Freelance Sourcing Researcher — Automotive Retail Technology Sales Talent

Engagement type: Fixed price, two milestones Estimated duration: 2–3 weeks Overview: We are building a hiring pipeline of experienced salespeople who have sold software and technology into automobile dealerships and dealer groups. We are seeking a sourcing researcher to identify candidates who are currently between roles and actively open to work. This is a research and list-building engagement. You will not be contacting candidates or conducting interviews. Deliverables Milestone 1 — Long list (500+ candidates) A spreadsheet of at least 500 individuals meeting the target profile below, with all required fields populated and verified. Milestone 2 — Qualified short list (100 candidates) A filtered and ranked list of the top 100 candidates from the long list, with a one- to two-sentence justification for each selection and a stated ranking rationale. Target candidate profile: Candidates must have sold technology products — SaaS, software, digital retailing, data, or marketing technology — into automotive retail. Relevant employers include, but are not limited to: CDK Global, Reynolds & Reynolds, Cox Automotive (Dealertrack, VinSolutions, Xtime, Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book), Tekion, DealerSocket/Solera, vAuto, Cars.com/Dealer Inspire, Impel, Fullpath, Podium, automotive Mastermind, Elead, Dominion DMS, PBS Systems, CarGurus, TrueCar, ACV Auctions, OPENLANE, and Shift Digital. Relevant titles include: Account Executive, Enterprise Account Executive, Regional Sales Manager, District Sales Manager, Performance Manager, Dealer Development Manager, Director of Sales, and Vice President of Sales. Candidates must show clear evidence of current availability — for example, an "Open to Work" designation, or a most recent role ended within the past twelve months with no subsequent employment listed. Qualification criteria for the top 100 Rank and filter the long list against the following, in priority order: 1. Three or more years selling technology into franchise dealerships or dealer groups 2. Documented quota performance — President's Club, top-percentile ranking, named awards, or stated attainment 3. Multi-rooftop or dealer-group account experience rather than single-store sales 4. Departure from most recent role within the past twelve months 5. Verified, current contact information 6. Territory coverage across major U.S. metropolitan markets Required spreadsheet fields Full name; LinkedIn profile URL; current employment status; most recent employer; most recent title; dates in that role; total years in automotive technology sales; territory or metro area; product category sold; dealer-group versus single-rooftop experience; quota or award evidence; professional email; phone number, where publicly available; source of record; date verified; researcher notes. Required skills and tools Proven experience in talent sourcing or lead research. Working command of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, ZoomInfo, Seamless.AI, or comparable platforms. Strong spreadsheet discipline and accuracy. Familiarity with the automotive retail technology sector is strongly preferred. Compliance requirements All research must rely on publicly available information and platform-compliant methods. Do not use scraping tools that violate any platform's terms of service. Do not record or report age, race, gender, national origin, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic. To apply Please submit the following: 1. A brief description of a comparable sourcing project you have completed, including the final list size and the accuracy rate you achieved. 2. The platforms and data sources you intend to use for this engagement. 3. Five sample candidate records matching the target profile, to demonstrate your research quality and formatting. 4. Your fixed-price bid, broken out by milestone, and your delivery timeline.