Sales Manager Cloud Providers & Strategic Partnerships

Adtran is a leading provider of networking solutions, and they are seeking a highly motivated Sales Manager to expand their customer base in the hyperscale and cloud sector. The role involves driving sales of Optical Networking and services while building long-term relationships with key decision-makers in the industry.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the sales efforts necessary to grow existing hyperscale customers and acquire new accounts within hyperscale and cloud services sector
• Identify and pursue new sales opportunities in emerging areas, with a focus on companies scaling optical bandwidth due market demands and AI-driven networking infrastructure build outs
• Build and nurture long-term relationships with key decision-makers, including CTOs, network architects, and other technical stakeholders, ensuring a deep understanding of their needs and challenges
• Develop and execute a tailored sales strategy to position our optical networking equipment and services as critical enablers for the client’s growth and technology infrastructure needs
• Leverage the market movement away from large hyperscale players to differentiate our offering
• Partner with internal Product and Business Development teams to present customized networking solutions that meet the specific business objectives and technical requirements of this market segment
• Drive complex negotiations, manage sales cycles, and close deals that result in new business for the company
• Work closely with the marketing, product, and technical teams to ensure a unified approach and the delivery of best-in-class solutions and services
• Accurately forecast sales activities and opportunities within Salesforce.com

Requirements:

• Minimum of 8+ years of experience in sales or business development, with a proven track record in selling Optical networking equipment
• An understanding of L2 and L3 product applications plus understanding of data centers
• A good understanding of the hyperscale, cloud services, and data center markets
• A broad understanding of AI compute, edge computing, and disaggregated data center designs
• Strong ability to identify, pursue, and close new business opportunities, with experience navigating long sales cycles and managing complex sales processes
• A solid understanding of optical networking solutions, AI-driven compute infrastructures, and edge networking technologies is essential to effectively communicate the value of our offerings
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and networking skills to effectively engage with senior executives and technical leaders within target accounts
• Strong track record of meeting or exceeding sales targets and KPIs
• Highly proactive with the ability to work independently in a remote environment while managing nationwide accounts