Country
Germany
Job Family
Commercial
For almost 90 years, GfK has been a reliable and trusted insight partner for the world’s biggest companies and leading brands who make a difference in every consumer’s life - and we will continue to build on this. We connect data, science and innovative digital research solutions to provide answers for key business questions around consumers, markets, ROI, brands and media. With our headquarters in Germany and a presence in around 60 countries worldwide, you benefit from our global company with a diverse community of 8,000+ employees.
Harnessing the power of our workforce, the greatest asset we have is our people. As part of GfK, you can take your future into your own hands. We value talent, skills and responsibility and will support your development within our international teams. We are proud of our heritage and our future, as we continue our evolution from Market Research provider to SaaS data solutions and consulting partner. We value extraordinary people and this is why we are looking for YOU to help create our future. For our employees as well as for our clients we pursue one goal: Growth from Knowledge!
Job Description
We are currently seeking a (global) Strategic Account Manager for the Tech & Durables Industry who will be a part of the German Sales Team and the link between GfK and our Clients. The role is to be a trusted adviser to our main customers, matching innovative and digital GfK solutions to their key business questions. The role will include business growth targets for up to three existing clients.
Candidates will have accomplished skills in business development and sales. They will also have strong interpersonal skills and use these to delve deep into the client business, truly understanding the challenges and questions. They live and breathe clients and are able to demonstrate the value of GfK solutions, thus driving engagement and growing the business.
As (global) Strategic Account Manager (m/f/d) you will have following key accountabilities:
- Lead defined accounts on behalf of GfK
- Secure current & generate new business with those Clients (via upsell & cross-sell) ensuring targets are met or exceeded
- Manage overall client relationship with GfK, liaising with internal departments to provide a client centric experience
- Understand client strategies, structures and key business questions
- Develop new and existing senior level relationships with key stakeholders to achieve sales growth
- Understand and ‘sell’ the value of GfK’s proposition
- Work cross-functionally with Client Solution Groups to meet and exceed client expectations and work out new opportunities
- Lead pitch process and contract negotiations
- Build and maintain an accurate pipeline within the CRM tool (Salesforce)
- Acquire and continuously improve market and GfK Portfolio knowledge
Now that we've introduced you to the position as Strategic Account Manager (m/f/d) Sales for what skills, qualifications and experience should you have?
- Masters or Bachelor degree
- 8+ years work experience in key account management, sales or consultancy
- Understanding of Ad-hoc market research methods
- Client oriented attitude and willingness to go the extra mile
- Passion, energy and drive, enthusiasm to learn and develop
- Able to work autonomously and establish own priorities and objectives
- A natural ability to build and maintain long-term customer relationships
- Able to “actively listen” to clients, identify business opportunities and understand how to commercialize them
- Strategic thinking, negotiation and sales closing skills, ideally sales trained
- Strong pitch and proposal writing skills, storytelling
- Comfortable working across teams, bringing together people from different areas of the business
- Software skills / MS Office
- CRM Tools: Sales Force (not a must)
- Fluent German and very good English language skills required
All employees within GfK are expected to promote the image of the company. This will be done in part, by adopting a professional appearance and maintaining an efficient and effective working environment. It is expected that employees adhere to any specific deadlines set in respect of Company issues relating to professional servicing (internal and external) and objectives. The detail and scope of this job description may be altered to take account of changing company needs.
We are an ethical and honest company that is wholly committed to its clients and employees. We are proud to be an inclusive workplace for all and are committed to equal employment opportunity, focusing on all of our employees reaching their full potential.
We respect and value every employee regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, personality, experience, culture, faith, socio-economic status, or physical or mental disabilities.
We endorse the core principles and rights set forth in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Social Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, promoting the universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality, and solidarity.
Learn more about how we are driving diversity and inclusion in everything we do on: https://www.gfk.com/about-gfk/diversity-and-inclusion
At GfK we work collaboratively with our colleagues but offer a flexible working approach, including dividing our time between office & remote working as well as the opportunity to flex our working hours around team core hours.
We offer an exciting work environment that brings people together. We encourage an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and make use of the latest digital technologies. We are looking for self-starters, who accept challenges and create solutions.
Can there be a better place to take center stage in the digital revolution? We are excited to get to know you!
