You’ll be joining a passionate group of investment professionals where you’ll be challenged to be better every day.
You’ll be joining a passionate group of investment professionals where you’ll be challenged to be better every day.
At Dakota, we’re a group of passionate industry experts that connects investment firms with allocators. We’re obsessed with building the largest possible TAM for our fundraising clients.
Every day, we challenge each other to use our experience and strengths to make an impact for our members and partners.
Dakota is a fast-paced firm always on the lookout for new ways to support our investment partners. With beautiful offices in Bryn Mawr and Philadelphia, and a cutting-edge studio designed to provide digital marketing support to our partners and non-profits, we’re always pushing the envelope on innovation.
If you thrive in a fast-moving, fast-growing environment, want to grow your career in a meaningful way, and these core values speak to you, you might just be a perfect fit for the Dakota team.
At Dakota, it’s our goal never to be in the convincing business. Our mantra is to call on people who buy what you sell, because this eliminates a lot of wasted time trying to convince the wrong audience.
This means knowing how to bring your firm’s story to life. You never want to spend an hour with someone and have them leave without having a clue what you do.Bring your story to life with passion and your prospects will feel it too.
Good sales people can get a lot of meetings. They can even tell a great story. However, the follow-up that comes after those meetings is really the mark of a great salesperson. Having a killer follow up system means having an organized plan for following up with your prospects, and never leaving anything to chance.
There are a lot of things going on that we as sales people can’t control: the state of the market, the weather, the outcome of your favorite team’s most recent game. These can get in the way of your day to day, but the goal is to focus on what you can control: setting meetings, diligently following up, and becoming a master messenger.
This originated back in 2006, in our original office, where everyone was relatively close together — roughly eight feet apart. Walking the 8 feet means tapping into the collective knowledge of the team. Never be afraid to get up and ask questions.
At Dakota, we work as a team. In a sales parlance, this means always touching base on what everyone is working on. Don’t keep opportunities to yourself — share them with the team. By not sharing what you’re doing, you’ll never know who might have key experience needed to help you through this opportunity. Put everything on the table, and share information. Don’t go off on your own.
If you’re in a sales role, your primary mission is to ask for something from your prospects. Getting in the habit of asking for a meeting, call, or follow up, the better you will get at it. After all, if you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.
We’re all guilty of overthinking. There’s always a reason not to do something. The goal is to stop getting analysis paralysis, turn your brain off, and just do it.
At Dakota, we never say “great meeting.” No meeting was truly great unless you left with a $10 million allocation. Instead, we like to focus on what worked, what didn’t, and what the prospect’s interests are so that you can move forward.
Sometimes the most important thing is just to get started. This means forcing yourself into action by throwing your hat over the wall. To get the metaphorical hat, you have to climb the wall and get it. Overcome the obstacles in front of you and just do it.
In July of 2021, Dakota was named a certified Great Place to Work.
"I love being challenged and having the opportunity to grow! I've been with Dakota for over 14 years and can confidently say that not one day has passed where I have not learned something new, or been challenged to innovate."
Tracy Rogers
Chief Administrative Officer
"I enjoy working with people that will always be there to pitch in when you need help or cheer you up on a tough day!"
Catherine Begier
Marketing Manager
"I love how everyone works together and has a real interest in making everyone successful in their jobs. It is true team work at its best!"
Barbara Loeslein
Vice President of Advancement
"The best part would have to be working with great people on new, innovative projects and seeing the business grow exponentially because of it."
Arthur Farina
Data Analyst
Unlimited PTO Policy
Comprehensive Health, Dental, & Vision Insurance
401(k)
Company sponsored learning, including company-wide book clubs
Define and Achieve Business Team get-togethers
core 1
Know who to call on
The focus of your sales effort should be to call on people who buy what you sell. Or, as we like to say, “Sell apples to apple buyers, don’t try and convince orange buyers to buy apples.”
If you specialize in mutual funds, you need to call on allocators who deal in mutual funds – RIAs, ETFs and separate accounts, to start. But identifying the appropriate channels and the contacts within each account can take a lot of time and legwork before you ever ask for a meeting.
To quickly and efficiently identify who to call on, we use Marketplace, which helps shorten the path to qualified buyers.
This is a critical but overlooked step. It’s not enough to get a meeting with the right person. To win business, you have to master the art of the pitch.
Talking performance isn’t enough. Institutional investors need to understand your story and how you got to the numbers. Use carefully chosen words to bring your story to life while addressing the questions an institutional investor wants answered.
core 2
Know what to say
core 3
Have a killer follow-up system
After getting the meeting and nailing the pitch, it’s critical that you follow up. Typically, most investment salespeople send a thank-you email with some marketing materials. But institutional investors get so many emails, they may never see it, let alone read it or respond.
If your follow-up begins and ends with a single generic email, you’re losing sales. You need a follow-up system that helps you continue the conversation with allocators in a meaningful way.
core 1
Know who to call on
The focus of your sales effort should be to call on people who buy what you sell. Or, as we like to say, “Sell apples to apple buyers, don’t try and convince orange buyers to buy apples.”
If you specialize in mutual funds, you need to call on allocators who deal in mutual funds – RIAs, ETFs and separate accounts, to start. But identifying the appropriate channels and the contacts within each account can take a lot of time and legwork before you ever ask for a meeting.
To quickly and efficiently identify who to call on, we use Marketplace, which helps shorten the path to qualified buyers.
core 2
Know what to say
This is a critical but overlooked step. It’s not enough to get a meeting with the right person. To win business, you have to master the art of the pitch.
Talking performance isn’t enough. Institutional investors need to understand your story and how you got to the numbers. Use carefully chosen words to bring your story to life while addressing the questions an institutional investor wants answered.
core 3
Have a killer follow-up system
After getting the meeting and nailing the pitch, it’s critical that you follow up. Typically, most investment salespeople send a thank-you email with some marketing materials. But institutional investors get so many emails, they may never see it, let alone read it or respond.
If your follow-up begins and ends with a single generic email, you’re losing sales. You need a follow-up system that helps you continue the conversation with allocators in a meaningful way.
925 West Lancaster Ave
Suite 220
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Tel: (610) 642-1481
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