Richard Prior Email & Phone Number

London, England, United Kingdom

I have joined Storyful with a remit to build the client base in EMEA. Storyful provides media clients with up to date fully verified & fact checked up to date user generated news video content. My role involves working on new business outreach and account management of some of our largest clients. I've also been using my experience with Salesforce, team management and sales process to develop outbound process & strategies across the team. My role is focused on making sure we are able to provide our media customers (major publishers, broadcasters - both established and start ups) with the service they need to make sure that they can trust the huge amount of news content that is produced and shared on social media every single day - increasingly important with the rise of AI and misinformation. In 2024 I have been heavily involved in cross function work to build top of funnel activity as well as implement strategies and ways of working for the sales team to drive activity.

Staines-Upon-Thames, England, United Kingdom

Focusing on a growing range of SaaS products in this video tech business, that although established in certain legacy markets, is very much in start-up mode in SaaS security, data & advertising products, I created and implemented the Inside Sales Business development strategy from scratch. I implemented processes in collaboration with the marketing function around demand generation and conversion using the CRM system (D365) to monitor and drive performance. The BDR/SDR team I built were all early in career talent - spread globally in the UK, India & the US - and I was able to help them develop into the role through coaching and effective goal setting. This role was very much one that has seen me act as a player coach, allowing me to really understand the challenges and experiences of reps in the role and improve and evolve strategy in real time. In 2023 we exceeded our activity targets and are built an increased pipeline.

London, United Kingdom

I was hired with a mandate to successfully merge a direct sales team and a specialist sales team to establish a world-class global inside sales operation with 11 FTE’s spread across three continents. I created a BDR/SDR team as part of the overall strategy. Our products were subscription based and sold as an ongoing service. Some of my core contributions included the following: * Defined team processes and KPI’s to achieve outstanding results in line with industry best practice. I organised the team into BDR/SDR & retention roles and managed both areas.* Managed the recruitment process including intensive training, coaching, and mentoring for all new hires.*Worked directly with customers to negotiate new deals and retain and expand existing clients.* Acted as a key conduit between all internal divisions to manage information flow and resolve problems.* Tracked and analysed sales data to identify trends and uncover lucrative opportunities for revenue growth in complex and highly competitive markets.* Successfully doubled activity levels throughout the team and stabilised book of business performance.* Worked in partnership with the marketing team to develop the demand gen process and improve response times and conversion.

London, United Kingdom

I orchestrated the end-to-end sales/post-sales/client retention lifecycle in this competitive market segment with management oversight for a team of nine FTE’s. I held responsibility for strategy development, training, performance evaluation, client engagement, and problem solving. Highlights included: Monitored group performance against KPI’s to develop continuous improvement plans.  Delegated team responsibilities and allocated resources to focus on several simultaneous workstreams including simple renewals and more complex VIP client renewals while also acquiring new business. Enhanced volume and retention rates into the mid 90% range following the design and rollout of action plans and sales enablement strategies.  Appointed to the 5 Sales Leader global team with a remit to implement Salesforce and drive productivity and consistency throughout the organisation.  Acted as UK Lead on the Demand Generation Advisory Group focusing on the improvement of lead quality resulting in significantly improved conversion rates.

London, United Kingdom

I held dual responsibility for spearheading both the UK&I unassigned outbound sales team and the customer service team focusing on the delivery of significant sales growth, account retention, and customer satisfaction. The outbound sales team reached 25 FTE’s at its largest (6-8 direct reports) and achieved all targets with annual revenue goals set in the £12-14M range. Some core contributions included: Implemented KPI-based targets for all team members and delivered strong growth in image subscription rates following the deployment of a proactive sales team.  Led the customer service team (14 FTE’s) with accountability for enhancing quality in customer communications across a variety of channels. Overhauled customer-facing protocols and processes while implementing technology systems to drive efficiency and productivity across the business unit. Utilised shared email inboxes and livechats to increase collaboration amongst the team while driving exceptional rates of customer satisfaction.  Presided over periods of change and transformation within the business including team restructuring

Senior Sales Manager – Key Agency, Key Corporate, Sales & Service Group (UK&I), 01/2012 – 05/2013Sales Manager – Sales & Service (UK&I and Nordic Region). 10/2010 – 01/2012I led three teams covering the UK market with input into account management, customer service, and sales revenue growth. I consistently delivered outstanding performance utilising critical thinking skills and aptitude for innovation. I gained additional management responsibility in 2012 having demonstrated a diligent work ethic and dedication to sales growth through leadership and training. Some accomplishments included: Managed the UK&I sales and service team while overseeing two key account management teams in the agency and corporate sectors. Successfully enhanced regional revenue for the Account Executive team (UK&I and Nordics) by 14 % YoY. Established operating frameworks and structures to enable rapid sales revenue growth.  Analysed sales data to continually improve team performance through training and mentoring.

After the integration of PunchStock into Getty Images I developed my role to take over the largest customer facing team in the UK for Getty Images. Instigating a KPI led environment and growing revenue. The Customer & Sales Development team (later to become the sales and service group) are a high volume call centre style team. Dealing with inbound call, outbound calls, e-mail & live chat.

I managed a team of 6 sales people in the UK office, as well as a portfolio of Key accounts - and grew revenues significantly during this period. Punchstock was purchased in 2007 and I managed a team through redundancy notice of 9 months- managing to maintain revenue. At the completion of this period I was offered ongoing employement by the purchaser - Getty Images.