Account Manager

Builds trust and credibility with executives, decision makers, and customers to address business and technical needs. Develops an understanding of customer priorities, strategies, and digital transformation drivers. Manages and executes plans to ensure Microsoft targets and customer business needs are met. Engages with stakeholders on business planning and sets strategic priorities. Manages and prioritizes assigned accounts. Understands and builds a relationship with Microsoft and external partners. Seeks feedback from customers to understand the drivers of satisfaction and establishes action plans to improve their overall experience. Orchestrates extended virtual teams and key stakeholders to engage decision makers of assigned accounts. Shares and recommends Microsoft solutions to customers. Develops value-proposition presentations and specialized business plans for customers that drive business outcomes to generate business and upsells. Develops strategies to secure buy in and execution of plans and aims to identify new opportunities within assigned accounts. Coordinates with internal industry experts to gather industry data of assigned accounts and improve planning.

**Responsibilities**:

- **Account Management**
- Understands and builds a relationship with the internal (e.g., Industry Solutions [IS]) and external partner network specific to a particular account. Collaborates with partners to develop customer business and technology transformation plans that meet individual sales target and account needs. Where applicable, shares opportunities outbound with partners, and reviews/accepts opportunities shared inbound. Proactively engages and works with partners’ sellers directly to drive non-qualified opportunity momentum and deal closure inclusive of partners.

- Engages with internal and external stakeholders on account planning for assigned accounts and sets strategic priorities and plan to achieve outcomes. Structures and leads account planning rhythm to set priorities, aligns Solutions/Sales Plays and opportunities, partners, focus, and resources to regularly update the plan, ensuring that the extended virtual team (inclusive of partners) and other stakeholders are working toward common goals. Ensures teams are documenting in the Account Plan.

- Manages and executes plans utilizing common sales and delivery methodology for the Microsoft sales organization for multiple accounts to ensure Microsoft targets and customer business needs are met. Coordinates with extended virtual teams and holds self and the team accountable for executing on plans and meeting customer needs. Outlines revenue targets to deliver on account plans. Orchestrates extended team and embraces partners to scale business. Ensures achievement of revenue and consumption targets and drives integrated joint account governance through customer plan on regular frequency. Identifies initial stakeholders, customer needs, and customer priorities. Proposes initial Solutions/Sales Plays.

- Manages multiple accounts and determines which accounts should take priority and when to act, while maintaining a high level of commitment and accountability. Coordinates with the account management team to problem solve and mitigate issues.
- **Customer Engagement**
- Understands customer drivers of business and technology transformation and contributes to technology/transformation for assigned accounts. Mitigates competitive risk. Seeks to capture line-of-business wins (e.g., testimonials) for referencing through insightful listening.

- Develops an understanding of the customer's business and technology needs for top priorities for assigned accounts. If industry aligned, also learns about the customer's industry.

- Builds connections with executives and business and technical decision makers through consultative engagement in the assigned accounts to establish trust and credibility in future interactions. Liaises with customers during interactions, focuses on consistently addressing their technical and business needs, explains technical concepts relevant to the customer, and connects the customer to Microsoft executives.

- Leverages selling methods (e.g., digital) to network and create a pipeline, consume account-based marketing outputs, and reflect the engagement strategy in our customer plan.

- **Industry Knowledge**
- Learns about the business of assigned accounts and intricacies of their industry, of Microsoft's position in the industry, and of direct competitors. Coordinates with internal industry experts (e.g., industry teams) to gather industry data of assigned accounts and improve planning.

- **Sales Excellence**
- Develops value-proposition presentations (e.g., with the use of business cases) and specialized business plans for customers that drive business outcomes to generate business and upsells. Presents business plans to customers to generate new non-qualified opportunities.

- Develops strategies to secure buy in and execution of plans