The Sales Associate supports sales growth and dealership relationships within an assigned territory or portfolio in Protective’s Direct Channel. Reporting to the Sales Lead, this role advances sales opportunities through proactive outreach, consultative discovery, product presentations, follow-up, and coordination of onboarding and account-support activities. The Sales Associate maintains accurate customer and opportunity information, follows established sales processes, and builds knowledge of Protective’s products, dealership operations, and F&I sales practices. The role manages moderately complex accounts and opportunities with guidance as needed and partners with Senior Sales Associates, New Account Acquisition, Product, Underwriting, Marketing, Operations, Sales Operations, and Sales Enablement to deliver a responsive dealer experience and contribute to profitable growth and retention.
Responsibilities
· Achieves assigned sales, activity, product penetration, and account-support objectives across an assigned territory or portfolio of dealership accounts
· Develops and maintains a pipeline of qualified leads and opportunities through proactive outreach, follow-up, referrals, campaigns, and other sales activities
· Builds productive relationships with dealership owners, F&I leaders, and other customer contacts to understand needs, support retention, and identify growth opportunities
· Conducts sales discovery to understand dealership priorities, customer needs, operating practices, and potential fit with Protective’s products and services
· Presents Protective’s products, services, programs, and value proposition to current and prospective dealership customers using established materials and messaging
· Qualifies leads and opportunities by assessing customer interest, fit, timing, stakeholders, and likelihood of success and prioritizes follow-up accordingly
· Advances sales opportunities from initial contact through proposal, objection handling, negotiation, close, onboarding, and transition to ongoing account support, seeking guidance on more complex situations
· Informs customers of new products and services, program enhancements, pricing changes, promotions, and other relevant developments
· Identifies product penetration, cross-selling, and account-growth opportunities and coordinates with the Sales Lead, Senior Sales Associates, and internal partners to advance them
· Negotiates pricing, program terms, and commercial arrangements within established guidelines and escalates exceptions or complex negotiations appropriately
· Maintains accurate CRM records of customer contacts, sales activities, opportunity stages, commitments, and next steps to support pipeline visibility and forecasting
· Reviews personal sales results, pipeline health, and account activity; identifies performance gaps and adjusts selling actions with support from the Sales Lead
· Supports onboarding of new dealerships by coordinating required documentation, training, implementation activities, and handoffs with internal teams
· Responds to routine dealership questions and concerns and coordinates cross-functional support for product, underwriting, service, operational, technology, or implementation issues
· Maintains knowledge of Protective’s product portfolio, sales programs, competitive offerings, dealership operations, and applicable sales requirements
· Collaborates with the Sales Lead, Senior Sales Associates, New Account Acquisition Lead, and cross-functional partners to coordinate account coverage and provide a consistent dealer experience
Knowledge, Skills, Attributes
· Consultative Selling: Understanding dealership needs, connecting customer challenges to relevant solutions, and guiding stakeholders through the sales process
· Sales Discovery: Conducting structured conversations to uncover dealership priorities, pain points, decision criteria, stakeholders, and opportunity fit
· Lead Generation: Creating new sales opportunities through prospecting, campaigns, referrals, outreach, and consistent follow-up
· Lead and Opportunity Qualification: Assessing customer interest, fit, timing, stakeholder engagement, and likelihood of success to prioritize selling efforts
· Sales Pipeline Management: Maintaining accurate opportunity stages, documenting activity, prioritizing follow-up, and supporting reliable revenue forecasting
· Relationship Management: Building and nurturing relationships with dealership contacts and internal stakeholders to support customer satisfaction, retention, and growth
· Sales Pitch Delivery: Presenting clear, persuasive sales messages that communicate value, address customer priorities, and advance opportunities
· Negotiation: Preparing positions, exchanging proposals, and reaching agreements within established guidelines and delegated authority
· Objection Handling and Deal Closing: Responding to customer concerns, overcoming resistance, securing commitments, and completing commercial transactions
· Territory and Account Planning: Organizing account priorities, relationship activities, opportunity follow-up, and selling actions to achieve assigned objectives
· Customer Relationship Management Systems: Using CRM platforms to manage interactions, track activities and opportunities, maintain accurate customer records, and support reporting
· Dealership Operations Acumen: Applying working knowledge of dealership sales workflows, F&I processes, and how Protective’s products are positioned, sold, and serviced
· Customer Needs Assessment: Identifying dealership requirements and aligning Protective’s products, services, enablement, and support to customer goals and challenges
· Commercial Acumen: Applying an understanding of pricing, product mix, account potential, and sales economics to support sound selling decisions
· Insurance Sales Compliance: Following applicable contracting, licensing, appointment, disclosure, documentation, and regulatory requirements in sales activities
· Cross-Functional Collaboration: Coordinating with internal partners and securing support needed to deliver effective solutions and a responsive dealer experience
Requirements
· Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
· 2+ years of B2B sales, account management, business development, customer-facing, or related commercial experience
· Demonstrated ability to build customer relationships, generate and qualify leads, present solutions, follow up consistently, and progress opportunities toward close
· Experience selling directly to dealerships or within automotive, marine, powersports, recreational vehicle, insurance, financial services, or a related industry preferred
· Working knowledge of dealership operations and F&I sales processes preferred
· Demonstrated capability in prospecting, consultative discovery, presentations, objection handling, negotiation, closing, and pipeline management
· Experience using CRM systems and sales reporting tools to manage opportunities, document activity, maintain data quality, and support forecasting
· Ability to review sales and account information, identify priorities or performance gaps, and translate findings into practical follow-up actions
· Strong communication and relationship-management skills, with the ability to engage dealership contacts and collaborate effectively with internal partners
· Ability to work independently within established processes, manage multiple priorities, exercise sound judgment, and seek guidance on complex or non-routine situations
· Understanding of sales governance and compliance and the ability to follow applicable contracting, licensing, appointment, disclosure, documentation, and regulatory requirements for insurance distribution
· Ability to travel regularly to dealerships, field meetings, and company events as required
About Us – Asset Protection
Protective Asset Protection has been providing finance and insurance (F&I) solutions for the automotive industry for more than 60 years. We proudly serve thousands of dealerships and financial institutions in the automotive, marine, powersports and recreation vehicle industries throughout the U.S. providing innovative vehicle protection products, wealth-building programs, training and technology. Our portfolio of vehicle protection plans, GAP coverage, limited warranties and ancillary products provide opportunities to generate revenue with products that help drive customer retention and satisfaction. Protective Asset Protection is part of the financial services holding company, Protective Life Corporation. For more information about Protective Asset Protection visit
www.ProtectiveAssetProtection.com.
