Account Manager II at Wichita

Job Description

School Specialty is an education company that provides innovative and proprietary products, programs, and services to help educators engage and inspire students of all ages and abilities. Through leading brands, School Specialty designs, develops, and provides PreK-12 educators with the latest and very best curriculum, supplemental learning resources, and classroom basics. Working in collaboration with educators, School Specialty reaches beyond the scope of textbooks to help teachers, guidance counselors, and school administrators ensure that every student reaches his or her full potential.Job summaryIncumbent serves as primary catalyst for School Specialty Educational Resources sales. This includes demonstrating a deep understanding of customer behavior and trends within the marketplace. Responsible for making direct calls to assigned customers and/or customer geography. A critical element of this position is to be the voice of the customer (VOC) by seeking to understand what the customer?s wants and needs are in order to both directly and indirectly position solutions with customers, leading to sustainable sales growth.Summary of essential job functionsConducts face-to-face, needs-based consultative selling to aid customer in achieving business goals through the use of School Specialty products, services and/or solutions in order to grow revenue within territory.Manages territory as a business with analysis of opportunities, customer needs and financesDevelops deep customer understanding to determine needs and leverage Category subject matter experts (SME) to maximize revenue opportunities.Collaborate and work effectively in a team selling environment to differentiate SSI in the market and provide value to the customerDevelops multi-level relationships with accounts in order to promote, market, and sell School Specialty brands to existing and potential customers within assigned territoryFacilitates selling through efficient organization of business systems including home office, car and technologyManages time and resources to optimize coverage of territory to achieve sales results by utilizing sales tools (Customer Relationship Management Tool - CRM, Cognos reporting tools, Runzheimer) in order to provide updated information, competitive intelligence, and market trends with our customers.Owns the customer relationship experience from providing customer solutions, problem solving, and follow-up.Develops a frequent and familiar personal profile of customers that attracts the interest of prospective customersMakes customer satisfaction a priority by ensuring all activities and programs are executed timely and accurately.Reviews market conditions and trends to uncover new leadsProactively identifies and selects the most profitable optionsSells our full-line of educational products and servicesPresent value added propositions/information through effective speaking, writing, listening, presentation and facilitation skillsConducts proper territory, account and product line managementCommunicates frequently and effectively with Regional Sales Manager on territory, account and related plans and informationContinuously improves capabilities by upgrading skills and product knowledge

Job Requirements

Minimum requirements3 -5 years successful outside sales experience required; must have proven track record in salesOutside sales experience in K-12 or related environment and industry preferred4-year college degree (Business, Marketing or Education preferred) or equivalent work experienceKnowledge/Skills requiredResults-oriented; self-starter; strong work ethicStrong planning as well as priority/time management skillsAbility to build solid customer relations based upon solution based selling techniquesExcellent communication and organizational skillsComputer literate in Microsoft Office ProductsAbilities requiredThe physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.Ability to lift up to 30 lbs (carry catalogs, samples, etc.)Walk, sit, bend, and stand while making sales calls from home to car to customer siteTravel RequirementsAbility to travel 90% of time within territoryCore Competencies RequiredPersonal Leadership ? Acts with integrity and trust takes ownership for own behavior and develops oneselfResults Driven - Stays focused on the efforts necessary to achieve quality results consistent with Company goals, and demonstrates the ability to achieve effective resultsDecision Making/Problem Solving - Solves problems that hinder self and organization performance and effectiveness; makes appropriate trade-offs and sound decisionsCollaboration and Relationship Building - Empowers self and others through effective, collaborative relationships that accomplish organizational objectives and create an open and supportive work environmentBusiness/Job Acumen - Demonstrates competence in both the business and functional / technical knowledge required to successfully perform job and to contribute effectively to organizational objectives.Customer/Quality Focus - Knows internal/external customers served and ensures high quality interactions, deliverables, products and solutions each and every timeInnovation/Champion Change ? Has an open mind and seeks to continuously improve; readily supports change and can adapt to daily challenges and larger one-off change eventsCommunication - Open to influence; shares information through effective speaking, writing, listening, presentation and facilitation skills.Time & Territory Management?Manages sales territory as a business, with appropriate analysis of business opportunities, customer needs and financial budget. Uses time and sales resources to optimize coverage of the entire territory, time spent with the customer and achievement of sales resultsConsultative Selling? Conducts face-to-face and/or telephone sales calls using a needs-based consultative selling model to achieve sales results by helping the customer achieve key business goals through the use of SSI products, services and/or solutionsAdministrative Organization?Facilitates selling through efficient organization of business systemsKnowledge Management?Continuously improves capabilities by upgrading skills and knowledgeNegotiating Skills?Negotiates mutually favorable terms with customers, i.e., on bids, contracts, adoptions and other buying vehicles
Country: USA, State: Kansas, City: Wichita, Company: School Specialty, Inc.