Sales Manager, SMB and Commercial

Hello, we’re Instrumentl. We’re a mission-driven startup helping the nonprofit sector to drive impact, and we’re well on our way to becoming the most-loved grant discovery and management tool. To help us get there, we’re hiring a remote Growth AE Manager to lead our Growth AEs—early-career Account Executives who power our high-velocity SMB motion. You’ll report to the AE Sales Manager and play a vital role in shaping our future. About us: Instrumentl is a hypergrowth, YC-backed startup with over 5,000 nonprofit customers—from local shelters to institutions like the San Diego Zoo and the University of Alaska. We’re building the future of fundraising automation. Our charts are dramatically up-and-to-the-right 📈—we’re cash-­flow positive and doubling year over year, with thrilled customers (NPS 65+, Ellis PMF 60+). About the role: As an SMB Sales Manager, you’ll coach and grow a team of early-career Account Executives, enabling them to master our fast-paced, high-velocity SMB sales motion. You’ll equip them with the skills, processes, and support to exceed targets, ramp quickly, and deliver consultative value to nonprofit organizations. What you’ll get to do: - Recruit, onboard, and ramp our Growth AEs - Drive outbound deal sourcing motions to help AEs self-source and close qualified pipeline - Coach your team through 1:1s, deal reviews, and real-time shadowing to develop confidence and skills - Define, optimize, and scale high-velocity sales workflows, pipelines, playbooks, and metrics - Own team performance: pipeline health, forecast accuracy, and quota attainment - Collaborate with Marketing, Product, CS, and RevOps to align strategy and customer experience - Participate in live deals—co-selling, modeling best practices, and troubleshooting in the moment - Build a high-learning, supportive, and growth-oriented culture where every AE thrives What we’re looking for: - 3+ years managing or coaching early-career AEs in a velocity B2B SaaS sales environment - Experience balancing a combination of inbound and outbound customer acquisition motions - Experience building and scaling outbound acquisition motions from the ground up - Track record of team quota attainment and ramping new AEs quickly - Expertise in high-velocity sales methodologies, pipelines, and forecasting tools - Strong operational rigor: data-driven, detail-oriented, constantly optimizing for efficiency - Coach-first mindset: empathetic, supportive, and dedicated to developing talent - Excellent verbal and written communicator, inspiring and relatable - Comfortable in a fast-paced startup environment—flexible, proactive, and entrepreneurial Bonus skills: - Experience selling into the nonprofit sector or with nonprofit buyers - Prior experience in fundraising automation or grant management tools - Experience with Hubspot Why join Instrumentl? At Instrumentl, you’ll shape one of our most pivotal teams from the ground up. You’ll influence how we build sales culture, best practices, and results that power nonprofits to do good. We lean into feedback loops, value experimentation (“bend the curve”), and create an approachable, collaborative environment. Join us and kick it every day with kind, mission-driven people.

Hello, we’re Instrumentl.

We build software for grant-funded organizations. We're hiring a remote SMB & Commercial Sales Manager to help run the team that handles the majority of our inbound demand. You'd report to the VP of Sales.

About us:

Instrumentl is a hypergrowth, YC-backed startup with over 5,000 nonprofit customers—from local shelters to institutions like the San Diego Zoo and the University of Alaska. We're cash flow positive. NPS is above 65, Ellis PMF above 60. Over the past year we've expanded from grant discovery into managing the full grant lifecycle, which means the same buyer who signed up for one thing now has a second and larger reason to say yes.

 

About the role:

Our customers are mostly nonprofits buying grant software for the first time. Deals move fast, most close within a few weeks, and the decision usually involves one or two people on their side.

You'd step into a team that's already producing. Experience ranges from AEs who have sold through two product launches and are ready for larger, more consultative deals to newer sellers with strong instincts and plenty of headroom. Coaching across that range is the best part of this job. At our deal volume, moving one rep's close rate a few points shows up in the number quickly.

The team runs both motions. Inbound is the larger share today and carries real volume. We're also asking AEs to prospect into their own accounts, partnering with our SDR team, because the full lifecycle product opens conversations that don't start with a form fill. You'd coach both skillsets and hold a consistent bar across them.

That full lifecycle motion is where a lot of the upside sits. Many existing customers bought grant discovery and haven't moved up yet, and the expanded product sells for roughly twice as much. The conversation is different from the first sale. It involves finance, program staff, and how an organization actually runs its grant calendar, which makes it the highest-value thing you can build with this team.

You’ll hold a high bar on operational rigor. Clean pipeline, accurate forecasts, deal notes someone else can read, and reviews that change what a rep does next. 

We're also serious about using AI well. We want reps who get more done and prepare better because of it. We don't want reps who sound generated. Having judgment about that difference matters more to us than having used any particular tool.

 

What you’ll get to do:

• Lead and uplevel a team of 6-8 Account Executives across a real spread of experience levels, with a development plan per rep rather than one program for everyone
• Coach both inbound conversion and outbound prospecting, and hold the same quality bar in each
• Own the operating metrics: speed to lead, demo show rate, close rate, average selling price, discount discipline, annual versus monthly mix
• Raise call quality using Gong and Granola. Scorecards, a call library, weekly practice, and specific work on the moments in a demo where deals stall
• Drive the full lifecycle motion into a base that bought a narrower product, including the multi-stakeholder conversations that come with it
• Partner with the VP of Sales and Enablement to implement and reinforce a shared sales methodology, and to certify reps against it
• Set the standard for operational hygiene: forecast accuracy, pipeline that reflects reality, and HubSpot data your peers can trust
• Bring judgment to how we scale with AI, including where our internal tooling helps a rep and where it gets in the way
• Partner with Marketing on lead quality and channel feedback, and with RevOps on routing, capacity modeling, and territory logic
• Set escalation criteria with the Mid-Market and Enterprise team so upmarket deals get routed early
• Hire and ramp as the team grows, and own the onboarding path that gets a new rep productive

What we’re looking for:

• 3+ years managing quota-carrying AEs in B2B SaaS, including experience with fast cycles
• Experience managing at least eight reps at once, and evidence you improved a team you didn't hire
• Real coaching range. You can develop a rep who needs discovery fundamentals and a rep who needs help running a multi-stakeholder deal
• Comfort managing inbound conversion and outbound prospecting at the same time
• A specific number you moved, with the before and after
• Track record implementing a sales methodology, not just being trained in one
• Operational discipline. Accurate forecasting, clean CRM practice, and the willingness to enforce both
• Thoughtful about AI in sales. You've used it in your own work and can say where it helped and where it didn't
• Fluency in HubSpot, including building your own reports
• High standards you apply consistently, including to yourself

Bonus skills:

• Experience selling into the nonprofit sector or with nonprofit buyers
• Experience selling a second product into an existing customer base
• Product-led or trial-led experience, especially converting self-serve signups into paid
• Familiarity with grant management or fund accounting

Why join Instrumentl?

At Instrumentl, you’ll shape one of our most important teams at a pivotal point in our company's journey. You’ll influence how we build sales culture, best practices, and results that power nonprofits to do good. We lean into feedback loops, value experimentation (“bend the curve”), and create an approachable, collaborative environment. Join us and kick it every day with kind, mission-driven people.

Sales Manager, SMB and Commercial