Sales Manager

Job Profile

Commcise brings transparency and precision to institutional investment research through independent, cloud-based commission management, research valuation and market intelligence solutions for asset managers, brokers and research providers.

Substantive Rankings is a data-led benchmark of analyst value. It uses the research evaluation data that buy-side firms already produce, rather than surveys or qualitative polling, to create governed and anonymised market rankings. Participating buy-side firms receive detailed rankings and insights that support research discovery, benchmarking, budgeting and oversight.

We are seeking a Sales Manager, based in London and operating in a global role, to lead the commercial development of Substantive Rankings with buy-side clients across key international markets, including asset managers and hedge funds. The role will build awareness, recruit participating firms, convert opportunities and develop durable relationships across research management, investment, operations, procurement, legal, data and technology stakeholders.

Alongside this primary responsibility, the Sales Manager will work closely with the Substantive Rankings product team and support wider go-to-market activity across the Commcise sales team. This includes coordinated prospecting, account planning, events, campaigns, cross-selling and progressing opportunities across the broader Commcise product suite. The successful candidate will combine consultative selling, investment-research market knowledge and disciplined execution, and will own opportunities from initial outreach through contracting, onboarding and handover.

Key Accountabilities

Substantive Rankings: buy-side growth

·  Develop and execute a global buy-side sales plan for Substantive Rankings, prioritising target asset managers, hedge funds and relevant decision makers across key international markets.

·  Clearly articulate the product proposition: a data-led benchmark based on existing buy-side research evaluation data, with no additional survey and strong governance around anonymisation and access.

·  Generate, qualify and progress new opportunities through direct outreach, referrals, events, campaigns and the existing Commcise and Substantive network.

·  Run consultative discovery with research management, investment teams, finance, operations, compliance, legal, data and technology stakeholders to understand workflow, data and governance requirements.

·  Deliver tailored presentations and demonstrations, explaining use cases including analyst discovery, peer benchmarking, research budgeting and oversight.

·  Own the sales cycle from first contact through commercial agreement, data participation, onboarding and structured handover to product and client-service colleagues, including helping to manage the buy-side legal agreement process through negotiation and final signature.

·  Create a documented strategy for each material opportunity, covering stakeholders, client needs, value case, competition, risks, next steps and close plan.

·  Build long-term relationships with participating firms, identify expansion opportunities and provide structured market feedback to the Substantive Rankings product team on client needs, market priorities and potential product evolution.

·  Work closely with the Substantive Rankings product team to help shape and develop the commercial proposition as the product, data set and client use cases evolve.

Wider Commcise go-to-market support

·  Support prospecting, qualification and opportunity progression across the wider Commcise sales team, including coordinated account planning and cross-selling.

·  Contribute to campaigns, client events, webinars, thought leadership and market-intelligence initiatives that create demand across the buy-side and sell-side.

·  Work closely with Sales, Product, Marketing, Client Services, Data, Legal and Compliance to maintain consistent positioning and remove obstacles to conversion.

·  Maintain accurate leads, activities, opportunities, forecasts and next steps in the group CRM, providing transparent reporting on pipeline health and activity.

·  Meet agreed targets for qualified pipeline, buy-side participation, conversion, revenue and strategic account coverage.

·  Maintain current knowledge of the Commcise and Substantive propositions, the competitive rankings landscape, research valuation, commission management and relevant regulation.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

Essential

·  Proven B2B sales or business-development experience with institutional buy-side clients, ideally asset managers and hedge funds.

·  Demonstrable track record of building pipeline through proactive prospecting and progressing multi-stakeholder opportunities to a close.

·  Strong understanding of how investment research is consumed, evaluated, budgeted and governed within buy-side firms.

·  Credibility with senior client stakeholders and the ability to translate a data, software or market-intelligence proposition into clear commercial value.

·  Confident presentation, product-demonstration, negotiation and written communication skills.

·  Structured, disciplined approach to account planning, CRM management, forecasting and follow-up.

·  Ability to work collaboratively across a global, matrixed sales, product and client-service environment while retaining clear ownership of outcomes.

·  Self-motivated, resourceful and comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial, evolving product environment.

Desirable

·  Experience selling research technology, market data, analytics, SaaS or workflow solutions into institutional investment firms.

·  Existing relationships with research directors, heads of research, research COOs, investment operations, broker relations, finance or procurement teams.

·  Knowledge of research evaluation, broker voting, commission management, research payment accounts and MiFID II research and inducement requirements.

·  Experience handling enterprise data-governance, information-security, procurement and legal diligence, including progressing client agreements through negotiation to signature.

·  Experience using HubSpot or Salesforce, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Microsoft 365 and related sales-enablement tools.

·  Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in financial services, investment research, capital markets, data or technology.