Manager, SMB Sales Engineering

Job Description: At Sparklight and Cable One, we keep our customers and associates connected to what matters most. For our associates, that means: a thriving and rewarding career, respect for the communities where they live and work, a focus on health and wellness, an excellent work/life balance, and an open and inclusive workplace. We are open to hiring remote if we find the right talent in any of the following states: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, OR, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT. What you will do to contribute to the company's success Team Leadership and Development • Lead, coach, and develop a team of SMB Sales Engineers. • Establish clear expectations, performance objectives, and individual development plans. • Conduct regular coaching sessions, performance reviews, and technical skill assessments. • Manage team workload, sales-support coverage, and priorities across Field Sales, Call Center, and Business Customer Care. • Create a collaborative, accountable, and customer-focused team culture. • Recruit and onboard Sales Engineering associates as staffing needs evolve. • Remain actively involved in customer opportunities, technical presentations, and escalated sales-support requests. Sales and Customer Support • Oversee technical sales support for Field Sales, Call Center, and Business Customer Care teams. • Establish clear engagement guidelines defining when and how Sales Engineering should support customer opportunities. • Ensure timely and effective support for customer discovery, solution design, technical consultation, and product demonstrations. • Lead or participate in discovery calls and presentations with business owners and operators. • Help sales associates uncover needs involving connectivity, network performance, cybersecurity, communications, business continuity, and future growth. • Ensure proposed solutions are technically accurate, operationally supportable, and appropriately sized for SMB customers. • Support complex or escalated SMB opportunities requiring additional technical expertise. • Promote consultative selling that connects Sparklight products with clear customer outcomes. Sales Enablement and Channel Readiness • Develop and deliver technical training for Field Sales, Call Center, and Business Customer Care associates. • Create discovery guides, customer use cases, product-positioning materials, presentations, demonstrations, and other sales-enablement resources. • Develop repeatable solutions for common SMB customer segments, including retail, professional services, restaurants, healthcare practices, hospitality, and multi-location businesses. • Translate technical capabilities into clear business benefits that improve sales confidence and customer understanding. • Partner with Sales leadership to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize training initiatives. • Support product launches and ensure customer-facing teams are prepared to position new services effectively. • Establish a consistent feedback loop among Sales, Customer Care, Sales Engineering, Product, and Operations. Solution and Product Expertise • Provide technical leadership across Sparklight s SMB product portfolio, including: • Business broadband and fixed wireless solutions • DOCSIS, fiber, PON, and FTTx access technologies • Managed routers, firewalls, switches, and Wi-Fi • SD-WAN and multi-location networking • Business continuity using redundant broadband and 5G/LTE failover • Network and endpoint security • Hosted voice and unified communications • SIP and business voice services • IPTV and business video solutions • Promote right-sized solutions that balance customer requirements, operational complexity, and budget. • Identify product, process, or support gaps affecting the SMB customer experience. • Partner with Product, Operations, Engineering, Customer Care, and Project Management to improve solution delivery and customer satisfaction. • Stay current on broadband, networking, cybersecurity, managed services, and telecommunications trends affecting SMB customers. Performance and Operational Management • Establish and track performance measures for Sales Engineering engagement, response time, sales influence, managed-service attachment, associate readiness, and customer outcomes. • Monitor workload, engagement volume, and support trends across the three-person Sales Engineering team. • Use sales and operational data to identify opportunities for increased product adoption, revenue growth, and improved efficiency. • Develop repeatable workflows that provide effective technical support without creating unnecessary sales complexity or overdependence on Sales Engineering. • Ensure accurate documentation of customer engagements, solution recommendations, and team activities. • Report team performance, channel needs, product feedback, and growth opportunities to leadership. • Support annual planning, budgeting, goa...