Associate Sales & Partnerships Manager

YourStory; Bengaluru; Hybrid; INR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

YourStory in Bengaluru is seeking an Associate Sales & Partnerships Manager to lead the inbound revenue engine for Brand Solutions. This desk-led role converts inbound inquiries from various channels into a qualified pipeline, closing multi-quarter partnerships across newsletter takeovers, articles, video IPs, and event sponsorships.

Collaborate with Content, Events, and Marketing, reporting to the CFO and dotted-line to the SVP for deal strategy.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years selling digital media, brand solutions, SaaS, or related services with 2+ years in inside sales.
• Quota attainment with a proven track record.
• CRM proficiency with leading platforms (HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho).

Responsibilities

• Own the inbound funnel end-to-end from lead to close.
• Qualify via discovery calls assessing objectives and budget.
• Disqualify quickly using standard qualification framework.
• Translate prospect goals into YourStory offerings.
• Create polished proposals with deliverables and timelines.
• Negotiate with value-based pricing and guardrails.
• Close deals coordinating legal, finance, and content teams.
• Maintain CRM with accurate stages and expected close dates.
• Provide weekly forecasts and quarterly commitments.
• Expand accounts post-close with upsell opportunities.
• Build durable relationships with key advertisers.

Skills

Inbound inside sales DNA

Quota carrier

Cycle-running ability

CRM-fluent

Communicator

Ecosystem-curious

Marketing/brand sales','weight":5

Event sponsorship sales

Tools

HubSpot

Salesforce

Zoho

Job description

Job Summary

YourStory is Indias most strategic ecosystem influence platform built over 18 years to turn visibility into influence across Startups, Developers, Enterprise Leaders, GCCs and MSMEs. We reach 10M+ monthly users, 2.5M+ newsletter subscribers, and 4.6M+ followers across channels, and we host the countrys most influential tech moments: TechSparks (17th edition, 10,000+ attendees), GCC Summit, SheSparks, MSME Sparks and the DevSparks city series.

Brand Solutions is how we partner with the worlds most ambitious companies Dell, Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft, Snowflake, NVIDIA, Accenture, Airtel Business, Delhivery and others to build narratives, IPs, sponsorships and ecosystem programs that shape Indias tech story.

The Role

Were hiring an Associate Sales & Partnerships Manager Inside Sales to lead the inbound revenue engine for YourStory Brand Solutions. This is a desk-led, high-velocity role: youll convert inbound interest from our website, microsite enquiries (TechSparks, GCC Summit, SheSparks), newsletter advertiser leads, LinkedIn DMs, and warm referrals into qualified pipeline, closed-won revenue, and long-term accounts.

You wont be doing cold-call outbound prospecting. Your job is to be the fastest, sharpest, most consultative response Indias tech brands meet when they raise their hand. Youll qualify, scope, package and close turning inbound curiosity into multi-quarter partnerships across newsletter takeovers, articles & video IPs, branded content, event sponsorships, and bespoke programs.

Youll work hand-in-glove with Brand Solutions Content, Events, and Marketing. You report into the Chief Financial Officer, with a dotted-line to the SVP Strategic Initiatives & Business Development for commercial direction and deal strategy.

Responsibilities

Own the inbound funnel end-to-end

Speed-to-lead Be the first human response to every qualified inbound lead across web forms, microsite enquiries, sales@ inbox, newsletter & display-ad enquiries, LinkedIn, and warm intros within a defined SLA (target: under 2 business hours during working hours).

Qualify with rigor Run discovery calls to understand the prospects brand objective, funnel stage (awareness, consideration, conversion, brand recall), audience target, budget band, and decision timeline.

Disqualify early Use our standard qualification framework (BANT / MEDDIC-light) to disqualify fast and focus calendar time on the leads that will actually close.

Map need offering Translate prospect goals into the right YourStory offering newsletter inclusions across YS Buzz, Weekly Wrap and Dev Digest; articles & branded content; signature video IPs (Inside the AI Boardroom, GCC Beyond Borders, Mavericks, Tech Transformers); event sponsorships across TechSparks, GCC Summit, SheSparks, MSME Sparks and DevSparks; or bespoke campaigns combining the above.

