Sales Account Executive - SAP Academy for Customer Success - Chicago (Hybrid)

SAP•Chicago, IL

7d•$91,600 - $205,700•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sales Account Executive role is part of SAP Next Gen’s Academy for Customer Success, a global development program for early-career talent. The position focuses on prospecting, qualifying, selling, and closing new business with existing and prospective customers. The Account Executive learns customers’ strategies, business goals, and desired outcomes, then positions SAP solutions to address business challenges and drive cloud revenue growth. The role includes successfully completing a 10-month learn-apply program with classroom and field phases alongside a sales team. The program provides experiential learning in digital transformation, global intelligence, human skills, business and technology acumen, solution and industry knowledge, and sales strategy, tools, and processes. Participants learn to drive customer value throughout the lifecycle through solution adoption, renewals, and account expansion. They receive local-market onboarding, on-the-job training, and mentoring from a Senior Account Executive, and work both behind the scenes and directly with customers. SAP offers full-time employment from day one. After successful program completion, participants move into a direct customer-facing sales role in their market and continue receiving mentoring and coaching. Roles in scope include Account Executive and Solution Sales Executive, with focus areas spanning SAP Finance & Spend Management, SuccessFactors, Supply Chain Management, Customer Experience, Business Transformation Management, Business Technology Platform, and Business Data Cloud. The SAP Academy for Customer Success is described as a three-year development journey intended to build accountability, productivity, customer-facing impact, career longevity, and leadership potential. The program includes a practical, immersive component likely involving four weeks across two trips to San Ramon, California. Participants are expected to be fully engaged during intensive program phases; vacation will not be approved during some critical periods. SAP’s general hybrid setup involves three days per week in the office or on-site with customers or partners, subject to local guidelines and regulations. Expected travel is 0–50%.

Requirements

2–3 years of professional experience in a quota-carrying sales environment at a technology company, or in a role with significant exposure to business processes.
Experience generating opportunities, qualifying leads, and managing sales pipelines across a defined territory, with a proven track record of building customer relationships and articulating value propositions.
A cooperative and productive approach to internal and external working relationships.
Ability to quickly learn new concepts, adapt to changing environments, and apply knowledge to deliver results.
Understanding of AI fundamentals, uses, and ethics, and ability to identify business problems that can be solved with AI.
Strong business acumen, including demonstrated knowledge of business processes and/or industries.
Proficiency in English to engage with SAP’s global network.
Curious and agile mindset, passion for learning, and resilience in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Strong problem-solving, project management, and creative-thinking skills, with ability to collaborate across teams and communicate ideas clearly and effectively.
Emotional intelligence and cultural awareness that support inclusive teamwork and thoughtful stakeholder engagement.
A growing foundation in business acumen and emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, paired with a results-oriented approach and initiative.
Ability to be fully engaged and present during intensive program phases; vacation is not approved during some critical periods.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge in SAP Finance & Spend Management, including accounting, procurement, or supplier management.
Knowledge in SAP SuccessFactors/Human Capital Management, including core HR and payroll, talent management, employee experience management, HR analytics, workforce planning, or sales performance management.
Knowledge in SAP Supply Chain Management, including supply chain, asset management, manufacturing, logistics, or product and project lifecycle management.
Knowledge in SAP Customer Experience, including e-commerce, sales, customer service, or marketing processes.
Knowledge in SAP Business Transformation Management, including business process management or business process automation applications.
Knowledge in SAP Business Technology Platform or SAP Business Data Cloud, including database and data management, analytics, application development and integration, intelligent technologies, or AI.
Understanding of integration, application, data, infrastructure, and security technology domains.
Experience or interest in AI adoption mindset, agentic AI day-to-day practice, and context engineering.

Responsibilities

Prospect for, qualify, sell, and close new business with existing and net-new customers.
Understand customer strategies, business goals, and desired outcomes, and position SAP solutions to address business challenges.
Drive cloud revenue growth through dedicated sales efforts.
Complete the 10-month learn-apply program, including classroom learning and field phases with the sales team.
Learn to drive value across the customer lifecycle through solution adoption, ongoing renewals, and account expansion.
Work behind the scenes and directly with customers while receiving local onboarding, on-the-job training, and mentoring from a Senior Account Executive.
After successful program completion, transition into a direct customer-facing sales role in the local market and continue with mentoring and coaching.