Sales Solution Architect

About the role

As a Sales Solution Architect, you’ll play a critical role in helping some of the largest and most sophisticated nonprofit organizations achieve their missions. You’ll partner closely with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Customer Success to lead complex, high‑impact sales pursuits—serving as both a trusted advisor to customers and a strategic technical leader internally. This is a senior, highly visible role designed for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy, technology, and executive engagement. You’ll own the technical vision of proposed solutions, lead cross‑functional pursuit teams, and help shape how our platform and partner ecosystem are positioned to solve real‑world customer challenges.  

What you’ll do

Sales Strategy  

• Serve as a strategic and technical resource for the Sales and Solutions Consulting teams leading pursuit of large or strategic sales opportunities needing creative and complex solutions.  

• Act as the “trusted advisor” during the sales cycle, gaining the confidence of the customer or prospect by offering consultation and recommendations drawing from industry and technology know-how as well as past experiences while ensuring Blackbaud’s approach to every opportunity is rooted in integrity. 

• Demonstrate expertise in consultative selling, Blackbaud and third-party solutions, industry and technology trends and best practices, our competitors in that market, solution(s), partner network, and key plays in specialized area/vertical  

• Coach others on how to map customer business needs to outcomes and align with Blackbaud and/or third-party solutions and services 

• Develop key relationships with customers and prospects at an executive level to advance the sale or to further develop the revenue stream associated with the account. Leverage those relationships to expand business through a consultative selling approach.  

• Define a technical sales strategy, including assembling and directing a team of key contributors from other departments such as Customer Operations, Solutions Consulting or Product Management to assist with the pursuit and solution presentations.  

• Lead in-depth discovery and assessment workshops (often in collaboration with key contributors from pursuit team), facilitating outcome-focused dialogue to understand, define and document customer requirements.   

• Conduct solution development sessions with pursuit team, identifying the best solution fit based on requirements uncovered during discovery. In addition to core Blackbaud solutions, recommendation may include partner or third-party solutions, customizations, or recommended changes to customer business processes.  

• Demonstrate customer and market awareness, competently projecting how product ideas will play out. 

• Document proposed solution (i.e. solution diagram) that fully meets all technical and business requirements, addresses workflow processes, and considers integration of proposed solution into customer’s environment.  

• Present proposed solution (in collaboration with other members of the pursuit team if necessary), demonstrating how solution addresses requirements, articulating business value, and showcasing ROI.  

• Clearly communicate data-driven goals, interests, and positions in negotiation or conflict situations with developing poise (ex: disqualifying an RFP) 

• Identify when changes in strategy/direction are necessary and deal competently with technological and market shifts. 

• Partner with Customer Success to gather requirements for and prescribe custom Services solutions to ensure customer requirements are met in scoping exercises and service delivery plans.  

• Advise Account Executives and Solutions Consultants as needed on strategic pursuits not directly involved in.  

Business Development 

• Maintain expert-level knowledge in consultative selling, Blackbaud and third-party solutions, competitor information, industry trends, and vertical market(s) to help align customer business needs to products, solutions and services offered. Document and share best practices and case studies.  

• Work closely with other Sales and Marketing to identify, develop, and support business development activities. This may include developing solution GTM strategies, integrated solution planning, lead generation, and long-term account strategy to develop future pursuits.  

• Align and partner with Product Management to help drive appropriate product enhancements and changes to technology roadmap. Recommend the development of new capabilities in support of market and customer needs.  

• Advocate for Blackbaud to address customer needs and capitalize on market opportunities. 

• Frequently represent Blackbaud through non-pursuit related presentations to various audiences at investor briefings, partner meetings, conferences, user groups and other Marketing events.  

• Independently participate in thought leadership activities, including (but not limited to) written articles for blogs or publications, creation of Blackbaud marketing collateral and authoring best practice guides for sales activities.   

What you’ll bring

• Nonprofit fundraising, financial and or operational experience is required 
• 6+ years of experience working with Blackbaud CRM Enterprise Fundraising and Relationship Management solution or equivalent industry experience 

• 4+ years of Solutions Consulting experience 

• 5+ years of experience in either presenting or managing complex solutions for nonprofit organizations 

• Ability to operate under minimal supervision leading strategic account level deals  

• Strong listening skills; demonstrated ability to ask effective need-development questions 

• Ability to influence others through presentations, demonstrations, and written communication 

• Experience developing and delivering presentations both to executive-level and working-level audiences 

• Ability to translate technical features into business benefits 

• Ability to recommend strategic workflows and policies as it relates to product solutions 

• Analytical and a knack for problem solving, with high attention to detail 

• Knowledge and experience working within a solution-selling or consultative selling environment  

• Ability to travel as needed, but no more than 25% of the time