see the Role Overview tab.

As Sales Manager, you will:

• Generate new opportunities through strategic prospecting and networking that yields qualified leads and accelerates the sales cycle.
• Provide sales reporting and forecasting to executive management.
• Create and implement effective direct sales strategies and lead sales personnel toward achievement of all corporate sales objectives.
• Develop competencies and processes required to create an effective and efficient sales organization.
• Provide leadership through effective communication and active coaching and development, while comparing sales results to goals and taking appropriate measure to achieve concrete results.
• Provide sales management, budget control, and compensation programs.
• Ensure effective hiring, orientation, training, development, and retention of sales personnel.
• Supervise sales team through field visits, observe and measure results to include performance reviews.
• Prepare sales forecasts.
• Manage to meet/exceed monthly, quarterly, and annual sales forecasts.
• Partner with the marketing team in the development of key customer relationship management programs.
• Proactively identify changes in the market, and assess competitive pressures to develop and modify strategies and tactics accordingly.
• Provide outstanding customer service to prospective clients, handling their needs and concerns with professionalism, compassion, and understanding.
• Develop and manage strong relationships with new and existing customers and key relationships.
• Wholly understand the brand, product, and the formulation of the concept/strategy and how it relates to the customers' needs.
• Serve as reliable, trusted resource of accurate and current medical knowledge.
• Focus on patient concerns by continuously learning and expanding product knowledge.
• Work closely with team interpreting market data and utilizing it to optimize market opportunities and evaluations.
• Represent the company in a positive and professional manner.
• Adhere to all company, industry and FDA regulations and guidelines.
• Demonstrate the ability to work well within a team, including sales, pre-sales, marketing and professional services.
• Efficiently manage time to hit sales and activity goals.

Pictured: By integrating patient feedback and breakthrough technology, we created a device that performs as well as our oil. Our newest KPEN unveils a revolutionary style and user experience while maintaining the portability and discreteness of its predecessor. The KPEN is a unique and fully customized device truly equipped to celebrate the quality of the oil inside it.

More Good Reasons

Make your mark
While we have a team and processes in place, you'll have a good deal of leeway in driving change across just about all aspects of our sales program. In addition to owning the overall strategy, you will keep your hands-on skills sharp in implementing processes, coaching the team, and driving your own sales.

Culture of innovation
Kurvana is essentially a tech startup, with constant evolution and a pioneering spirit. We are always improving, refining our processes and bringing in new equipment. If you're the person we're looking for, you recognize this as an important value proposition.

Career options
As sales grow, your team will need to keep pace, meaning that this could evolve into a director level role in relatively short order. Over the longer term, you could become part of the senior executive team leading a global enterprise.

Track record of success
Even with a small team, we have grown exponentially, establishing a worldwide reputation for the finest quality (see the next point). We have the recipe for success, including the talent, processes, strong relationships with suppliers and more. You'll leverage the recipe to prepare for growth. Once adult use is legalized on January 2, we expect business to double in a month.

Passion for quality
Once harvested, our premium cannabis passes through strict quality control measures and multiple inspections to yield a 100% natural product, always clean and free of toxins, microbes, pesticides, butane, and glycerin. This 50-step process includes constant, comprehensive testing that results in a truly connoisseur-grade product with no solvents or additives. We take pride in having one of the world's most advanced teams of scientists in the field of cannabis therapeutics and they work to continually drive innovation across our premium product lines.

Dynamic industry
With old myths and stereotypes of cannabis use being shattered, there is a new focus on its health benefits and on the new technological standards for quality production of cannabis products. At Kurvana, we believe in the unlimited potential of cannabis and hemp and are deeply committed to its future. For example, in May 2017 we sponsored the Cannabis Conference on Medicine, Government, and Society at UC Irvine. During the conference, UCI announced their vision for a cannabis research institute on campus that will investigate the role of cannabis in science, policy, and law.

Keys to Success

You will join a challenging team of high achievers, who are all extremely driven to be the best at what they do -- where quality and winning are paramount. This position is not for everyone, as you will be pushed. You must have a genuine passion to be part of this high-intensity team; without this passion, you will find what we are trying to accomplish too difficult. To excel in this role you will be a strong communicator who is customer-obsessed and has a drive for greatness. Those who are successful in our culture are trusting, loyal and dedicated, and open to criticism. They are problem solvers that pay great attention to detail.

If you are used to lots of structure and to delegating a lot of tasks, you will need to make a big adjustment. Ours is a dynamic and evolving organization, and that will become even more intense over the coming months. You will need to be comfortable managing change, including building structures that serve your team today and are scalable in the future.

The position will be like jumping on a treadmill that going full speed. You'll need to be flexible, and you can't have a big ego. As a leader, you will set high standards, never settling for the status quo. You'll need to set expectations, hold your team accountable, and help them grow their skills in sales, time management, networking and other areas. Just as we will expect commitment and hard work from you, you should motivate your team to do the same.

While you don't need to be an expert in all the science and technology behind our products, you should become knowledgeable enough to hold an intelligent conversation with customers and prospects. In fact, you should embrace our commitment to staying ahead of the curve in a dynamic and evolving industry. In addition to taking a proactive approach to getting past the initial learning curve, you should be dedicated to learning and innovating on an ongoing basis.