Account Manager at Vodafone Global Enterprise

Role Purpose

• The Account Manager will secure new business from their allocated customer list, derived from the allocated set of customers. The Account Manager will need to successfully manage their current base whilst selling additional products and services into these customers. The Account Manager will be required to minimise churn and maximise revenues with revenue growth being a key performance indicator. The Account Manager will also retain and record any and all customer and market intelligence to increase future win opportunity regardless if tenders are successful or unsuccessful.

Your Responsibilities Will Include

Responsible for managing strategic accounts and delivering profitable, long term business from those accounts

Responsibilities

• The Account Manager will be responsible for managing their allocated accounts on a day to day basis in their entirety to the extent that they
• Are the single point of contact for both the customer and Vodacom’s internal third parties who may need to communicate and deliver solutions to the customer
• The Account Manager is responsible for the entire “Customer Lifecycle Management” process, from “rumour to cash”.
• The Account Manager is responsible for building the relationship with the customer and will be required, when appropriate, to entertain the client which may at times involve meeting with the customer after normal working hours
• Plan and develop relationships with allocated customers to identify opportunities and strategies to win new or further business from these customers.
• Develop new and existing relationships, at all levels, with contacts from the allocated account list.
• Within allocated account base, effectively balance focus and time between suspects and prospects for continued development into winnable opportunities.
• The Account Manager will take responsibility for ensuring that all opportunities are qualified to the point where it becomes appropriate to introduce Vodacom subject matter experts to the opportunity, which have been assessed for having a high probability of succeeding.
• Lead planning and development of customer sales strategies to develop accounts in very close cooperation with the Line Manager where applicable.
• Develop relevant High Level Value Propositions.
• Identify winning strategies including working proposals, to win locally.
• Ensures account plans signed off by all relevant parties.
• Analyses statistical data related to clients business and industry to identify market trends for Vodacom products and services.
• Understand customer preferences, pricing, product, terms and conditions to ensure that their requirements are met; gather and analyse data regarding competitor pricing and products and ensure that Vodacom products and services fit customer requirements.
• The Account Manager is required to work with subject matter experts such as Solution Architects, ensuring that architectural roadmaps are developed to align with Account Plans.
• Provide timely and accurate forecasting.
• Take active participation in solution sales teams, working with appropriate colleagues to win complex new business.
• Complete and execute Account Plans for nominated accounts within the Sector to help deliver plans to develop High Value customer relationships to maximise profitability.

Ensures delivery of annual revenue targets through delivery of full product mix

• Be responsible for modelling commercial propositions tailored to suit customers’ requirements whilst supporting the Vodacom commercial principles.
• Manage deals through commercial governance, demonstrating win strategy, and future revenue growth plan and account development opportunities.
• Work with Line Manager to Agree and recommend financial targets per account.
• Understand the competitive market and use knowledge to increase margin and total contract value.
• Look for opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell into accounts.
• To ensure that the A&R for these accounts is within the required target for Vodacom thus making the strategic segment P&L profitable.
• Evaluates performance, risks in nominated accounts and revises plans where appropriate.

Establishes appropriate relationships with customers in Vodacom and leverages those relationships to ensure maximum financial return from Vodacom customers

• Build strong long term relationships using a high and wide approach to contact strategy.
• Key interface to customer, contributing to developing local contact strategy, providing strong one to one long term relationships with key decision makers. Prepare account briefings and guiding local interactions.
• Understand the customer’s decision making process, building a strategy that considers stakeholder alignment and the goals of the stakeholders.
• Secure, manage and deepen the Vodacom customer relationship with the focus being to build Vodacom’s credibility and explore ways to present solutions to meet customer needs.
• Develop a partnership approach to sales, customer fulfilment and post sales strategy for accounts covering all areas of the customers’ business.
• Maximises Vodacom’s internal network to get results for customers and to ensure effective problem resolution and problem management.
• Work with the customer’s fulfilment and delivery plan to ensure services are delivered right first time.
• Provide customer insight to help influence Vodacom decision makers to secure appropriate resource and delivery as required.
• Present new products and solutions set into account.

Works collaboratively to set up service relationship for nominated accounts

• Works collaboratively to set up service relationship for nominated accounts
• Collaborates on the service relationship with Customers and Vodacom to agree service levels
• Deliver best practice for On-Boarding of new customers.
• Provide solutions for new products and services set to the nominated customer list.
• Work diligently with Vodacom to ensure billing customer service centres are supporting the nominated accounts.
• Engage and collaborate with the go-to-market team.
• Develop outstanding behaviour with customers within Vodacom using customer insight data and feedback to improve services.

Provide input to help with decisions about new propositions, product mix and services for customers

• Develop & implement Vodafone Way of selling roadmaps for all opportunities where applicable.
• Analyse local customer data and ensure best practice is used in order to build accurate commercial offers.
• Work with local team to deliver tender responses including commercial, contracts, special coverage, technical architects, and project and service management.
• Effectively manage numerous internal and external deadlines in order to respond to RFPs for deals.
• Introduce new innovations and concepts to key decision makers within the customer. Understand, through engagement at the right business, level the customer’s strategic and operational issues.
• Responsible for representing customer views and insight to help define product proposition roadmaps for customers.

The Ideal Candidate For This Role Will Have

• Matric with a minimum of 2-3 years experience in Account Management.
• A 3-year commercial (B.Com/Business Science, IT) Degree or Equivalent qualification will be an advantage.

Experience

• A minimum of 3 years relevant working experience - essential.
• Experience in solution sales and relationship management or enterprise solution selling within companies - essential.
• A good understanding of converged and networking technologies and services.
• Proven successful account acquisition and development in a company environment- desirable Demonstrated success in networking and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of important financial concepts, the IT&T environments, purchasing practices and industry specific aspects of corporate customers.

Technical / Professional Expertise

• Understanding of the telecommunications landscape
• Understanding of customer requirements
• Team dynamics
• Understanding of business landscape
• Understanding of the Value Chain Analysis with regards to various customer businesses.
• Understanding of technical concepts and the ability to communicate it as viable appealing market offerings

Job Knowledge

• Technical sales
• Financial concepts
• IT&T environments
• Purchasing practices
• Industry knowledge
• Knowledge of Vodacom/Vodacom’s products and solutions set and their value to customers
• Corporate governance