Director of Sales and Marketing - ZAP Solutions

Banyan Software provides the best permanent home for successful enterprise software companies, their employees, and customers. We are on a mission to acquire, build and grow great enterprise software businesses all over the world that have dominant positions in niche vertical markets. In recent years, Banyan was named the #1 fastest-growing private software company in the US on the Inc. 5000 and amongst the top 10 fastest-growing companies by the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Founded in 2016 with a permanent capital base setup to preserve the legacy of founders, Banyan focuses on a buy and hold for life strategy for growing software companies that serve specialized vertical markets.

Job Description: Director, Sales & Marketing

Reporting into: CEO 

Location - Can be remote in EST hours. Hybrid preferred with a couple of days in the office at Pittsburg, PA

Zap Solutions builds powerful admissions management software for educational institutions. Our platform is designed to streamline application workflows, communication, and enrollment processes for schools and colleges. With an intuitive, purpose-built product trusted by leading institutions, we enable teams to save time, reduce errors, and create a more seamless admissions experience for students and staff alike. 

As a recent addition to the Banyan Software portfolio, we are entering a new chapter of growth — and seeking our first Sales & Marketing hire to help us get there. Zap Solutions is seeking a self-starting, entrepreneurial Director of Sales & Marketing to lead our go-to-market function from the ground up. This is a rare opportunity to build a growth engine within a niche, mission-driven software company that’s part of the Banyan portfolio. As our first hire in this function, you'll be in the weeds — owning the full sales funnel, driving awareness, building relationships, and closing deals. You'll also shape our marketing strategy, work directly with leadership, and set the foundation for a future team.

Candidates must have prior experience in the education technology sector, ideally selling SaaS into higher education, K-12, or private institutions.

Key Responsibilities:

Sales & Marketing Strategy Development

• Define Zap’s marketing strategy and execute a comprehensive plan, including a marketing calendar and campaign schedule.
• Formulate and lead Zap’s sales strategy, including developing the company’s sales playbook and processes.
  
  

Marketing Execution

• Shape Zap’s market positioning and messaging in alignment with education buyers.
  Develop and execute foundational marketing initiatives and critical marketing collateral, including email campaigns, digital content, presentations, and case studies.
• Manage CRM and marketing automation tools to drive awareness and convert leads.
• Enhance Zap’s digital marketing footprint (website, paid, earned, and social) to drive prospect engagement and new sales opportunities.
• Define and monitor metrics and marketing attribution models to measure campaign effectiveness and ROI, refining strategies based on performance insights.

Sales Execution

• Own the end-to-end sales process, including outreach, demos, proposals, negotiating contract terms and pricing, and closing deals.
• Develop and execute effective lead generation strategies. Generate and qualify leads through various channels, including cold calling, email campaigns, social media, and networking.
• Build and manage a pipeline of qualified leads across primary customer segments.

Conduct discovery calls, product walkthroughs, and ROI-driven sales conversations.

• Understand buyer requirements and use cases, aligning our product and solutions to each customer’s needs and demonstrating strong knowledge of Zap’s offering.
• Meet bookings goals and sales productivity targets.
  
  

Account Expansion & Retention

• Identify expansion opportunities within existing clients.
• Partner with Customer Success to ensure satisfaction and renewals.
  
  

Performance Reporting

• Maintain accurate records of leads, opportunities, and customer interactions in the CRM system.
• Deliver weekly reports to leadership on pipeline status, conversion metrics, and key learnings.
• Set and track sales and marketing KPIs aligned to growth targets.
  
  

Market Intelligence & Industry Presence

• Conduct market research to identify potential clients, industry trends, and competitor movements in the EdTech space.

Provide regular feedback to the product and leadership teams on customer needs.

• Network and start conversations with industry decision-makers and maintain strong relationships with prospective clients.
• Represent Zap at industry events, trade shows, and webinars.
  
  

What Success Looks Like:

• Meet or exceed quarterly new business, retention, and sales productivity targets.
• Build a qualified and repeatable sales pipeline within 90 days.
• Launch 1–2 marketing initiatives per quarter with measurable lead impact.
• Deliver insights that improve our positioning, pricing, and outreach strategies.

Who You Are:

• A roll-up-your-sleeves operator who thrives on ownership, experimentation, and results.
  A strategic thinker with execution muscle — equally comfortable writing emails and closing deals.
• Familiar with education institutions’ decision-making processes, funding cycles, and tech stack.
• Highly organized, data-driven, and passionate about improving school operations.
  
  

Required Experience:

• 10+ years in sales, marketing, or go-to-market roles — preferably in EdTech or SaaS.
• Experience selling to education stakeholders: admissions teams, school administrators, etc.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Familiarity with CRM and marketing tools (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.).

Self-starter who thrives in a remote, high-trust work environment.

Why You’ll Love This Role:

• You’ll have the autonomy to build from scratch — with the backing of a successful software group.
• Your work will directly impact how schools run admissions and serve their students.
• You’ll shape the voice and growth strategy of a trusted EdTech product.
• You’ll join a company with a stable foundation and long-term vision.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Equal Employment Opportunity at Banyan: Banyan affirms that inequality is detrimental to our Global Teams, associates, our Operating Companies, and the communities we serve. As a collective, our goal is to impact lasting change through our actions. Together, we unite for equality and equity. Banyan is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of any protected characteristic, including race, color, genetic information, creed, national origin, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, lawful alien status, ancestry, age, marital status, or protected veteran status and will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of a disability. We support an inclusive workplace where associates excel based on personal merit, qualifications, experience, ability, and job performance.