Associate Sales Representative | External Sales Development Program Class of 2016

The Principal Financial Group? (The Principal®) is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies.

Imagine a fast paced SALES opportunity where each day you will interact with independent financial advisors and executive level decision makers to drive employee benefit sales... Imagine being part of an organization recognized as a top 100 company to work for by Fortune magazine, a top 50 for executive women, and the recipient of numerous innovation, wellness and diversity awards... Imagine working for a company that is dedicated to investing the tools and resources to help you achieve your goal of a successful career in sales with an industry leading company... Intrigued? Then read on!

*We are currently looking for dynamic sales career driven candidates to be a part of our employee benefits sales team at Principal Financial Group. As an Associate Sales Representative, you will experience:* - Assignment to one of our multiple national training centers where you will learn our business followed by a Sales Representative territory assignment in one of 18 local markets around the country. - A comprehensive 9 month training center based program designed to expose you to all aspects of our employee benefits business, including: professional selling skills, marketing, product distribution, pricing, product knowledge, risk analysis and customer care. - Intensive classroom-based study and opportunities to network with, and learn from, Principal Financial Group senior leaders. - On-the-job training with sales leaders and mentors who can help you learn the employee benefits business and prepare you for the opportunity to drive sales within an assigned territory. *Once you have gained the required knowledge of the business and secured your insurance license, you have the ability to directly impact territory sales, overall business unit success, and your compensation through the following:* - Developing and executing sales plans - Building relationships with financial advisors within your assigned territory - Successfully marketing Group Life, Disability, Dental, Vision, and Critical Illness solutions through financial advisors (i.e., brokers) for employer groups ranging from 3 to 999 employees

**Successful candidates will have the following skills:** - Bachelor's degree or equivalent required at the time of hire - Strong interest in a career in external sales - 0-2 years of relevant job experience (which would include but is not limited to the following: sales related experience, sales related internship, financial services related experience) - For recent college graduates with limited experience, looking for exceptional extracurricular, leadership, academic, or athletic achievement during college experience - Must have sales aptitude and strong relationship building skills - Strong work ethic, self-starter, and accountable for own actions - Must have the ability to adapt to change as well as manage multiple projects - Licensing will be required based on state/federal laws and/or company policy in accordance with current licensing policy - Requires ability to work independently, excellent and persuasive written and oral communication skills, excellent presentation skills, and basic computer skills - Willingness to travel within the identified territory as needed for this position **Preferred skills include:** - Awards or recognition from collegiate sales competitions - 3.0 GPA or higher - Bachelor's degree in business-related degree preferred - Bilingual English/Spanish skills preferred but not required