Business Consultant-Lifecycle Services

Van Meter•Cottage Grove, MN

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Business Consultant - Lifecycle Services serves as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert for Van Meter’s lifecycle services portfolio. This role helps industrial customers identify operational challenges, reliability risks, workforce gaps, and improvement opportunities while developing strategies that drive measurable business outcomes. Working closely with Account Managers, Customer Success Specialists, supplier partners, and customer stakeholders, the Business Consultant leads lifecycle services opportunity development, business case creation, and customer planning activities. The Business Consultant is accountable for growth of lifecycle services, recurring revenue programs, and service agreement opportunities and owns customer opportunities from initial discovery through adoption handoff to Customer Success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree, technical degree, business degree, or equivalent industry experience required
Minimum of 2 years of experience in industrial manufacturing, maintenance, reliability, operations, technical services, industrial sales, workforce development, or a related field preferred
Experience working directly with industrial end-user customers preferred
Demonstrated knowledge of lifecycle services, maintenance and reliability practices, workforce development, operational improvement, or related industrial service offerings preferred
Experience supporting service agreements, recurring revenue programs, maintenance and reliability initiatives, workforce development programs, or other value-added industrial services preferred
Experience developing customer recommendations, business cases, account strategies, proposals, or commercial opportunities preferred
Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect customer needs to operational, financial, and strategic value
Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, relationship-building, and influence skills
Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and opportunity management capabilities
Proficiency with CRM tools, Microsoft Office, and related business systems preferred
Ability to travel throughout the assigned territory and to customer facilities, supplier meetings, and industry events as required

Nice To Haves

Strong lifecycle services expertise with the ability to connect offerings to customer operational and business priorities
Consultative selling mindset and strong customer discovery skills
Strong business and commercial acumen with the ability to develop value propositions and business cases
Ability to develop and communicate lifecycle improvement roadmaps that align customer business priorities with lifecycle service investments
Ability to drive growth of recurring revenue programs and service agreements through disciplined opportunity ownership
Ability to build trusted relationships with customer leadership, Account Managers, supplier partners, and internal teams
Ability to translate maintenance, reliability, workforce, and lifecycle challenges into practical recommendations
Ability to influence customer decisions without serving as the technical solution design authority
Collaborative approach with clear ownership through the commercial process and effective adoption handoff to Customer Success
Self-motivated, organized, and accountable with the ability to manage multiple opportunities and priorities
Curious, adaptable, and continuous-improvement oriented with a commitment to customer value and profitable growth

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary subject matter expert for Van Meter’s lifecycle services portfolio, including service agreements, maintenance and reliability programs, workforce development offerings, assessments, digital services, recurring revenue programs, and related offerings.
Maintain knowledge of customer challenges, industry practices, supplier capabilities, competitive alternatives, and the operational, financial, and strategic value of lifecycle services.
Lead customer discussions to identify operational challenges, reliability risks, workforce gaps, improvement opportunities, and strategic business priorities.
Develop trusted advisor relationships with customer stakeholders and translate business needs into practical lifecycle service recommendations.
Help customers identify and prioritize where and why to invest by evaluating alternatives, risks, expected value, and sequencing considerations.
Develop and deliver customer recommendations, value propositions, presentations, proposals, business cases, and lifecycle improvement roadmaps aligned with measurable outcomes.
Build and advance a qualified pipeline of lifecycle services, recurring revenue programs, and service agreement opportunities through proactive customer engagement and consultative selling.
Own lifecycle services opportunities from initial discovery through adoption handoff, including qualification, pursuit planning, value positioning, proposal support, commercial coordination, and next-step management.
Partner with Account Managers to develop customer growth strategies, identify lifecycle improvement opportunities, strengthen customer relationships, and expand recurring service adoption.
Support account planning and customer engagement while maintaining clear ownership of lifecycle services expertise and opportunity advancement.
Partner with Customer Success Specialists to establish customer goals, success measures, adoption plans, and transition requirements for recurring revenue programs and service agreements.
Ensure a clear adoption handoff by communicating customer expectations, commitments, desired outcomes, and relevant opportunity context.
Educate and coach Account Managers and internal stakeholders on lifecycle services, customer business challenges, qualification, value positioning, and when to engage the Business Consultant.
Coordinate with supplier partners, Customer Success, operations, delivery teams, and other internal resources to support customer opportunities and effective execution.
Monitor customer needs, industry trends, supplier capabilities, competitive offerings, and service gaps, and provide feedback that supports lifecycle services strategy and portfolio development.
Support commercialization of new lifecycle services, recurring revenue programs, and service agreement offerings.
Maintain accurate CRM activity, opportunity updates, forecasts, customer context, and next steps throughout the commercial process.
Follow established sales and adoption handoff processes while contributing to continuous improvement of customer discovery, opportunity advancement, and transition practices.