Strategic Account Executive

Overview

Creates and leads strategies for high-impact/high-profile accounts that yield high-volume sales and open new opportunities for both Microsoft and its partners that are aligned to goals, outcomes, and forecasts. Proactively builds and expands strategic network of key internal and external partners and decision makers to ensure execution of core tasks and account transactions, and to provide a comprehensive account management experience. Develops a broad and deep understanding of customers' industries and priorities to identify opportunities to drive optimizations and new digitalizations based on customers' strategies. Understands customer drivers of business and technology transformation and leverages deep knowledge of customer's business to engage internal teams to accelerate co-innovation and digital transformation and strategy. Cultivates, leverages, and manages a strategic set of relationships and uses Microsoft business-value sales strategies throughout multiple levels of the customer's organization to establish strong alignment on long-term goals and secure buy-in and execution. Leverages a strong knowledge of and experience with Microsoft's product landscape, solutions, and strategy to generate insights, provide thought leadership, and address customer's needs and translate needs into Microsoft solutions.

Qualifications

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

· 11+ years experience in working in an industry (e.g., Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, Government, Education, Technology) and/or driving digital transformation

o OR Bachelor's Degree AND 8+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, Government, Education, Technology) and/or driving digital transformation

o OR Master's Degree AND 7+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, Government, Education, Technology) and/or driving digital transformation.

· 4+ years experience making recommendations to and/or collaborating with mid-to-senior level executives.

· 6+ years experience closing large, complex agreements/deals.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

· Bachelor's Degree AND 11+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, Government, Education, Technology) and/or driving digital transformation

o Master's Degree AND 9+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, Government, Education, Technology) and/or driving digital transformation.

Responsibilities

Account Management

· Develops mature strategies to execute plans for the assigned customer to ensure Microsoft and partner sales goals are on target, create high value revenue generating opportunities, and establish long term customer success and continued interaction.

· Orchestrates the execution of strategies for the assigned account to ensure engagements yield high-volume sales, drive plans to increase revenue potential, and open new opportunities for both Microsoft and the partners, aligned to goals, budgets, and forecasts, Leads and coordinates with key internal and customer stakeholders (e.g., industry experts) on plan execution (e.g., prioritization, delegation) and drives accountability to deliver on account plans and grow the account, leveraging industry knowledge.

· Proactively expands strategic network of key internal and external partners and decision makers, including vertical industry partners, to ensure execution of core tasks and account transactions and to provide a comprehensive account management experience.

· Leads efforts with key internal and external partners including vertical industry partners with business and technical decision makers in developing, sharing, and promoting mutually beneficial, long-term, tailored account plans to grow sales and partner impact, leveraging relationships, influence, and industry knowledge. Participates in discussions to impact the broader ecosystem (e.g., passing legislation).

· Proactively solicits feedback on additional needs, products, and features to develop targeted strategies for customers. Demonstrates a strong understanding of the customer's business model to articulate growth opportunities, leveraging industry point of view to shape ecosystem. Influences relevant (internal and

external) stakeholders and resources to drive change on behalf of the customer and to enhance team capabilities, improve Microsoft offerings, and adapt Microsoft's messaging to the assigned account.

Strategic Thinking

· Articulates Microsoft's and partners' point of view and creates deep connections with decision makers throughout multiple levels of the customers' organization to drive purchase decisions and increase interaction and participation, leveraging relevant tools and resources (e.g., LinkedIn).

· Engages in strategic discussions by articulating ideas to evolve and facilitate evolution of customer business model using Microsoft capabilities. Leverages internal input and account knowledge to promote closer interactions between Microsoft and the customer.

· Generates and leverages business strategic industry-focused insights to solve customer business problems.

Customer Engagement

· Cultivates relationships and uses Microsoft sales strategies throughout multiple levels of the customer's organization (e.g., executives, business, and technical decision makers) to establish strong alignment on long-term goals and secure buy-in and execution.

· Proactively develops understanding of customer's business needs, priorities, strategies, and industry insights. Anticipates customers' needs to deliver new insights on their business strategy, and educate customers on ways to address them jointly. Shows differentiated value for the customer, leveraging industry expertise and guides internal colleagues on ways to develop deeper customer knowledge. Delivers solutions into overall business strategy.

Sales Excellence

· Orchestrates the creation of long-term strategies aimed at building a level of loyalty that would be hard for competitors to overcome. Anticipates issues/risks on customer satisfaction, determines the root cause of problems, removes blockers, and establishes recovery action plan to improve customer's overall experience. Builds trust and loyalty with the customer by providing up-to-date insights, challenging the customer when necessary, and introducing innovative ideas relevant to the customer's business strategy.

· Orchestrates high-impact solutions that enable digital transformation for assigned accounts and drive outcomes that create business value for customers.

Owns the development of strategies that showcase the value added by Microsoft's innovative cloud offerings and ideas grounded on a deep understanding of industry trends and based on account needs and customer's expectations.

· Leverages understanding of customer business and engages Microsoft decision makers to drive customer's strategy, goals, and optimization. Engages and collaborates with decision makers of the account (e.g., director-level) to create a mutually beneficial business value proposition, and develop plans to customize solutions that satisfy customers' Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

· Uses business cases to develop and present compelling value proposition presentations and specialized business plans for customers that showcase Microsoft's products and solutions, generate business and upsells, and generate new opportunities.

· Leads the account management team and key stakeholders with deep industry expertise to engage business or technical decision makers of the assigned account. Leverages best-in-class sales and communication strategies and tools to deliver results and identify new opportunities.

· Creates and qualifies new opportunities by identifying strategic opportunities within accounts and guiding the customer on how to best identify new opportunities, leveraging customer and industry relationships.

Competitive Knowledge

· Proactively coordinates with internal network of industry experts to build and maintain strong knowledge of Microsoft's offerings (e.g., product landscape, solutions, industry strategy), the industry (e.g., emerging trends), competitors (e.g., AWS, Salesforce), and customer business priorities (e.g., challenges, competitive landscape) to articulate Microsoft's value proposition and shape business direction.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.Industry leading healthcareEducational resourcesDiscounts on products and servicesSavings and investmentsMaternity and paternity leaveGenerous time awayGiving programsOpportunities to network and connect

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