Industry Account Executive

About Planet

Welcome to Planet. We believe in using space to help life on Earth. Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. This constellation delivers an unprecedented dataset of empirical information via a revolutionary cloud-based platform to authoritative figures in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors. We are both a space company and data company all rolled into one.

Customers and users across the globe use Planet's data to develop new technologies, drive revenue, power research, and solve our world’s toughest obstacles. As we control every component of hardware design, manufacturing, data processing, and software engineering, our office is a truly inspiring mix of experts from a variety of domains. We have a people-centric approach toward culture and community and we strive to iterate in a way that puts our team members first and prepares our company for growth. Join Planet and be a part of our mission to change the way people see the world. Planet is a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About The Role

We are looking for an Industry Account Executive who will be responsible for growing Planet’s Government sales pipeline and book of business in Government Intelligence, Defense and National Security institutions for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). The ideal candidate for this position is a driven, independent thinker, who can also be creative in finding new and dynamic ways to expand Planet’s government business. This person will have a proven track record of selling in government and defense, with an extensive network and able to navigate procurement processes and frameworks. They will identify, qualify, negotiate, and close large and medium-size deals and drive sales revenue targets. Most likely, the ideal candidate will have Military experience, technical understanding of geospatial imagery products (or a related technical field) and understanding of government customers that we sell to.

This role involves developing an extensive pipeline of new sales leads, providing product and sales demonstrations to prospective customers, and formulating appropriate business. To support this, the D&I Account Executive should have the ability to forecast accurately when managing the incoming pipeline of opportunities. The need to source, sell, co-sell, and close deals means that the ideal candidate should be familiar with the concepts of carrying quota and closing. Above all else, we want our potential D&I Account Executive to enjoy our unique value proposition and join us in Planet’s mission to see change and change the world.

This is a full-time, remote position based in Australia.

Impact You’ll Own

• Develop the sales pipeline needed to achieve or exceed your sales targets and goals.
• Collaborate with the Government Sales team and Leadership.
• Work with Planet’s marketing team to run campaigns to attract and identify new opportunities.
• Work with Business Development to grow a pipeline of opportunities with strategic accounts.
• Prospect and develop business relationships, close sales, and manage customer expectations as the company grows.
• Collaborate with the whole commercial organisation to foster close customer relationships based on trust and integrity.
• Engage qualified prospects and take them through the journey of identifying the value proposition for Planet solutions and negotiating through agreement/contract/procurement obstacles to achieve an ultimate win.
• Manage the contracting and Government procurement process.
• Work closely with pre-sales/solution architect staff to ensure technical validation of the Planet solution and achieve a technical win.
• Work closely with our post-sales organization and Customer Success team to ensure a successful onboarding for new customers and maintain/grow a relationship.
• Work strategically to develop the pipeline of qualified opportunities needed to achieve or exceed your sales targets and goals.
• Maintain an extensive level of pipeline hygiene using Salesforce.com.
• Collaborate and innovate as needed to create customer-facing presentations and proposals unique to the prospect and situation.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience successfully finding and winning business with Government customers, including understanding the nuances of Government sales cycles and how to navigate through the process
• Deep understanding of the value of commercial Earth Observation imagery in supporting the work of the D&I user.
• Excellent relationships across ANZ Government and the partner ecosystem
• 6+ years of related experience in geospatial software, imagery or technical sales, of which 4+ years is experience selling to government customers
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to be self-motivated and work independently under tight deadlines in dynamic environment
• Good judgment and decision-making skills
• Negotiation and persuasion skills
• Critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills
• Experience with Salesforce.com or a similar CRM System
• Fluent in English, the working language of the company
• Ability to travel up to 40% of the year

What Makes You Stand Out

• Active Armed Forces Reserve or veteran as a relevant intelligence professional
• Experience finding and winning business with intelligence accounts, such as the Ministry of Defense or similar

Benefits While Working At Planet

• Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off
• Employee Wellness Program
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
• Equity
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Key skills/competency

• Government Sales
• Account Management
• Geospatial Imagery
• Salesforce CRM
• Negotiation Skills
• Pipeline Management
• Business Development
• National Security
• Defense Sector
• Strategic Accounts