Opportunity Snapshot

If you know the automotive market, you know Autobytel -- what you might not know are some of the reasons why our sales team is among the best places in the industry to build a long term, lucrative career...

Autobytel pioneered the concept of the online automotive marketplace, and we are now one of the largest and most trusted automotive commerce and information companies in the world. Autobytel generates millions of "leads" through our websites, and these leads are highly qualified, in-market car buyers. Our field sales team markets these leads to local retailers -- the car dealerships. In short, we connect people in the market to buy cars with the local stores that sell them.

Our requirements for this position include:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience in outside sales and account management within the automotive industry.
  • Successful backgrounds include but are not limited to automotive sales, dealer advertising and media sales, training products for dealers, lead generation for dealers, CRM tools for dealers, business products for dealers and other dealer facing product sales.
• Technical savvy including the MS Office Suite, Goldmine (or similar) and knowledge of online/email/database marketing techniques are helpful, but not required.
• Willingness to travel throughout the territory (Houston/S. Texas including Austin and San Antonio).
• The organization and self-motivation required to work from a home office.

This is your opportunity to:

• Be a part of a professional environment and culture: one of the best parts about this position is that you will be marketing arguably the best online sales and marketing solution around to clients who value your support -- and the service! We've created a great culture and the retention and career promotion on our sales force is a great testament to that fact.
• Focus on building client relationships: along with your sales goals, your focus will be to retain your clients and help them get the most out of our powerful service. This role is about education, marketing and getting commitment rather than just "closing a deal".
• Earn top compensation: bottom line, a career in sales is about earning a great income, but often that comes at the expense of a base salary and benefits. Not here. Your compensation package will include a solid base salary and an uncapped commission plan that will enable you to reach $100+K within a year. Our top performers earn well in excess of those figures. We also offer a comprehensive benefits plan that includes health insurance and 401(k).
• Continue to grow: we've all heard the one about the CEO who started out in an entry level sales job and worked his/her way up to the top -- here is your chance. We place an enormous focus on your professional development and provide both the career path as well as the training you need to reach your potential. For example, the VP of Sales started out as an Account Manager just 10 years ago, and we have a strong track record of promotion from this position.

More About Your Role

Training
Training will start with an in-depth two week training program that includes products and services, customer relationship and meetings with the top professionals in your field. After this initial orientation, your training will be ongoing and include formalized programs and mentoring.

Growing Your Territory
You will "own" a key territory in our portfolio -- the lucrative Houston/S. Texas market -- which includes many established clients.

Your mission will be threefold:

1. Developing new business.
2. Account expansion/upselling services.
3. Account retention.

For your existing accounts, you will meet with key client contacts once every month and focus on relationship building and upselling services. For example, you will meet with the General Manager, Principal and the Internet Director to strengthen their relationship with Autobytel and to help them to get the most out of the leads we provide and our tools, which include:

• Custom messaging
• Email Manager
• Rapid Response
• Call Center
• Local Ads

You will be an ambassador for Autobytel's products, and an educator for your clients, helping them to understand the depth of our service and to get maximum leverage -- and revenue generating potential -- from them.

When you aren't working with your existing clients, you'll be developing new ones. This territory has rich expansion potential. With the help of our Inside Sales team (who will help you develop and "warm up" your leads), you'll spend around 60% of your time on new business development.

A Typical Week
You will be a true road warrior and spend upwards of 80% of your time out in the field. A typical week might begin with a team "meeting" from your home office a review of our sales results. You'll spend the balance of the week out in the field meeting with two to three clients every day. This might include a onsite meeting with satisfied General Manager, who you think could benefit from utilizing a broader range of Autobytel's services. Then, you're onto another meetings with prospective new clients who want to compare our service with a competitor's product.

An afternoon meeting might involve a hands-on training session with an Internet Director. You will strategize with the Director on more effective ways of turning the leads they receive from Autobytel into "feet on the floor" at the dealership. These are high leverage sessions as just minor changes in a marketing strategy can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased sales - a nice way to cement a client relationship!

Keys to Success

As you know, there are some key skills and attributes that are important for any successful sales person:

• Competitive, hard working nature.
• Passion to take ownership of your territory.
• Outgoing personality.
• Self-motivation.

These qualities are important at Autobytel, but what will make you a true success are your:

• Entrepreneurial energy: You will have plenty of support, but you will essentially "own" your territory, and run it much like your own business.
• Great presentation skills: Education is a big part of your role, and your ability to deliver effective training sessions is just as critical as your ability to deliver a compelling presentation to a senior executive.
• Tenacity and the determination to reach your goals.

Who We Are

Every day consumers choose websites owned and operated by Autobytel -- Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, CarSmart.com, Car.com, AutoSite.com, and CarTV.com -- to facilitate their car-shopping decisions. Autobytel's ability to attract millions of highly qualified, in-market car buyers and connect them with retailers has made it a leader in facilitating the entire customer car-buying lifecycle.

MyRide.com, the flagship site of Autobytel Inc., offers automotive consumers one destination for all their needs from information on buying and owning a car to community and enthusiasm. Consumers can access information on new and used cars for sale, as well as local auto dealers, expert auto reviews, full-screen car photos, and car videos. They can compare car prices, research used car values, shop for car parts and accessories and find local repair and service shops--all in one location. Car enthusiasts and consumers can express their love of cars at the MyRide.com automotive community by posting and sharing car photos, car videos, podcasts and blogs.

If this sounds like the right mix of challenge and opportunity, and you meet the following required qualifications, we look forward to hearing from you.