Account Manager - Field Sales

With over 40 years’ experience, we are the UK's market-leading provider of business-critical software and services to the UK accountancy, payroll and education sectors. These solutions are delivered as a choice of integrated on-premise software and cloud-based applications - managed under the leading IRIS, PTP, KashFlow, Keytime, Taxfiler, Cascade, 12pay, Star, Earnie, PS Financials, ParentMail, Contact Group and School Asset Manager brands. They serve over 21,000 Accountancy Practices, 11,000 education organisations and more than 80,000 small and mid-sized businesses, corporates, and payroll bureaus across a wide range of industry sectors.

We have a fantastic opportunity for an energetic and proven Account Manager to join our highly successful Account Management Team. This is a key role within the sales team, enabling us to drive our customer growth strategy across our existing customer base. The team is responsible for enhancing our customer relationships - leading to improved retention rates and new growth opportunities across our product portfolio. This role represents a fantastic opportunity to join a growing, market leading software business. The right candidate will be an ambitious, organized, target driven individual looking to be part of a fast-moving team on a high growth trajectory. They will be able to demonstrate consistent target delivery and strong commercial acumen combined with an organized and personable approach. As part of our commitment the successful applicant will undergo an extensive and comprehensive induction schedule.

Main Responsibilities:

• As a Field Sales Account Manager, your responsibilities will be as follows:
• To achieve 100% recurring revenue, spend within assigned account portfolio
• To achieve additional, spend target within account portfolio by upselling and cross selling from the IRIS portfolio
• Developing long term strategic relationships with account base.
• Excellent deal management and stakeholder management. 
• Accurately forecast the monthly and quarterly revenue.
• Pipeline management - owning data quality in CRM/pipeline reports for all opportunities and leads, ensuring accuracy of sales stage, deal size, close date and next actions 
• Account planning - work with each account to produce annual account plans that achieve growth aligned to the targets
• Working closely with internal stakeholders to uphold excellent customer service acting as a guardian of the customer experience.
• Sales skills - apply formal sales methodology and operate at Director/ Exec and C-Level 
• Product and Market knowledge - understands the product landscape of solutions and services and how they fit in the marketplace. 
• Team player - embraces and enhances the team ethos.

Experience 

• Proven sales experience of managing complex accounts and delivering to target 
• Proven experience selling at Director / Executive / C-Level
• Proven account growth.

Key Skills and competencies 

Account Management Skills

Account Planning

Ability to produce a territory plan for assigned customer base that maps by customer, account spend and white space analysis. Outline the opportunities for revenue growth that align to the annual territory revenue targets set. Highlight any known risk to retention, and create an action plan to mitigate.

Produce a Strategic Account Plan for top customers within account portfolio, detailing relationship strength, customer challenges and objectives with detailed solution mapping and action plan.

Relationship Building

Understanding the importance of building relationships with multiple stakeholders in an account. The ability to recognise customer personas including supporter, detractor & neutral influences build out strategies to develop and improve.

Presentation Skills

The ability to create and deliver powerful presentations to accounts that show an understanding of the customers current landscape and business objectives and how we can help them resolve the problem/ achieve their goals. Ability to present at all levels within the account.

Negotiation

Understanding the ‘give to get’ principle to find the true win win whilst gaining all key stakeholder support. Shaping real value for both the customer and our company and driving optimum retention within account portfolio.

Soft Skills & Attributes

Communication

 Strong communication skills required to build meaningful relationships both internally and externally, set expectations, and discuss pain points. Effective consistent communication within a specific opportunity to ensure deal moves as planned.

Rapport Building

Ability to build connections with multiple stake holders in prospects and customers by finding common ground through customer research and developing relationships and helping customers to consider new ideas and solutions. Use industry knowledge and demonstrate deep understanding to demonstrate how and where IRIS can add value, striving for trusted advisor status within account portfolio.

Time Management and Planning

 Effective time management to map out activity plan for account portfolio making sure that the agreed frequency of account meetings are met, and the customer has a clear understanding of the objective of each meeting, and actions are clearly outlined and managed. Responsible for own territory planning to ensure maximum account velocity and activity KPIs are met.

Target Driven

 Self-motivated to drive the best outcomes for our customers, whilst aligning with business and revenue objectives. Takes responsibility for own success. Motivated to meet and exceed targets.

Product Knowledge

Portfolio Knowledge and understanding of the full IRIS portfolio and the problems each solves and Is able to translate this into a discussion with the customer
Marketplace Knowledge

Understands and researches market trends and the different competitive landscape for each customer & market Business Acumen 
Understanding business make-up including financial reporting and scope and impact of business solutions and services that can be offered. Can adjust approach to match the individual sales personas.

Systems & Processes Sales process
Understands and follows the sales process set out by the company CRM reporting
Adoption of the relevant sales tools available to automate the sales process, and provide accurate reporting. Ensures data accuracy across their account portfolio and future opportunities

Customer Buying Cycle

Understands the customer life cycle and when to involve other teams to support development and credibility within an account. Can create and execute a deal strategy to influence the key stages and stake holders throughout the cycle. Turns this understanding into accurate forecasting of deals and pipeline.