Strategic Account Manager

About the Role

The Strategic Account Manager is responsible for developing, maintaining, and expanding relationships with our most critical and high-value clients. Serving as the lead point of contact for assigned strategic accounts, this role focuses on deeply understanding the client's business objectives and aligning our solutions to drive mutual growth. The ideal candidate will be a trusted advisor to key stakeholders, ensuring client satisfaction, maximizing retention, and identifying new avenues for revenue generation.

Responsibilities

• Proactive engagement with existing customers and new prospects to identify all coatings needs/opportunities
• Act as the primary point of contact and build long-term, trusted advisor relationships with key stakeholders and executive sponsors within assigned strategic accounts
• Conduct regular business reviews with clients to ensure alignment on goals, demonstrate ROI, and address any challenges
• Navigate complex client organizations to identify and engage decision-makers
• Develop and execute comprehensive, multi-year strategic account plans that align with both the client's objectives and our company's business goals
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation within the client's operations using our product/service portfolio
• Anticipate client needs and proactively propose solutions that drive value
• Research and quantify new and existing customer and market opportunities
• Exceed revenue and profitability targets for the strategic account portfolio
• Identify and close up-sell and cross-sell opportunities by expanding the footprint of our solutions within the client's organization
• Lead complex negotiations and contract renewals, ensuring mutually beneficial agreements
• Use market based pricing to achieve/increase profitability
• Utilize plant capacity to increase margins
• Improve customer/product mix
• Support Finance and Gross Margin review process to exceed 80/20 profitability targets on new and existing business pricing
• Cross functional people leadership as we work together to exceed targets through projects and opportunities
• S&OP leadership to best utilize our plants and support operational planning
• Collaborate with operations to best utilize plant capabilities & capacities
• Coordinate internal resources—including sales, product development, marketing, operations, and customer support—to meet client expectations and deliver seamless solutions
• Serve as the voice of the customer internally, providing actionable feedback to product and leadership teams to influence future offerings
• Escalate and resolve critical client issues promptly by collaborating with the appropriate internal departments
• Use 80/20 to drive business decisions using data
• Track key account metrics (e.g., revenue forecasts, customer health scores, retention rates) and report on account status to executive leadership
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date account records, pipeline data, and activity logs in the CRM system
• Find ways to better utilize CRM system to provide more market intelligence and automate reporting
• Lead market research by analyzing trends and competition
• Support Coatings long-term strategic planning

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Sales, Engineering, Marketing, or a related field (Master's degree or MBA preferred)
• Proven work experience (7+ years) as a Strategic Account Manager, Key Account Manager, or similar senior sales role in a B2B environment
• People management experience preferred
• Experience building teams
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, present, and influence credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization, including the C-suite
• Strong business acumen with a deep understanding of strategic planning, financial metrics, and ROI analysis
• Excellent negotiation, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills
• Ability to manage multiple complex accounts simultaneously while maintaining sharp attention to detail

Benefits

• Competitive health, dental & vision insurance coverage (Day One)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Maternity Leave (12 weeks at 100% pay) – after 90 days of continuous employment: 8 weeks short term disability at 100% + 4 weeks paid parental leave at 100%
• Paternity Leave (4 weeks at 100% pay)
• 401k Retirement plan and company paid match
• Life Insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Short Term Disability (company paid)
• Long Term Disability
• Competitive time-off policies
• Tuition Reimbursement