Sales Director, Advertising

The Group:

Advertising Sales sits within Morningstar’s Individual Investor business, which empowers millions of investors and their advisors with editorial insights, unbiased analysis, actionable data, and tailored tools to make informed investing decisions. The business includes Morningstar.com, Global.Morningstar.com and the Morningstar Investor subscription product.

For the Sales Director, Advertising role we’re seeking a self-motivated and results-oriented salesperson who can achieve revenue goals for our media and event channels including digital, print and conferences. Success drivers include relationship development, activity generation and pipeline building that lead to new business and the growth of existing accounts. The ideal candidate will have outside sales experience leveraging a consultative approach, a sound understanding of the media and investing spaces, strong communication, presentation and negotiation skills, and a track record of working with the largest financial services firms and their advertising agencies.

This position is based in Chicago and reports to the Head of Sales, North America Advertising.

Job Responsibilities:

• Meet and exceed annual revenue goals
• Grow client base via prospecting, networking and referrals
• Work closely with teammates to build, pitch, negotiate and execute custom media and event solutions
• Ensure that client deliverables are met and contractual obligations are fulfilled
• Adhere to internal/team procedures, guidelines and business requirements related to proposals, contracts, inventory, pricing, etc.
• Leverage teamwork, relationship building and collaboration across Morningstar sales teams to identify and/or accelerate media and event opportunities
• Develop deep client relationships that drive opportunities, renewals, share-of-wallet, upselling, etc.
• Focus 70% of efforts on business development activities
• Develop subject matter expertise across Morningstar’s digital, print and conference channels and be able to pitch them effectively
• Develop a deep understanding of Morningstar’s role in investing, and the Ad Sales team’s value proposition, and advocate strongly for both across prospects and clients
• Create and execute an annual territory business plan
• Leverage platforms including Salesforce and Seismic to track activity, enhance productivity, share Morningstar insights with clients and prospects, etc.
• Participate in industry groups and attend industry events

Qualifications

• 5+ years of outside sales experience in either media or investing
• Self-motivated, with a proven track record of meeting and exceeding sales quotas
• Adept at growing sales via new logos and growth across current clients
• Excellent written communication, verbal communication, presentation and negotiation skills
• Adept at building and growing client relationships
• Demonstrated ability to work in both a team environment and independently (when necessary)
• Experience working with Excel, PowerPoint, Salesforce and Seismic
• Travel throughout NY & NJ is required 30%-40% of each month

Compensation and Benefits

At Morningstar we believe people are at their best when they are at their healthiest. That’s why we champion your wellness through a wide range of programs that support all stages of your personal and professional life. Here are some examples of the offerings we provide:

• Financial Health

  100% 401k match up to 6% of salary

  Stock Ownership Potential

  Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission

• Physical Health

  Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company-provided HSA contributions (up to $500-$2,000 annually) for specific plans and coverages

  Additional medical Wellness Incentives - up to $300-$600 annual

  Company-provided long- and short-term disability insurance

• Emotional Health

  Trust-Based Time Off

  6-week Paid Sabbatical Program

  6-Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave

  Competitive 8-24 Week Paid Parental Leave

  Adoption Assistance

  Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities

  Annual Flex Stipend - $1000 annually to cover personal education & well-being expenses

  Tuition Reimbursement

• Social Health

  Charitable Matching Gifts program

  Dollars for Doers volunteer program

  Paid volunteering days

  15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.

001_MstarInc Morningstar Inc. Legal Entity