About The Role
You will be the “face” of Stephenson and main point of contact for our customers and partners worldwide who are the most important ingredient to our business. As a customer obsessed Account Manager you will want to make a difference and go the extra mile for your account base.
Within a defined territory your key responsibilities will be promoting growth amongst existing accounts, identifying new opportunities to sell while delivering an excellent customer experience by adopting a solution led mindset.
This position will focus on the liaising between customers and cross-functional internal teams to ensure the timely and successful delivery of our solutions to meet customer needs. Developing long-term relationships with your portfolio of assigned customers, you will be connecting with key business executives and stakeholders. You will be comfortable with managing multiple accounts with a high level of organisation supporting the Business Development Manager and International Sales Executive.
With a proactive approach, you will use your initiative to find new opportunities to grow sales profitably and encourage good customer retention and support external sales colleagues with the full sales process.
This is an office-based role with the occasional need for national and international travel in line with the business needs including customer visits & exhibitions.
Main Role Responsibilities – An Overview
To be successful in your role you will be required to competently complete a variety of core duties which will include the below to achieve your ultimate goal – achieve the budget! These will be supplemented by other tasks deemed appropriate by your line manager:
Sales Activities - Including but not limited to emails, calls and meetings (both virtually and sometimes face to face). The sole purpose of all of these activities is to generate valuable, profitable sales opportunities and close these successfully with the prospect or customer. | 60% |
Analysis - To uncover, highlight and develop opportunities and patterns to increase the value that we can add and to grow the account base profitably. This will include market and product/account specific trends, purchasing habits & patterns, forecasting and budgeting. | 20% |
Administration - General housekeeping of your accounts and region, providing support to the Business Development Manager in the territory, processing orders, updating price lists and generating quotations. Logging customer interactions, notes and updates on our CRM system. | 20% |
· | 100% |
Safety…
Customer, Safety and Quality focus
Deliver excellent customer service, resolving issues, and offering solutions in a timely manner to meet and exceed customer expectations, needs and demands to achieve our customer obsessed business strategy.
Build successful long-term relationships with customers, keeping in regular contact to encourage customer retention, liaising between client and all internal departments within Stephenson.
Have an excellent understanding of the full cast of characters within a customer’s business including the decision makers within Product Development, Technical, Sales & Commercial, Marketing & Branding to ensure a full 360 degree vision for opportunities.
Advise contacts of the latest product launches, services, and solutions.
Drive business improvement throughout multiple channels to ultimately provide a better customer experience and level of service.
Understand and demonstrate through actions the importance of Behavioural Safety.
Understand and enforce relevant Site Safety Policies & Rules.
Openness…
Making things happen
Closely partner with customers and your sales colleagues to identify new opportunities and offer creative and proactive ideas to grow sales profitably.
Utilise our unique sales process to proactively communicate with customers and prospects to ensure that we are supporting them effectively and for us to be present in any conversations around new product developments.
Create value within customer accounts so that they see Stephenson as an innovation partner and leader within the solid format personal care market.
Demonstrate pace and urgency around opportunities and move quickly to implement decisions once they have been made.
Focus effort on continuous improvement, work simplification, and the elimination of non-value-added activities by supporting and contributing to Yellow Belt project as requested.
Building Talent and Teams
Work effectively and collaboratively with the marketing team to stimulate sales opportunities with new product developments through providing insights and market trends to customers.
Providing peer to peer support and development that helps others to achieve their personal and team development goals.
Be flexible and reactive to the correct opportunities and work to build a pipeline with your key customers.
Be a key team member, supporting others where needed, all working towards shared goals.
Be a motivated, self-starter with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm bringing fresh ideas.
Demonstrate focus when exploring solutions to a wide range of scenarios whilst delivering an excellent customer experience.
Actively support team decisions and challenge team members who do not; set aside own ideas or preference once choices have been made.
Develop strong working relationships with key stakeholders including technical, planning and marketing teams.
Have a high attention to detail level along with excellent organisation and problem-solving skills.
Be responsible for identifying your own training needs and liaising with relevant stakeholders to close any gaps.
Accountability…
Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility
Deliver the budget
Manage customer specific and regional pricing structures.
Forecast and track key account metrics, reporting on the status of accounts and deals.
Maintain and update accurate customer records on our CRM (HubSpot) to ensure the most up to date information is held on file about all customers and contacts.
Utilise the deals function on our CRM (HubSpot) to ensure tracking of opportunities and projects within accounts and easily showcase the progress by deal stage.
Update your line manager as to performance of accounts including any challenges or threats and provide solutions where appropriate.
Complete account plans and SWOT analysis for accounts to allow tracking and create focus in key areas of importance.
Live by, promote and challenge others to display Stephenson’s Behavioural Competencies.
Be responsible for maintaining professional standards of housekeeping within own area whether this is a machine, work area or office area.
Purpose…
Clarity of Purpose
Manage and maintain accounts within a specified channel of our business and look after all aspects of account management.
Responsible for the generation of profitable turnover and volume of all sales within your designated territory and account list.
Provide quotations and negotiate effectively to win business.
Be familiar with and understand business strategy and targets and how that links with the day-to-day responsibilities in your role.
Play a key part in the development of the Stephenson brand and cement our value within the customer base.
Play your part to drive the team’s strategic deliverables to align with Stephenson’s overall strategic goal.
About You
Are you a sales expert looking for a challenge and an opportunity to advance your skills and your career in a great working environment? We are looking for someone passionate to join our manufacturing business, to help us keep making a difference. The role is within the Sales Team, and the successful candidate will relish the diversity of collaborating with multiple internal teams!
You are flexible with the desire and ability to identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities, an analytical thinker with people skills! You are an effective, collaborative team player with a strong appetite to add and blend to the Stephenson ethos, along with a "can do" attitude that will proactively support where required within the business. You have an enthusiastic and positive learning attitude, striving for constant development and the desire to be the expert around the company products and solutions by keeping up to date with all things Stephenson!
But the most important part is culture fit. We are looking for someone with passion and drive, a self- starter that is excited by the prospect of joining a growing business with big ambitions!
Skills & Competencies
You are driven and motivated by achieving targets in line with KPIs!
Desire and passion for finding creative solutions and long term solutions and partnerships between Stephenson and our customers.
Ideally, you will have international sales experience around the personal care, soap, beauty, cosmetic or specialty chemical or ingredients market.
You have the ability to communicate technical information within a commercial setting and to successfully cross this in the relevant style for each department, affirming our position as technical experts within solid format personal care applications.
You will have great project management skills and understand the different engagement styles needed between presenting to the Leadership Team or working with our production teams… so it goes without saying that great communication skills are a must, and with an analytical mind, you’ll be able to digest data and reach conclusions!
Location
You will be based at our Leeds office and production site.
Applications
Please send CV’s to recruitment@stephensongroup.co.uk
Looking for more information?
If you have any questions about the business, the role or process please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Paul Pickering
Head of Sales
paul.pickering@stephensongroupco.uk 0113 205 0900
Cheryl Speller
HR Officer
cheryl.speller@stephensongroup.co.uk 0113 205 0916