Sales Account Executive (Midwest Territory)

apartmentSoundThinking, Inc. placeChicago scheduleFull-time calendar_month 

Role Overview

SoundThinking is seeking an Account Executive to lead new business development across small and medium jurisdictions in the Midwest. This individual will own the full sales cycle—from prospecting through close—for city, county, and tribal law enforcement agencies, representing SoundThinking's complete SafetySmart™ platform.

Small and medium agencies face many of the same public safety challenges as large metropolitan departments but often lack the resources and technology partnerships to address them effectively. This role exists to close that gap. The Account Executive will serve as a trusted advisor to agency leaders, connecting them to the right combination of solutions based on their operational needs, budget realities, and community priorities.

This is a territory-based, individual contributor role that requires strong prospecting skills, a consultative selling approach, comfort with complex public-sector procurement, and the discipline to build and manage pipeline independently in a remote environment.

Why This Role Matters

Small and medium jurisdictions represent a significant and growing segment of SoundThinking's addressable market. This role is central to the company's expansion strategy and will directly contribute to ARR growth by opening new accounts and establishing SoundThinking's presence in communities that have not yet had access to its technology.

The Account Executive will represent the full SafetySmart™ platform, including ShotSpotter® (acoustic gunshot detection), CrimeTracer (law enforcement investigative search), SafePointe® (AI-based weapons detection), and PlateRanger™ (ALPR).

Essential Duties/Responsibilities

Territory Ownership & Pipeline Development
  • Full Sales Cycle. Own the full sales cycle for small and medium jurisdiction accounts across the Midwest territory, including prospecting, qualification, demonstration, proposal, negotiation, and close.
  • Territory Planning. Develop and execute a structured territory plan that prioritizes high-potential agencies, identifies whitespace, and drives new logo acquisition, cross-selling, and existing customer expansions.
  • Pipeline Generation. Generate and advance pipeline through disciplined prospecting, inbound follow-up, conference engagement, and coordination with Customer Success, Lead Generation, and Marketing Teams.
  • Forecast Discipline. Maintain forecast accuracy and pipeline hygiene in Salesforce with consistent weekly and monthly reporting to Sales Leadership.
Consultative Selling & Trusted Advisory
  • Discovery First. Lead with discovery. Understand each agency's staffing challenges, crime patterns, budget constraints, and community expectations before recommending solutions.
  • Value-Based Presentations. Develop and deliver value-based presentations that connect SoundThinking's technology to measurable public safety outcomes—response times, case clearance rates, officer efficiency, and community trust.
  • Procurement Navigation. Navigate complex public-sector procurement cycles, including RFP/RFI responses, sole-source justifications, grant funding identification, and budget-cycle alignment.
  • Funding Pathways. Identify and activate funding pathways—including DOJ/OJP grants, state JAG allocations, ARPA funds, and philanthropic sponsorship—to help agencies secure resources for technology adoption.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Sales Engineering. Partner with Sales Engineers to deliver technical demonstrations, proof-of-value engagements, and solution architecture tailored to each agency's environment.
  • Customer Success. Coordinate with Customer Success Directors to ensure seamless post-sale handoffs, support early adoption, and position expansion opportunities within existing accounts.
  • Marketing Alignment. Collaborate with Marketing on targeted outreach campaigns, regional event strategy, and content aligned to small and medium agency decision-makers.
  • Field Intelligence. Share field intelligence with Product and Sales Leadership—including competitive dynamics, objection patterns, and unmet customer needs—to inform go-to-market strategy.
Market Presence
  • Represent SoundThinking at regional and national conferences, trade shows, and community events. Build relationships with agency leaders and elevate brand awareness within the territory.
  • Engage credibly with chiefs, sheriffs, city managers, and elected officials on topics related to outcomes-driven policing, community safety, and public safety technology.
Minimum Qualifications
  • 3–5+ years of B2B or B2G sales experience with a demonstrated track record of quota attainment and new business development, ideally in SaaS, public safety technology, or government/public-sector markets.
  • Consultative, outcomes-focused selling approach. Leads with questions and builds trust before building proposals.
  • Comfort with complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles involving procurement officers, police leadership, city administrators, and elected officials.
  • Strong business acumen with an understanding of public-sector budgets, grant cycles, ROI narratives, and government purchasing processes.
  • Proficiency in Salesforce.com (or comparable CRM) with disciplined pipeline management habits.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present effectively to both operational and executive audiences.
  • Self-directed and organized, with the ability to manage time, territory, and priorities with minimal supervision.
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
  • Willingness to travel up to 60–75% within the Midwest territory.

Preferred Qualifications

The following are not required but will strengthen a candidacy:

  • Proven track record of successful sales in the public safety market, including law enforcement, corrections, courts, or other justice-sector organizations.
  • Law enforcement or military background with the ability to speak credibly about officer safety, investigative workflows, patrol operations, and community engagement—and to translate operational experience into business requirements.
  • Experience identifying and leveraging government grant funding (DOJ, BJA, state SAA programs) to support agency procurement.
  • Familiarity with AI-driven tools to support lead generation, outreach personalization, forecasting, and deal management.
  • Existing relationships with Midwest law enforcement leaders, city managers, or public safety stakeholders.
Compensation & Benefits
  • Competitive base salary plus uncapped commission structure aligned to performance
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with a 15% discount
  • 401(k) with company match (50% match on every dollar up to 2% of gross income)
  • Generous paid time off
  • Professional development and career growth opportunities
  • Great Place to Work® certified

About SoundThinking

SoundThinking, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSTI) is a leading public safety technology company that delivers AI- and data-driven solutions for law enforcement, civic leadership, and security professionals. The company serves more than 300 customers and approximately 2,100 agencies through its SafetySmart™ platform, which includes ShotSpotter®, CrimeTracer, CaseBuilder®, ResourceRouter™, SafePointe®, and PlateRanger™.

Equal Employment Opportunity

SoundThinking provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, SoundThinking complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. SoundThinking maintains a drug-free workplace policy.

SoundThinking expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of SoundThinking’s employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are limited in the ability or unable to access or use this online application process and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact SoundThinking at careers@soundthinking.com for assistance.

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