Entry-level positions for aspiring Strategic Partnerships Professionals
Adena, a Partnerships Team Lead, recommends entry-level sales roles like business development representative (BDR) or sales development representative (SDR) as a crucial stepping stone to strategic partnerships; these roles build essential "sales background and experience," teaching valuable persuasion and influence skills before transitioning into a strategic partnerships position.
Sales, Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, Persuasion, Influence
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Adena Merabi
Partnerships Team Lead
Okendo
UCSB
UCLA
International Relations & Affairs
Technology
Strategic Management and Executive
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. Develop sales skills: Learn to sell services, time, software, or products to understand persuasion, influence, and conveying value.
2. Pursue entry-level sales roles: Seek positions like Business Development Representative (BDR) or Sales Development Representative (SDR) to gain experience.
3. Gain experience before applying for strategic partnerships: Spend 1-2 years in entry-level sales to build a foundation before transitioning to a strategic partnerships role
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
I would say a really big skill I'm grateful I developed before coming into a strategic partnerships role is a bit of sales background and experience. It is important to learn how to sell.
In every industry, you're selling something, whether that's your service, your time, your software, tangible products, whatever it is. You're always selling something. So it's important to develop that skill.
When you come into a partnerships role, understanding how to persuade people and influence them to work with you is key. You need to know how to convey what you're offering and show that it has value.
I would definitely recommend going into some kind of sales development role. I know there are roles like BDR or SDR, which stand for business development representative or sales development representative.
Go into that role, learn a little bit about how it works, and then eventually you can apply for a strategic partnerships position. There are some companies that hire for strategic partnerships without extensive experience in that specific field.
However, I haven't seen many of these companies hire straight out of college. So I would definitely look into more of those entry-level sales roles. Do that for a year or two, understand how it works, maybe get promoted, and then look into a strategic partnerships position.
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