Strategic Account Manager

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned accounts, building strong, trust-based relationships with key stakeholders.
• Conduct independent strategic account planning, including analysis of historical spend, forecasting, and development of growth strategies by region and branch with a documented plan of action to report to Sales Management.
• Manage and monitor key account scorecards and satisfaction metrics to improve Earnest’s supplier ranking.
• Lead discussions on KPI / scorecard review with customers and report to Sales Management to determine resolution path on any issues presented.
• Maintain accurate CRM item records for strategic account including updates, modifications, and new entries.
• Analyze account trends and report insights to Sales Management to support overall growth initiatives.
• Drive communication and data infrastructure improvement processes, including cross-references and system enhancements to the appropriate internal resources such as Marketing, Engineering, and Sales Management.
• Manage pricing strategies, including price breaks and margin expectations, aligned with account goals in collaboration with Sales Management pricing direction.
• Internal Collaboration:
• Drive collaboration & Earnest alignment by partnering with internal teams, including Strategic Sales Support, Purchasing, Quality, Distribution Centers, and Sales Management to ensure consistent and timely customer satisfaction.
• Utilize Standard Operating Procedures to ensure compliance and consistency in all activities.
• Maintain deep understanding of the full Earnest product portfolio and effectively communicate value propositions to assigned customers.
• Train Strategic Sales Support role and appropriate customer departments on Earnest products and processes learnings based on customer interactions and experience.
• Collaborate with Quality department ensure appropriate RMA or MTR completion as required with escalation to Sales Management as needed.

Opportunity Identification

• Perform outbound calls and service inbound calls, emails to identify, qualify, and pursue new sales opportunities.
• Qualify inbound quotes and collaborate with Strategic Sales Support to ensure timely responses, quote identification (standard, newly sourced products, or blanket order), and quote completion.
• Upsell and cross-sell within the current book of business based on customer needs and market opportunities.
• Own Sales Execution & Pipeline Development for future opportunities.
• Prospect new accounts and / or branches to build a robust sales pipeline for future growth.
• Conduct in-person visits to customer sites in conjunction with robust account planning to further relationships and present outbound sales opportunities in collaboration with Sales Management.
• Conduct quote follow up, as appropriate, to assess interest in quote and negotiation.
• Coach, train, and answer any questions from the Strategic Account Sales Support role on standard quote identification, submission, and pricing.
• Independently fulfill Distribution Center (DC / HUB) quotes within 24 hours of submitted request, including Smart Sheet requests.
• Collaborate with purchasing on newly sourced product quotes to understand Earnest ability to source, timing of source, and determination on price alongside Sales Management.
• Negotiate and close sales with a focus on maximizing revenue and margin.
• Ensure accurate and timely order delivery that meets customer specifications through collaboration with the Distribution Centers and communication to customers.
• Support any ongoing issue resolution related to pricing, delivery, or order fulfillment with escalation to appropriate internal teams such as Quality, purchasing, Distribution Centers, or Sales Management as needed.