[Hiring] Sales Development Representative @Rice University

Role Description

The Sales Development Representative within OpenStax at Rice University is the first point of contact for instructors, teachers, and institutions interested in OpenStax. As part of the OpenStax Sales team, this role owns lead management and qualification, including:

• Verifying and screening leads from every source
• Understanding each instructor’s needs
• Handing qualified opportunities to Educational Resources Consultants
• Offering demos to individual instructors interested in OpenStax Assignable
• Maintaining accurate Salesforce records

This work ensures that every interested instructor receives a fast, helpful response, helping more learners access high-quality, affordable educational resources.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree
• One or more (1+) years of experience in sales, sales development, customer service, or a related customer-facing role

Requirements

• Proficiency in sales, with the ability to learn and refine skills over time
• Ability to act independently in creating and executing sales plans and managing customer service issues
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including a friendly and professional manner when communicating with customers in person or over the phone
• Strong customer service and relationship-management skills
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of client data
• Strong work ethic and self-motivation
• Ability to manage a steady volume of leads, prioritize effectively, and follow a defined process with strong attention to detail
• Comfort learning new software tools and products, including CRM systems

Benefits

• Proposed annual hiring range: $50,000–$57,000
• Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime

Company Description

OpenStax (an initiative of Rice University) is the world’s largest nonprofit publisher of open educational resources (OER) and a provider of interactive, research-informed learning technologies for high school and college students. Our mission is to make an amazing education accessible to all by offering free access to high-quality digital resources that support the teaching and learning journey.

• Since 2012, OpenStax has published free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks used by more than 43 million learners across 169 countries, saving students over $3 billion in educational costs.
• Our library includes more than 80 titles used at 72% of U.S. colleges and universities.
• We are expanding our impact through digital courseware, institutional partnerships, and K–12 education.

Ideal Candidate Statement

You are curious, organized, and warm in conversation, and you care about making education more affordable and accessible. You enjoy talking with instructors and teachers, listening to their needs, and matching them with the right resources. You are comfortable managing a steady flow of leads, prioritizing tasks quickly, and following a clear process while still giving each person a personalized response. You write clearly, learn new tools and products easily, and work well with teammates in Sales, Marketing, Customer Experience, and Data Intelligence. You are looking for a role where you can build skills in consultative selling and grow with a mission-driven team.

Workplace Requirements

• This is a desk-based, computer-intensive role performed in a remote home-office environment.
• Reliable high-speed internet access and a suitable, distraction-free workspace are required.
• The role involves frequent phone and video calls with instructors during regular business hours.
• Occasional travel may be required to support conferences, webinars, and other outreach events.

Essential Functions

• Builds and maintains relationships with new and existing clients, including instructors, teachers, and institutions interested in OpenStax.
• Conducts sales calls and meetings, including virtual meetings via phone and video conferencing.
• Assesses customer needs by verifying and qualifying leads from all sources against a defined qualification checklist.
• Recommends appropriate products and services, matching each instructor with the OpenStax resources that best fit their course.
• Educates prospective and current clients on the benefits of products and services, including providing demonstrations to individual instructors interested in OpenStax Assignable.
• Responds promptly to new leads in accordance with the team’s response-time targets.
• Transfers qualified opportunities to the appropriate Educational Resources Consultant with clear documentation and returns leads that are not yet ready to Marketing for further nurturing.
• Maintains accurate lead and contact records, statuses, and handoffs in Salesforce.
• Works with Customer Experience to verify instructor status and route questions to the appropriate team.
• Collaborates with Sales, Marketing, and Data Intelligence to improve lead routing, scoring, and qualification criteria, and identifies patterns in incoming leads.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

Additional Functions

• Helps document and refine the lead qualification checklist and related standard operating procedures.
• Reports on lead volume, response times, and handoff quality.
• Participates in team meetings and training related to OpenStax educational materials and products.
• Supports webinars, conferences, and other outreach events as needed.