Strategic Account Manager - US

Milliken and Company • Charlotte, NC

45d

About The Position

The Strategic Account Manager (SAM) is responsible for developing, strengthening, and growing strategic customer relationships primarily across the U.S., while supporting global coordination as enterprise accounts and opportunities require. This role focuses on identifying enterprise-level opportunities, advancing account-level strategy, and expanding Milliken’s position within key customer organizations.
The SAM works closely with sales leadership, regional and territory teams, marketing, sustainability, product, customer experience, and other cross-functional partners to ensure Milliken shows up as a coordinated, strategic partner focused on long-term value creation, strategic account growth, and measurable revenue and profitability impact.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Prior experience in the flooring industry, commercial interiors, or adjacent building materials and specification-driven markets is strongly preferred.
• Proven experience in strategic selling, account leadership, or business development in a commercial or B2B environment.
• Strong communication skills and executive presence, with the ability to engage multiple decision-maker levels.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and coordinate complex work across functions and regions.
• Proficiency in CRM systems and standard business applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Salesforce or similar).
• Willingness to travel approximately 60% depending on business needs.

Nice To Haves

• Strong strategic thinking capability with the ability to influence and persuade internal and external stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience building long-term customer relationships grounded in trust, commercial insight, and partnership.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to tailor messaging to executive audiences and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated judgment and problem-solving capability with the ability to navigate ambiguity and remove barriers to progress.
• Ability to prioritize and lead multiple initiatives while managing complexity across customers, teams, and timelines.
• Ability to operate with discipline and resilience in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic account plans including key stakeholder mapping, growth opportunities, retention strategies, and long-term account objectives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with end-users, specifiers, influencers, and procurement decision makers to deepen engagement and expand Milliken’s presence within assigned accounts.
• Apply value-based selling anchored in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), leveraging key performance differentiators to demonstrate long-term operational and financial advantages beyond unit cost.
• Lead and coordinate proposal, negotiation, pilot, and rollout activities across assigned strategic accounts, including RFI, RFP, and RFQ responses.
• Ensure internal teams, including regional and territory sales, are aligned to the customer’s priorities, decision process, and long-term objectives to support consistent execution and sustained account growth.
• Provide insight on customer needs, market activity, and competitive positioning to inform marketing, product development, and commercial strategy.
• Engage with sustainability, marketing, product, and sales enablement resources to deliver compelling, differentiated messaging and customer-specific value propositions.
• Represent Milliken at key customer events, industry conferences, and strategic forums to advance relationships and uncover new opportunities.
• Maintain accurate pipeline visibility and forecasting discipline using CRM tools and standardized sales process expectations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees