Sales Manager

Opportunity for Impact

We are seeking a Sales Manager (Player-Coach) to scale our higher education go-to-market team, strengthening pipeline creation, deal execution, and team performance as we grow. This role is a two-phase leadership position: you will carry a personal quota for one complete sales cycle to build credibility and product fluency, while leading the team through pipeline reviews, CRM discipline, structured opportunity inspections, and hands-on deal coaching, and support the team’s core operating rhythms (weekly team meetings, trainings, and accountability practices) in close partnership with the VP of Revenue.

After that initial phase, you will transition into full-time people management, owning day-to-day team leadership, coaching and developing reps, addressing performance gaps, strengthening cross-functional alignment with Marketing and Product, and driving overall team performance, pipeline hygiene, opportunity strategy, and forecast accuracy while building a high-performing sales culture that scales. In the second phase, you will scale the team by recruiting and hiring top sales talent.

This position also offers a unique opportunity to build and scale the higher-ed GTM engine at a pivotal moment, shaping how Mantra shows up in the market, directly influencing student access to care through the partnerships you close, and seeing the impact of your work in revenue, retention, and campus outcomes.

What You’ll Do

• Own and execute (a reduced) quota: Run a full end-to-end sales cycle in the higher-education market, from outbound and discovery through close and handoff, building deep product fluency and buyer insight

• Drive pipeline hygiene and forecasting: Lead weekly pipeline reviews, ensure strong CRM discipline, improve deal velocity, and deliver accurate forecasts with clear risk and next steps

• Coach and develop the team (player-coach): Provide structured opportunity inspections, feedback, and enablement that raises rep performance while you are actively selling

• Build durable operating rhythms: Establish and scale the team’s daily and weekly processes, accountability practices, and cross-functional alignment with Marketing, Product, and Revenue leadership

• Use AI to increase selling and coaching effectiveness: Leverage Gong and Salesforce AI insights to summarize calls, flag deal risks, capture coaching moments, and reduce manual admin so the team spends more time on high-quality prospecting and deal execution

Who You Are

• Clear and direct communicator: Communicates with clarity, listens well, and sets expectations early. Gives candid feedback with empathy and follows through

• Self-starter with strong ownership: Takes responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks. Leads by example, stays organized, and reliably closes loops

• Comfortable with ambiguity: Stays calm in fast-changing environments, learns quickly, and can flex between hands-on execution and leadership as priorities shift

• Team-first partner: Builds trust across functions, aligns stakeholders, and balances advocacy with collaboration to get to the best outcome

• Sales Coach & Performance Bar Raiser: Raises performance through structured opportunity inspections, coaching conversations, and ongoing accountability

• Sales Leadership & Team Building: Builds durable operating infrastructure and a culture of high standards, low ego, and continuous improvement

• Complex Sales Execution: Runs and closes complex, multi-stakeholder higher-ed sales cycles from discovery through procurement, building credibility and deep buyer insight

• Pipeline Management & Forecasting: Drives pipeline hygiene, strong CRM discipline, and accurate forecasting with clear deal risks and next steps

Must-Have Qualifications

• 8+ years in SaaS or technology sales

• 5+ years selling into higher education (Student Affairs, Student Success, Wellness, or related departments)

• 1–2 years in formal or informal leadership capacity (player-coach or frontline sales leader)

• Startup or growth-stage company experience

• Proven ability to close complex, multi-stakeholder deals in the high six-figure ACV ranges

• Strong CRM discipline (Salesforce preferred) and a track record of forecast accuracy

• Demonstrated alignment with Mantra’s values, including leading by example and building accountability systems that help a team thrive

Preferred Qualifications

• Higher Education or EdTech domain depth, including experience selling to senior institutional buyers (VPs, CIO, CISOs, Provosts, Presidents, Chancellors)

• Experience with tools like Gong and a demonstrated ability to use AI such as Claude and Starbridge to improve prospecting, deal prep, and coaching effectiveness

• Familiarity with student success, wellness, retention, institutional research or institutional data platforms

Why Choose Mantra

• Impactful Opportunity: Build and scale Mantra’s higher-ed go-to-market engine at a pivotal growth stage, and directly expand access to evidence-based mental healthcare for students through partnerships you help close

• Professional Growth: High ownership and close partnership with Revenue and cross-functional leaders, with exposure to strategy, messaging, forecasting, and team development as you transition from carrying quota to full-time people leadership

• Collaborative Culture: Join a mission-driven, distributed team that values direct communication, low ego, and learning. Work closely with Marketing, Product, and Customer Success to improve how we show up in the market and serve campus partners

• Career Advancement: Clear path to broader sales leadership scope as the team scales, with opportunities to shape operating rhythms, coaching systems, and AI-enabled workflows that increase performance across the org