Strategic Account Manager, Salt Lake or West Locations

Job Overview

The Strategic Account Manager is the owner and driver of the entire account management process for  identified customers that are of high strategic importance to Komatsu.  The Strategic Account Manager is the central figure in coordinating a multi-level communication process between Komatsu and the customer and has a mandate to focus on value generation for both the customer and supplier.  The Strategic Account Manager will act as a “change agent” within Komatsu to help the enterprise become more customer-focused and is a key customer advocate within the organization.  This position, in concert with colleagues and the customers, sets expectations, develops a measurement system, and establishes objectives for their accounts that are realistic and attainable.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Coordinate the Account Team: Align the team who will be responsible for the success of a specific account sales plan. Ensure the team members understand sales plan objectives ensuring local alignment with regular communication optimized  information sharing and issue resolution.
• Develop and manage account relationships: Develop corporate relationships with appropriate procurement and management personnel to remove obstacles for site-level personnel. Work with the account team to establish regular reviews with the customer at the site and operating company levels. Including orchestrating meetings between key Komatsu personnel and customers. Developing action plans to improve relationships.
• Develop and Manage Relationships within KOMATSU.  Operate in a matrix environment and must collaborate effectively with Komatsu distributors and OEMs. Collaborate with the general managers to establish ground rules regarding the customer activities that the position will own and those that will continue to be owned in the regions.  The Strategic Manager will ultimately be responsible for engaging with Komatsu colleagues to build trust and long-term commitment to the account management process. 
• Develop and Manage Execution of the Account Sales Plan.  The Strategic Account Manager needs to work with his or her team and the customer to understand the core needs that the account management process should address.  The team must then create a framework within the account management process for meeting those needs while maximizing Komatsu’s operating profit.
• Measure Results / Scorecards:  Develop metrics by which the success of the relationship and the account management process are measured to drive Komatsu’s performance. Metrics should be linked to the Komatsu strategy and, therefore, should be consistent across customer sites and across Komatsu’s service centers.  (Additional metrics may be added that are customer-specific, but the core metrics should remain intact.)  These metrics will then drive account-specific goals and targets.  The account targets should then drive targets for the divisions and the various affected regions and/or functions.   
• Value Creation and Risk Management:  Understanding of the true value and risk drivers of both Komatsu and the customer. Assume a senior role in managing the customer; demonstrating the ability to maintain a continuous stream of insights about the market, the competition, the customer’s business and how Komatsu’s products and services could change the economics of the customer’s business model.

Qualifications/Requirements

• 10-15 years in Account Management, Sales, Project Management, or Product Management in an OEM and distributor environment with extensive customer interaction
• Bachelors degree in applicable field preferred or equivalent work experience
• MBA Preferred
• Prior experience in establishing alliances or partnerships, building a client base, achieving sales goals, working in a team environment, fostering internal & cross-functional relationships, contract negotiation executing change without direct authority and business planning activities are all relevant work experiences that will be considered when filling this position
• Trusted advisor / coach
• International experience a plus
• Strong verbal and written communication skills – proficient in Microsoft Office, SalesForce.com CRM tool, Project Management tools and basic web-based protocols and communication and presentation tools
• Business and financial acumen – understands commodity economies & industry trends / business drivers
• Professional interpersonal skills – masterful listener with Executive presence
• Business planning capability
• Demonstrated implementation skills – can get things done – resource management
• Strong analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, considers the big-picture when making decisions
• Basic understanding of mining equipment applications
• Negotiation / dispute resolution
• Ability to lead and influence people who are not direct reports
• Team building, coordination across multiple departments and companies

Additional Information