SMB Sales Manager
Department: Sales
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Zinc - London
Compensation: £70,000 - £75,000 / year
Description
Zinc is building the most trusted background-check and employment-history platform in the market. Our SMB business is the engine - high volume, fast-moving, and growing. We're looking for a Sales Manager who knows how to win in that environment and who can build a team that does the same. This is a permanent role, initially stepping in to cover a period of maternity leave and leading an established team from day one.
You will own the SMB segment end to end: pipeline, process, people, and performance. This isn't a purely strategic role - you will be in the deals, on the calls, and leading from the front.
Current Team: 2 Associate AEs + 2 MM AEs Hiring Plan: +1-2 headcount Sep/Oct Segment: SMB · £10k-£50k ACV Quota: £2m annually
Key Responsibilities
- Own the SMB number - pipeline health, conversion rates, forecasting accuracy, and revenue delivery against a £2m target.
- Player/coach mentality: cover deals when reps are out, join key calls, and model the behaviour you want to see.
- Build and maintain best-in-class SMB playbooks, KPIs, and processes - including pipeline development, forecasting, enablement, and performance management.
- Hire well and ramp fast - plan for +1-2 AEs in Sep/Oct and own the full hiring and onboarding process.
- Lead with kindness, not niceness - have the hard conversations early, hold the bar, and protect the culture of the team.
- Work cross-functionally with marketing, partnerships, and outbound to ensure the top of funnel is healthy and the hand-offs are tight.
- Coach reps individually: weekly 1:1s, pipeline reviews, call coaching, and clear development plans tied to quota attainment.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Required
- At least 1 year of sales management experience, with direct responsibility for quota-carrying reps.
- Proven track record selling and scaling in the SMB segment (£10k-£50k ACV).
- Player/coach mentality - not just managing from a dashboard, but in the work.
- Strong process builder: you've created or meaningfully improved a sales playbook, not just followed one.
Preferred
- 2+ years of management experience, ideally at a SaaS or HR-tech company.
- Several years at a single org - depth of experience in one GTM motion over job-hopping.
- Experience hiring, onboarding, and ramping AEs in a fast-growth environment.
- Familiarity with background screening, compliance, or HR-tech buying cycles.
What we offer
Zinc offers a chance to work on a product that brings a fresh perspective on data ownership in hiring.
- £60k Variable
- 24 days holiday + Bank Holidays + your birthday off
- £1200 annual benefits allowance (ThanksBen, from month 2)
- Early finish Fridays (16:00)
- Yearly company retreat abroad (This year Turin)
- 30 days to Work from anywhere
- Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Leave
- Statutory pension with NEST (3% employer, 5% employee)
- Zinc shares, issued through the EMI Scheme
- Unlimited access to MoreHappi coaching
- Company socials, quarterly team socials Free Monday lunches
- Nursery workplace benefit scheme (Yellownest)
- Option to lease an electric car through Electric Car Scheme
- Celebrated Zinc anniversaries
