Account Manager

Vesuvius•Huntington, WV

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Account Manager manages and sells Vesuvius products and services to customers, driving customer satisfaction through effective service, use of innovative technology, expenditure management, understanding customer needs, and communication at all levels. The role is also responsible for generating and growing acceptable sales and profit levels for Vesuvius. The successful candidate must reside in the greater Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia area or surrounding communities. The position requires extensive territory travel, with approximately 75% of working time spent visiting customer sites, including locations roughly 30 minutes to one hour from the candidate’s primary residence. The role has two direct reports. The Account Manager oversees customer accounts, sales performance, daily service activities, and project work at customer sites. The role works with technical support teams and customer personnel to improve refractory performance, customer efficiency, and Vesuvius profitability. It requires the ability to work daily in a steel mill environment and to manage customer relationships and multiple issues and projects within specified timeframes.

Requirements

Good understanding of, or ability to quickly learn, the products being supplied.
Good understanding of, or ability to quickly learn, the customer’s steelmaking process and quality processes.
Good understanding of, or ability to quickly learn, Vesuvius and customer logistics processes.
Basic mechanical skills to service associated refractory application equipment.
Strong business acumen and understanding of sales performance metrics.
Excellent written, oral, and presentation communication skills.
Problem-solving ability and strong reasoning and decision-making skills.
Selling and negotiation skills.
Computer skills, including Microsoft Office applications Excel, Word, Outlook, and SharePoint.
Basic time and task management skills.
Ability to recognize and act on continuous improvement opportunities.
Ability to manage multiple issues and projects within specified timeframes.
Ability to manage customer relationships at multiple levels, from plant managers to hourly employees.
Ability to manage internal communications with commercial, technical, and customer service teams while balancing Vesuvius’s interests with customer internal politics.
Must reside in the greater Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia area or surrounding communities.
Must be willing and able to travel regularly throughout the assigned territory; approximately 75% of working time is dedicated to customer site visits.
Ability to work within a steel mill environment daily and adapt to obstacles and changing conditions.

Responsibilities

Grow the business by building successful, long-term customer relationships.
Manage a portfolio of customer accounts to achieve long-term success.
Develop positive customer relationships and serve as the point of contact for customers’ individual needs.
Generate new business through existing and potential customer networks.
Resolve conflicts and provide timely customer solutions.
Conduct standard product investigations and coordinate or lead trials and projects; coordinate with and assist the M&T technical team in issuing reports on completed investigations and projects.
Where applicable, supervise Service Technicians to ensure customer support needs are met.
Report on account status.
Set and track sales account targets aligned with company objectives.
Monitor sales metrics, including monthly sales results and regular rolling forecasts.
Suggest and implement actions to improve sales performance and identify growth opportunities.
Manage daily service activities, including inventory planning and forecasting, product-usage forecasts and delivery schedules, collecting and processing information for timely invoicing, and routine data collection and reporting.
May provide preventative and emergency equipment maintenance.
Coordinate customer personnel involved in installing and handling refractory material.
Recognize and act on opportunities to improve refractory performance, customer efficiency, and Vesuvius profitability.
Work with technical support teams to implement appropriate emerging technologies.
Manage all project work at customer sites.