Account Manager / Business Development at Thales

Main activities/tasks

• Responsible for the Key Account Management by maintaining existing client relationships that promote a close working relationship; should be at all levels of organization of defined customer;
• Achieve the annual sales budget allocated;
• Achieve the quarterly revenue targets against budget;
• Identify new opportunities in the Banking & Payment landscape in order to increase Gemalto’s market footprint in allocated RSA and African countries;
• Actively pitch and promote Gemalto products and services by ensuring the customer has a good understanding of Gemalto’s offering;
• Co-ordinate on the digital payments and Digital Banking opportunities with solution sales team in order to understand the customer needs, and feedback internally to assist the product and solutions development strategy;
• Prepare accurate quotations and supporting documents in line with Gemalto processes and present to clients;
• Co-ordinate commercial operations such as pricing negotiation, contract signing, submission and contract maintenance;
• Manage support functions and operations to ensure customer commitments are being achieved through coordination with internal resources to meet customer expectations;
• Champion customers priorities internally with product and solution deliveries;
• Lead & co-ordinate the Annual Account Planning for Key Accounts;
• Manage sales pipeline by ensuring customer forecasting is received in advance to plan volumes & manage pipeline revenue using CRM tool with regular validation ;
• Report market needs, opportunities for solutions and services, competition activity and recommendations on product definition;
• Manage monthly sales meetings, communicate and discuss on-going business activities with customers;
• Attend and support the Quarterly Business Reviews with key accounts to maintain relationship;
• Maintain high account satisfaction with existing key accounts by coordinating Pulse/Tell Me Annual Survey, develop appropriate action plans and measurement;
• Attending training in payment card's knowledge via online SKY training tools and workshops;

Knowledge and skills

• Fluent in English;
• Target driven & self-motivated to achieve numbers;
• Excellent negotiation skills;
• Good communication and presentation skills;
• Proactive sales approach in account management;
• Good business analysis and mid-term vision;
• Good oral and written communication skills;
• Preciseness and rigour to provide customer forecast;
• Knowledge of payments market segments;
• Interpersonal skills;
• Organised with ability to manage time and business priorities;
• Good knowledge on banking, digital world, and new technological changes in banking environment

Education, qualifications, and special training

• Business school sales diploma or post graduate degree.

Experience

• Minimum of 8-10 years’ experience in sales management
• Customer facing with a proven sales track record.
• Customer C-Level interfacing

Personality requirements

• Energetic with a “go-getter” attitude;
• Enthusiastic and a positive thinker;
• Assertiveness and leadership;
• Autonomous;
• Persistence;
• Accountability;
• Sensitive to customer satisfaction;
• Mobility;
• Empathy (good listener);