Payer Sales Development Representative

Overview

Join us as we work to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.

Are you ready to launch your career in healthcare sales with a focus on payer organizations? As a Sales Development Associate based in Boston, MA, Austin, TX, or Atlanta, GA, this hybrid role offers the opportunity to engage with leading payer organizations and help transform healthcare through innovative solutions. You will be a key contributor in identifying and initiating conversations that drive athenahealth’s growth in the payer market.

This position reports directly to the Senior Manager, Sales Development.

We’re seeking a highly motivated Sales Development Representative (SDR) focused on the payer segment to accelerate athenahealth’s expansion in this critical market. In this role, you will collaborate closely with our payer sales team to identify and engage decision-makers at large national insurers, regional health plans, Medicare Advantage organizations, Medicaid MCOs, and commercial payers. Your outreach will uncover strategic opportunities where athenahealth’s solutions can support payer initiatives such as care coordination, value-based care, and data interoperability.

Your efforts will be essential in generating qualified leads, initiating meaningful conversations, and building a robust pipeline of opportunities that foster collaboration between payers and providers through athenahealth’s platform. This role requires a consultative communication style, healthcare and payer knowledge, and a disciplined approach to prospecting and pipeline management.

• Conduct targeted outreach to payer organizations through tailored emails and calls aligned with payer structure and strategy.

• Research payer organizations to understand their markets, provider networks, and strategic priorities before engagement.

• Engage payer executives and operational leaders with consultative messaging that uncovers workflow inefficiencies.

• Manage and maintain accurate records in Salesforce, ensuring clean notes, strong handoffs, and pipeline hygiene.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with sales, product, and provider teams to align messaging and strategy.

• Handle objections professionally, particularly around existing solutions or provider-side focus, to advance conversations.

• Support sales team initiatives by providing market insights and feedback from payer interactions.

• Assist in refining outreach messaging based on engagement data and payer feedback.

• Participate in team meetings and training sessions to deepen healthcare and payer knowledge.

• Contribute to the development of sales collateral tailored to payer audiences.

• Monitor industry trends and regulatory changes impacting payer priorities.

• Help coordinate events or webinars targeting payer audiences.

• Support administrative tasks related to sales development activities as needed.

• 1 to 2 years of experience in sales, healthcare, or related fields.

• Demonstrated understanding of payer operations including claims, prior authorization, eligibility, remittance, and value-based care basics.

• Familiarity with payer pain points such as administrative burden, provider abrasion, data accuracy, and interoperability challenges.

• Comfort with healthcare acronyms and workflows to engage in credible, consultative conversations.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage executive-level payer leaders.

• Experience or aptitude for targeted prospecting, account research, and objection handling.

• Proficiency with CRM tools, preferably Salesforce, and a data-driven approach to sales development.

• Ability to work in a hybrid environment based in Boston, Austin, or Atlanta.

$48,000 - $82,000

The base salary range shown reflects the full range for this role from minimum to maximum. At athenahealth, base pay depends on multiple factors, including job-related experience, relevant knowledge and skills, how your qualifications compare to others in similar roles, and geographical market rates. Base pay is only one part of our competitive…