Senior Account Manager

TDS•Madison, WI

13d•Onsite

About The Position

At TDS Telecom, connecting people is at the heart of everything we do. We are forward thinkers who leverage cutting-edge fiber internet technology to strengthen communities. We are dedicated to excellence, which drives us to succeed together, creating a better world through meaningful connections. Ready to make an impact? The Senior Account Manager is responsible for the overall care, growth and retention of a commercial customer base or book of business (“BOB”) in a named account base, as well as growing new logo sales. The Senior Account Manager’s primary responsibility is to grow New and Existing TDS revenues, increase market and product penetration, and improve overall profitability. This is achieved by increasing the penetration of TDS products by finding and creating opportunities for higher-end IP applications and solutions. The Senior Account Manager is a solution seller by identifying opportunities to leverage TDS’s full complement of solutions and technology offerings, which encompass: hosted and premise based VOIP solutions, managed services and web security. This role is responsible and accountable for maintaining and growing an existing customer base as well as developing and selling new business opportunities. The Senior Account Manager also manages moves, adds, changes, and deletions (MACD) to existing customer accounts, renews existing business customers’ contracts, some of which require responding to RFPs, and proactively attempts to foster new revenue growth by building a funnel. Working in concert with the manager, the Sr AM crafts a specific sales plan that will chart a course for meeting revenue objectives for their book of business and new customer acquisitions. This role will be required to manage the customer’s expectations by determining the true customer needs and timelines and communicating such expectations accurately throughout the sales process. They will be required to have a thorough understanding of all TDS high end applications and must have knowledge regarding data networks in order to assess existing networks and recommend IP solutions (e.g., managedIP or others as they emerge from Product Marketing). The Senior Account Manager proactively contacts their customer base to assess customer loyalty and sales opportunities and proactively cold calls to get new appointments for new sales prospects. The successful candidate must have a solid understanding and up-to-date knowledge of all processes, procedures and systems that affect their customer base and must be willing to take the lead on resolving customer issues through escalation to the appropriate teams and timely follow-up.

Requirements

3+ years of customer service experience.
3+ years inside or outside sales experience.
2+ years of telecommunications experience.
Must have and maintain a valid driver’s license, insurance, and have access to reliable transportation.
Winning “can-do” attitude and strong work ethic as evidenced by a track record of success in business, education or extracurricular activities.
Ability to clearly and effectively set goals and then attain them as evidenced by a track record of setting goals, creating a work plan, establishing a reward, working diligently, measuring performance, adjusting as necessary and then accomplishing the goal.
Well organized, good time management skills, ability to multi-task and close attention to detail.
Customer service experience, motivation to serve and a genuine interest in helping others including both internal and external customers.
Comprehensive product and application knowledge with the ability to provide a high volume of quality problem resolution to customers.
Competitive nature, strong passion to sell and succeed coupled with a mastery of our sales processes and practices.
Time intensity that is evidenced by a track record of seizing the moment and bringing the appropriate amount of energy to solve problems and effect change sooner than later.
History of identifying problems, gathering data, consulting others, soliciting input, weighing the facts, making decisions and effectively implementing the decision.
Excellent verbal and written communications skills including the ability to explain complex issues in a clear and thorough manner as evidenced in personal interviews and via telephone-Must have a cell phone.
Ability to work effectively with customers at “C” and other levels of management.
Confidence coupled with necessary empathy to quickly set any customer at ease.
Ability to grasp new concepts and material quickly, willingness to learn and continue to learn as evidenced by formal education or work experience.
Ability to work independently or interdependently based upon the circumstances.
Must maintain satisfactory sales quotas.

Nice To Haves

Associate or Bachelor Degree in Business Communications, Economics, Engineering or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage existing account base.
Meet or exceed the sales and revenue growth goals for services and business systems.
Make regular contact with the existing account base including proactive customer contact calls and/or personal visits to uncover sales opportunities.
Serve as the resource for sales negotiation with existing accounts.
Craft sales proposals based upon the customer/company impact prior to making a recommendation or decision.
Actively manage the existing base to ensure we retain and grow these account in the future.
Provide education on the industry, technology and TDS products and services.
Identify, contact and build relationships with prospective customers through a combination of telephone and in person cold calls, networking and referrals to obtain appointments.
Take the lead role and manage customer relationship with named accounts.
Handle MACD for named accounts and negotiate customer credits, if needed.
Maintain and update current BOB through the Business Sales Reporting (BSR) program.
Pursue new sales by acquiring accounts, key customers and other new prospect opportunities.
Identify targets, prospect, set appointment, conduct Needs Analysis Meetings (NAM), provide demos as needed, propose and close the business.
Keep abreast of new business in the area in order to be able to add to the footprint and provide market relevant business solutions based on local trends.
Develop an annual tactical new and existing customer growth and retention plan to meet the quarterly and annual goals.
Craft and implement a personal action plan.
Report activity and monitor progress on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
Meet regularly with manager to review overall achievement of goals and address gaps.
Maintain customer and prospect information, and forecasts utilizing the CRM system.
Attend industry and trade group meetings and events as needed to increase our corporate visibility, identify business opportunities and develop industry contacts.
Maintain relations with contacts and lead sources, which may include after hours events.
Maintain and enhance technical knowledge through internal and external training opportunities and boost interpersonal skills by attending and/or leading professional development programs.
Perform other duties as assigned by manager, director or VP.