Proposal velocity Build polished, audience-data-backed proposals in PPT/PDF using approved templates, with clear deliverables, timelines, and commercials. Turn around first drafts within 48 hours of a qualified discovery call.

Commercial confidence Run pricing conversations confidently anchor on value (audience quality, 46% open rate vs. 21% industry average, 64% CXO/founder readership, 200K+ stories told), defend margins, and negotiate within approved guardrails.

Closing discipline Drive deals from proposal to PO, coordinating legal, finance, and content teams to compress cycle time.

Single source of truth Maintain every opportunity in our CRM with current stage, next step, expected close date, and accurate INR value. CRM hygiene is non-negotiable if it isnt in the CRM, it doesnt exist.

Forecasting Provide accurate weekly forecasts and quarterly commits to the Brand Solutions leadership.

Own your numbers Track and improve your own conversion metrics response time, qualification rate, proposal-to-close ratio, average deal size, win/loss reasons and run a fortnightly retrospective on whats working and what isnt.

Expand inside accounts After closing the first deal, stay engaged through delivery alongside the Customer Success and Content teams. Use campaign performance moments to surface upsell, cross-sell and renewal opportunities.

Build durable relationships For repeat advertisers (~50% of our base) and 5-year+ key accounts (~10%), build a relationship cadence that keeps YourStory top-of-mind ahead of every brand planning cycle.

Close the loop with marketing Work with Marketing on inbound lead-quality feedback which campaigns send leads that actually close, which dont.

Sell what we can deliver Coordinate with Brand Solutions Content and Events teams to scope deliverables accurately, so whats sold is whats delivered.

Voice-of-customer Feed insights from lost deals and prospect objections back to leadership to sharpen our positioning and pricing.

• Inbound / inside sales DNA 3 6 years selling digital media, brand solutions, SaaS, B2B services, event sponsorships, or branded content with at least 2 years in an inside sales, inbound sales, or desk-based revenue role.
• Quota carrier A consistent track record of meeting or beating quota, with conversion numbers you can speak to in detail.
• Cycle-running ability Demonstrated ability to qualify ruthlessly, build crisp proposals fast, and run a multi-stage deal cycle from first call to PO without dropping balls.
• CRM-fluent Hands-on proficiency with a CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho or equivalent) and comfort with sales tooling email sequencing, calendar tooling, e-sign, deck/proposal tools.
• Communicator Sharp written and verbal English. You can write a 5-line follow-up that gets replied to, and structure a 20-minute discovery call that gets a second meeting.
• Ecosystem-curious A genuine interest in Indias startup, developer and enterprise tech ecosystem you read about it, you have a view on it, and you can talk to a CMO or a founder without sounding scripted.

• Prior experience selling to marketing or brand teams at tech companies, GCCs, enterprise SaaS, or D2C brands.
• Familiarity with media-sales constructs CPM, CPL, share-of-voice, takeovers, integrated campaigns, multi-touch attribution.
• An existing network across brand, agency, or startup marketing teams in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR.
• Exposure to event sponsorship sales (conferences, summits, multi-city activations).

Inbound enquiries are getting a same-day, useful first response and prospects are saying so.

Your qualified pipeline is consistently 3.5x your quarterly quota, with clean stage data.

Proposals go out within 48 hours of discovery, and feel custom not boilerplate.

Youre closing deals across the full product surface, not just one or two SKUs.

Accounts you closed last quarter are coming back this quarter.

Marketing and Content teams ask for your input because your loop-back is sharp.

Sell something real Sell a product the market actually wants 2.5M+ engaged newsletter subscribers, 46% open rate (2x industry), 64% founder/CXO readership, and Indias most influential tech IPs.

Front-row seat Work with the brands shaping India Dell, Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Snowflake, Accenture, Airtel Business, and 30+ industry sectors served.

Compounding career Learn from a leadership team with 100+ years of cumulative experience building Indias most trusted founder & business storytelling platform.

Earn for outcomes Competitive base, uncapped incentives tied to outcomes and a clear growth path into Senior Manager / Key Accounts.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.