Senior Account Executive at Microsoft

Job description

The AE (Major) Leads The Customer Strategy, Joint Planning And Orchestration To Drive Sales Attainment, Growth And Consumption Focused On Four Business Priorities

• Cloud Productivity & Enterprise Social
• Cloud Platform
• Business Insights & Mission Critical
• Devices & Mobility

Primary Accomplishments

• Mutually beneficial customer and partner Business Decision Maker (BDM) and IT Decision Maker (ITDM) relationships
• Annual and multi-year strategic plans jointly developed with the customer and partner that drive growth, adoption and consumption
• High-performing, accountable, customer-centric account team due to AE leadership
• Key wins that support customer business initiatives
• Customers with demonstrated business value from Microsoft’s solutions
• A disciplined and predictable business
• Continuous improvement of industry knowledge, industry scenarios and creative ideas

Primary Accomplishment A: Mutually beneficial customer and partner Business Decision Maker (BDM) and IT Decision Maker (ITDM) relationships

Key Actions

• Develop strong relationships by consistently demonstrating business value through the selling and consumption of Microsoft solutions.
• Develop and build executive relationships with BDMs and C-level executives and leverage business insight data within Conditions of Satisfaction (COS).
• Develop joint account team relationship map and strategy that includes all BDMs (Sales, Marketing, and Operations), ITDMs and key influencers, including partners.
• Identify appropriate MS Executive sponsors to align with key customer executives who own transformational initiatives.
• Engage with the industry and account teams to build scenario-based knowledge aligned to Microsoft products and cloud based solutions.
• Hold envisioning sessions with CXOs and BDMs to provide innovative solutions to business issues and broaden the BDMs’ perspective.
• Leverage internal resources to identify and map key solution and cloud enabled partners.
• Offer customers industry insights and intelligence including industry specificity, creativity, and ‘end-to-end’ cloud based solutions.
• Implement a meeting rhythm with customer and partners to exceed customer Conditions of Satisfaction (COS).

Excellence Indicators

• Increase in customers who are willing to become reference case studies.
• Microsoft’s input helps shape customers’ business and technology strategy.
• Customers make time available for Microsoft and participate in Executive Briefing Center events, Microsoft events and visit Microsoft offices.
• Partners bring the AE (Major) new opportunities.
• The customer has relevant Microsoft executive sponsors who are knowledgeable of customer business priorities and initiatives.

Primary Accomplishment B: Annual and multi-year strategic plans jointly developed with the customer and partner that drive growth, adoption and consumption

Key Actions

• Develop year-over-year (YOY) strategy and growth projections based on customer’s business and IT objectives, including hardware refresh, current architecture and industry trends.
• Conduct cross-segment ‘customer-involved’ planning process with account team to collaboratively develop the account strategy and plans.
• With Account Technology Strategist (ATS) and Technical Account Manager (TAM) conduct customer discovery to identify new and strategic areas of business.
• Ensure ATS/TAM leverage ‘Cloud First Mobile First Optimization Model’ to create the Deployment and Consumption Plan.
• With customer and account team, review the account profile to ensure it covers the competitive challenges by industry and territory.
• Drive regular business review meetings with the customer and key account team members to measure progress against the strategy/plan.
• Assess the competitive risk or vulnerabilities within the account to identify where additional customer relationships may be needed.
• Leverage Transformational Leading Indicators (TLIs) to create and drive strategy through the planning process.

Excellence Indicators

• Strategic plan includes a long-term growth strategy and innovative Microsoft solutions aligned to customer’s business objectives.
• Plans include clear accountabilities, including deployment and consumption and specific milestones.
• Voice of the customer data and lessons learned from win/loss reviews are incorporated into strategy and planning.
• Consumption plan was built using Cloud First Mobile First (CFMF) Playbook.
• The customer and Microsoft executive sponsor have signed off on the multi-year strategic plan.
• Primary Accomplishment C: High-performing, accountable, and customer-centric account team due to AE leadership

Key Actions

• Strategically orchestrate the team to drive all aspects of the sales and post-sales cycle while maintaining forecast accuracy and close rate.
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities that include accountabilities for closing and for consumption.
• Collaborate with ATS to complete an account profile using Cloud First Mobile First (CFMF) tool.
• Work with ATS and TAM, when available, to drive deployment, adoption and consumption.
• Stay current on all opportunities across the account and establish a regular account team rhythm of the business (ROB) to advance initiatives.
• Proactively hold team accountable for driving relationships and opportunities within their areas of expertise.
• Review relevant TLIs to hold team accountable and offer guidance.

Excellence Indicators

• Account team members are accountable for their areas of responsibility in relation to the strategic plan.
• AE demonstrates leadership by acknowledging the accomplishments of the account team members.
• Account team is up-to-date on strategic plans.
• ATS leveraged the CFMF tool to complete account profile.