Technical Sales Account Manager

Ketjen•Houston, TX

8h•Onsite

About The Position

Ketjen Corporation, a provider of advanced catalyst solutions to leading producers in the petrochemical, refining, and specialty chemicals industries, is seeking a Sales Account Manager. This position, based in Houston, Texas, will serve as the primary contact for technical, procurement, and key decision-makers within selected customer accounts. The role involves setting sales strategies, gaining internal support for execution, and building/maintaining professional relationships based on routine interactions and trust. The Account Manager must possess the technical acumen to provide insights that support and challenge customer operations and catalyst buying behavior, benefiting both organizations. This role requires collaboration with a team of technical and commercial experts to resolve issues and meet customer requests aligned with account strategy and Ketjen's capabilities. The individual will identify inefficiencies and gaps hindering business growth and guide Ketjen stakeholders toward continuous improvement within the account.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree: Engineering discipline preferred.
Minimum 5+ years in refining industry; preferably with experience in Hydroprocessing and/or FCC Unit operation.
At least 3+ years in a Sales-related role.
Strong communication skills to present and explain commercial offers, technical offers, and unit optimization reports to customers.
Negotiations skills and experience.
Ability to build connections, credibility and exert influence internal as well as external.
Perseverance, persuasiveness, and confidence.
Professionalism, passion, and commitment.
Organizational skills.
Ability to travel up to 40%.
Proficient in Microsoft suite.
Experience with CRM tools.

Responsibilities

Take ownership as Ketjen’s interface with the customer.
Perform and/or manage commercial activities deemed appropriate to serve customer’s needs thereby developing a strong credibility for Ketjen that leads to sales of our products.
Guide internal teams to meet customer’s technical and commercial requests and continually provide feedback to internal stakeholders on the cost/benefit of supporting key account.
Build and maintain relationships with Leadership and Decision Makers within accounts.
Manage relationship by representing Ketjen in multiple engagements and meetings, as required.
Know when to draw in Ketjen Leadership Team, as needed.
Prepare and execute account plans.
Prepare, present, negotiate, and discuss Commercial proposals with customers.
Track and maintain accurate forecasting of customer usage rates.
Provide market intelligence and industry trends for strategic purpose.
Meet/exceed group and individual annual and quarterly targets (volume/profit) as set by division management in Annual Operating Plan.
Successfully negotiate and secure long term supply agreements as per business requirements.
Factual and timely internal reporting by using company appropriate tools.
Document and update all customer interfaces and contact points in CRM system.
Support improvement of industry perception of Ketjen technical strength and value propositions.