Sr. Key Account Manager- PLT, National Distributor

Continental•Old Point Station, SC

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr. Key Account Manager is responsible for assigned national distributor accounts, including sales, margin, revenue, product planning, marketing support, and strategic planning. The role develops and executes national distributor sales and marketing strategies aligned with company growth objectives, and works with National and Regional Sales Managers to ensure consistent field execution. It provides customer insight to the Channel Director for forecasting and budget assumptions, while building relationships with customer headquarters and field leadership. The position develops account strategy, communicates with customer stakeholders up to Principal Owners, and works toward sales and MOS objectives. It forecasts by month, year, and article level; manages inventory and production planning; develops business proposals; and negotiates and manages pricing. It also coordinates product introductions, customer-specific events, and operational issue resolution. The role provides direction to Inside Sales, recommends product development and testing activities, prepares management presentations, and leads, coaches, and develops KAR team members. This role is hybrid, with a stated 60/40 in-office arrangement. Relocation may be offered if needed. Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required; visa support is available only for internal individuals who already hold a valid employment visa.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business or a related field.
10+ years of professional sales experience.
3+ years of experience leading people or projects.
5+ years of tire industry experience.
Ability to match products and services to prospective needs and opportunities, engage key decision makers, use feature-benefit selling, address objections, and close and follow up on sales.
Demonstrated ability to apply sales principles, practices, and methodologies alongside knowledge of standard marketing programs to provide advisory services.
Ability to recommend strategic actions based on financials, think globally and act locally, and follow industry standards.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft programs and specialized in-house systems; ability to develop reusable solutions, create PowerPoint presentations, and train others.
Advanced oral and written communication skills, including the ability to plan and deliver persuasive communications.
Demonstrated ability to establish working relationships with outside agencies, organizations, and entities to meet established needs.
Advanced ability to work proactively with internal and external customers and multicultural teams, with strong interpersonal, conflict-management, negotiation, mediation, and counseling skills.
Legal authorization to work in the U.S.; visa support is limited to internal candidates who currently hold a valid employment visa.
Internal qualified candidates must meet internal guidelines for this executive-level role.
DCfEP or a Best Fit Assessment must be completed.

Nice To Haves

5+ years of tire industry experience, preferably in the U.S. PLT replacement market.

Responsibilities

Take total responsibility for assigned accounts, including sales, margin, revenue, product planning, marketing support, and strategic planning.
Develop and execute national distributor sales and marketing strategies aligned with company growth objectives.
Collaborate with National and Regional Sales Managers to provide direction and drive effective field execution of account strategies.
Provide customer insight to the Channel Director to support forecasting and key budget assumptions.
Develop and maintain the overall strategy for strategic key accounts and communicate with customer stakeholders up to Principal Owners.
Achieve established sales and MOS objectives for assigned key accounts.
Coordinate with Product Planning to introduce new product lines in the account strategy.
Forecast key accounts by month, year, and article level.
Coordinate, monitor, and manage inventory and production planning to meet forecast and unit objectives.
Establish business proposals and negotiate and manage pricing issues for key accounts.
Manage and resolve operational and administrative issues, including billing errors, shipping errors, and claims.
Ensure price files are implemented according to key account requirements.
Provide direction to Inside Sales on proper account handling.
Identify and recommend product development and testing activities.
Develop management presentations and updates regarding future account business and strategy.
Coordinate national and customer-specific events.
Lead, coach, and develop KAR team members.
Provide accurate and timely input to budgeting and forecasting processes.