Senior Business Consultant

About ESOP Partners, Inc.

ESOP Partners, Inc. is a third-party administration and consulting firm dedicated to providing a liquid business transition solution for owners of closely held businesses through the establishment, maintenance, and sustainability of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Our mission is to maximize the financial and cultural benefits of employee ownership by helping ESOP companies build strong, informed, and engaged employee ownership cultures.

We aspire to be nationally recognized as the leading ESOP firm in the country. We pursue this vision through our Core Values:

• Seek to Understand – We identify the underlying reasons behind questions and actions and take ownership of continuous learning and improvement.
• Manage Expectations – We proactively communicate clear, specific, and achievable objectives to create alignment and accountability.
• Collaborate – We work together through constructive discussion and teamwork to achieve win-win outcomes.
• Get Things Done – We prioritize, organize, and execute efficiently to deliver accurate and timely results.
• Practice Professional Skepticism – We apply a questioning mindset to objectively analyze information for quality and accuracy.
• Exhibit Mental Strength – We manage challenges with professionalism, resilience, and a solutions-oriented attitude.

Position Summary

The Senior Business Consultant is responsible for supporting the company's sales goals through advanced consultative sales techniques and great customer service, maintaining quality relations with existing accounts and referral partners (RPPs), and obtaining new business clients. The role owns the full sales cycle, from generating and screening leads through closing the sale of the Feasibility Study, with primary emphasis on pipeline development and new business development with owners of small to mid-market businesses.

Position Details

• Location: In-office position based in Appleton, Wisconsin
• Position Type: Full-time | Exempt
• Travel: This position will travel to support business development, relationship building, and industry visibility. Candidates need to be familiar, comfortable, and willing to travel independently via plane or car.

Key Accountabilities

Essential duties include, but are not limited to, the following. Accountabilities are listed in order of priority, with the approximate share of the role noted for each.

Pipeline Development and Management (approximately 40%)

Drive prospects through the entire sales process from initial qualification to deal closure by conducting discovery, building relationships, presenting solutions, handling objections, and maintaining deal momentum until the Feasibility Study is sold.

• Conducts discovery with owners and senior decision-makers to understand business, financial, and succession goals.
• Educates potential clients on the financial and tax implications of Employee Ownership.
• Develops maximum sales potential through competitive consultative sales techniques and knowledge of the company's products and services, as well as the competition's strengths and weaknesses.
• Analyzes prospect financial statements to assess fit and shape recommendations.
• Creates customized proposals to meet specific client requirements in an efficient manner.
• Handles objections and maintains deal momentum across lengthy sales cycles, collaborating with delivery teams and subject matter experts as needed.
• Maintains updated, organized files and CRM notes on all accounts.
• Completes and submits weekly sales reports on account activity, outstanding proposals, proposals secured, and proposals lost with complete documentation.
• Presents an annual sales budget to management for approval. An established approval process will be followed should the budget need to be adjusted throughout the year.

 

Lead Generation and Business Development (approximately 33%)

Proactively identify and attract potential RPP and Client Prospects through relationship building, networking events, cultivation, and strategic outreach to generate a consistent flow of highly qualified opportunities.

• Proactively builds and maintains referral-based relationships with business advisors inside and outside of the ESOP industry.
• Attends and leverages networking events, industry functions, and strategic outreach to cultivate new RPP and client prospects.
• Contacts prospects via telephone, email correspondence, social media, or in person by traveling as frequently as necessary to meet and surpass profitable sales goals for the company. 
  
  
  
  

Lead Management and Screening (approximately 10%)

Process incoming leads by evaluating, scoring, and screening prospects to ensure only qualified opportunities advance into the sales pipeline while maintaining consistent process standards.

• Utilizes company leads to expand the current client base and follows up on all leads promptly.
• Evaluates, scores, and screens incoming leads using established criteria before advancing them into the pipeline.
• Applies consistent process standards and documents screening outcomes in the CRM.

Client and RPP Success and Account Management (approximately 15%)

Maintain and grow existing client and RPP relationships through post-sale support, account management activities, and strategic relationship nurturing to generate testimonials, referrals, and repeat business.

• Builds and maintains quality relations with existing assigned accounts and increases account base and volume of sales on a consistent basis.
• Assesses quality of offerings and identifies additional value-added services for prospects and current clients.
• Nurtures client and RPP relationships after the sale to generate testimonials, referrals, and repeat business.
• Assists in the collection of aging account balances; commissions will only be paid on revenue collected on client balances.
  
  

Strategic Market Intelligence (approximately 2%)

Gather, analyze, and communicate competitive insights, market trends, and customer feedback from the field to inform company strategy, product development, and competitive positioning decisions.

• Stays abreast of market conditions regarding products, product updates, service offerings, and new technologies through available resources.
• Shares competitive insights and customer feedback from the field with leadership.
• Offers suggestions on marketing techniques to increase ESOP Partners awareness.

All Accountabilities

• Consistently performs all duties in alignment with ESOP Partners' Core Values.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree or a minimum of 5+ years selling complex, high-ticket service offerings.
• 7-15+ years of progressive sales experience.
• 3-5+ years in a senior sales role or equivalent responsibility.
• Proven track record in solution-based selling with lengthy sales cycles (6-18+ months).
• Experience closing high-value transactions, typically ranging from $100K to several million dollars.
• Demonstrated success in new business development, prospecting and acquiring new clients in competitive markets.
• Experience managing and growing strategic accounts over multiple years.
• Ability to understand and analyze financial statements.

Preferred

• Bachelor's major or minor in business administration, marketing, finance, or economics.
• MBA or other relevant master's degree.
• 5+ years in the financial industry (banking, accounting, M&A, valuation) or related sectors.
• Extensive B2B sales experience, particularly with small to mid-market businesses (50-300 employees, $30M-$300M in revenue).
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with and sell to C-suite executives and decision-makers. 

• Experience collaborating cross-functionally with delivery teams, subject matter experts, and implementation specialists.
• Experience managing or mentoring junior sales staff, and/or serving as team lead in a team selling environment.

Performance Expectations

Performance in this role will be evaluated based on:

• Accountability and ownership of assigned responsibilities as a commission plan based employee.
• Results against the Key Accountabilities above, including pipeline health, qualified opportunities generated, and Feasibility Studies sold.
• Adherence to ESOP Partners' Core Values.