Overview
The Strategic Account Director leads the development and application of a mature/dynamic customer plan detailing critical insights and new business opportunities aligned to customer priorities. Leads efforts to share Microsoft and partner strategies across other segments of the customer's account and ensure customer success in the acquisition, implementation, and consumption of Microsoft's and partner's services and solutions. Connects appropriate internal executives and partners to build strategic relationships, leveraging deep knowledge of customer business and ecosystem (e.g., customers, competitors, partners). Provides thought leadership and strategic co-innovation ideas. Proactively defines and executes governance model to ensure mapping across seniority levels. 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. Anticipates market changes to drive new industry-relevant cloud solutions to customers. Proactively explores and uncovers technologies and confirms customer interest.
Responsibilities
Account Management
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 expertise 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.
Leads the development and application of a mature/dynamic customer plan detailing critical insights and new business opportunities aligned to customer priorities. Leads and coordinates a diverse and high-performing team and key stakeholders (e.g., industry experts) on plan execution (e.g., prioritization, delegation) and drives accountability to deliver on account plans and grow the account. Anticipates future needs and provides long-term strategic insight to customers as a trusted partner.
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, challenges, and inspires team to focus on top priorities and challenges to drive business case. Leverages deep industry expertise to anticipate industry direction, ecosystem, and transformation.
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 regular meetings for strategic accounts with relevant partners. Influences transformation for partners to build innovative solutions.
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, customizable account plans to grow sales and partner impact, leveraging deep relationships, broad influence, and in-depth industry expertise. Leads efforts to share Microsoft and partner strategies across other segments of the customer's account and ensure customer success in the acquisition, implementation, and consumption of Microsoft's and partner's services and solutions. Collaborates across organization and partners in discussions to impact the broader ecosystem (e.g., passing legislation).
Competitive Knowledge
Partners with internal industry experts to strengthen knowledge of the industry (e.g., emerging trends, forecasting long-term developments, influencers), competitors (e.g., AWS, Salesforce) customer business priorities (e.g., challenges, competitive landscape) and leverages in-depth knowledge of Microsoft's offerings (e.g., product landscape, solutions, strategy to address customers' needs) to provide thought leadership and mentor the account management team on ways to gain deeper industry knowledge that ultimately addresses customer needs. Proactively explores and uncovers technologies and confirms customer interest.
Customer Engagement
Proactively owns and elevates a transformative customer stakeholder engagement strategy to foster customer trust and brand growth and loyalty. Sets organizational tone for building and maintaining long-term strategic customer relationships and for driving larger impact for the customer. Proactively defines and executes governance model to ensure mapping across seniority levels.
Proactively develops a strong, comprehensive understanding of customer's business needs, priorities, and strategies and industry insights, competition, market competitive trends, and the customers' customers. Guides internal colleagues on ways to develop deeper customer knowledge. Anticipates customers' needs to deliver new insights on customers' business strategies. Articulates need to address customer's business needs (both internally and to the customer). Identifies and pursues opportunities to optimize offerings and delivers solutions into overall long-term business strategy. Anticipates new potential market opportunities for the customer, leveraging deep industry expertise.
Sales Excellence
Leverages understanding of customer business and engages Microsoft decision makers to drive customer's strategy, goals, and optimization. Engages and influences decision makers of the account (e.g., C-level, high-impact customers) on Microsoft's vision, strategy, and value, and positions Microsoft to increase customer's budget allocated to Microsoft, tailor solutions that satisfy customers' Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Translates features into business outcomes that accelerate the customer's digital presence.
Earns and maintains status as a thought leader and trusted advisor to the assigned account's C-level business decision makers by bringing innovative ideas, leveraging deep industry expertise, and bringing together the customer's customers. Mobilizes and mentors the account management team and relevant stakeholders with deep industry expertise to expand the partnership with decision makers of the assigned account. Leverages best-in-class sales and communication strategies and tools to anticipate business needs and identify new opportunities. Builds new relationships to create new opportunities and expand relationships within the customer.
Owns the development of the digital transformation business strategy for the assigned account that is based on customer's expected outcomes and Microsoft's added innovative value, and opens doors to new opportunities grounded in deep understanding of industry trends, customer needs, and final consumer perspectives. Anticipates market changes to drive new industry-relevant cloud solutions to customers. Brings greater ecosystem together with the customer to discuss how to enrich customer's value to their customers.
Uses business cases to develop and present compelling value proposition presentations and specialized business plans for customers that showcase Microsoft's products and solutions to connect decision makers in the account to the broader Microsoft solutions, provide thought leadership to guide others on tailoring presentations, and generate new opportunities. Advocates internally to promote the relevance of Microsoft's expertise for the customer.
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. Enables customers to provide feedback directly to executives to help transform account space by establishing open communication channels for feedback, providing executive sponsorship, and providing direction to others to ensure customer feedback is addressed through One Microsoft approach.
Creates and qualifies new opportunities by identifying highly strategic opportunities (e.g., very large, long-term, high-impact) within accounts and guiding the customer on how to best identify new opportunities, leveraging deep customer and industry relationships and consultative selling skills. Drives new business opportunities across the team by creating a partner ecosystem, and empowers team members to find new opportunities by acting as a role model and by setting a clear vision and energy for the team to drive towards.
Strategic Thinking
Engages in strategic discussions by discussing ideas to transform customer business models to better serve their own customers, increase profitability and market share, and transform the ecosystem. Promotes and implements a more holistic digital approach between Microsoft and the customer.
Leverages Microsoft sales strategies to articulate Microsoft's and partners' point of view and creates deep connections with decision makers through multiple levels of the customers' organization to drive purchase decisions and increase interaction and participation, leveraging relevant tools and resources (e.g., LinkedIn). Leverages relationships in ecosystem to address highly complex political blockers and drive execution for the customer.
Leverages unique, strategic industry-focused business insights and opportunities to create long-term, competitive advantage for the customer. Provides thought leadership and strategic co-innovation ideas.
Qualifications
Required/minimum qualifications
Bachelor's Degree AND 12+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education, technology) and/or driving digital transformation OR Master'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 OR 15+ years experience in working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education, technology) and/or driving digital transformation OR equivalent experience.
8+ years experience making recommendations to and/or collaborating with mid-to-senior level executives.
10+ years experience closing large, complex agreements/deals.
Additional or preferred qualifications
Bachelor's Degree AND 15+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education, technology) and/or driving digital transformation OR Master's Degree AND 13+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education, technology) and/or driving digital transformation OR equivalent experience.
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about **requesting accommodations.**