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Form of workJob Description
Position Overview:
The Account Manager is responsible for developing customer relationships, understanding our customer’s business and actively pursuing and developing sales opportunities in each of the 5 Strategic Business Units within the CBT market.
Direct Reports:
None
Responsibilities:
Communication.
CBT expects that all of its associates master effective and efficient communication skills.
Listening, speaking, asking questions, writing, interpretation, interaction, avoiding assumptions, and receiving and providing feedback are basic elements of communication that must be mastered.
Involves internal customers, external customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
Vehicles for communication include face to face, phone, mobile phone, text, letter, fax, email, EDI, SharePoint, ERP system notes.
Understanding the stakeholders preferred methods of receiving and sending communications and adapting to their needs.
Timeliness of communication
- Formal versus informal means and methods of communication and the associated grammar, punctuation, and level of professionalism.
Documentation.
CBT expects associates to maintain records of the services they perform, the value that they provide, and a chronology of events associated with a particular account or subject. It is important to have these available as they can provide reference for new or future customers regarding CBT’s performance and protocol, provides testimony to who said what, when, and where, and offers a means to meet new management/ownership at an account and provide evidence to our relationship.
Cost Saving reports written and stored electronically on SharePoint for others to access. The report documents the before and after situation, the suggested solution, identifies how it provides savings or improved profitability, and then ideally is acknowledged and signed by the customer.
Event Chronology- All activities at an account need to be recorded. Sales calls, opportunities, project work, issues, and documents can be maintained on SharePoint.
- Verbal communications need to be acknowledged and documented by follow up emails to insure nothing has been misinterpreted or misconstrued.
Account Call Planning. CBT’s expectations are for Account Managers and Specialists to make 20 sales calls per week. In order to achieve this, careful planning is required in advance. Reality in this industry dictates that one must be flexible and be able to react to situations which come up. As such, the Account Manager and Specialists are expected to have 2 calls (1 in the morning and 1 pm) at a minimum planned per day with an agenda of what is to be accomplished or covered on the call. By Monday morning, 10 calls should be locked in and the balance are worked in as needs arise by customers and there is also a geographic component to additional call making based on the location of the structured and scheduled calls.
- To keep track of an Account Managers performance and success, the individual receives a monthly call report summary showing: YTD sales calls per customer, gross margin sales dollars per call, YTD sales, YTD gross margin, the percentage of your total sales calls that you spend at that account, and the percentage of sales to your total sales that the customer represents. Management reviews this as well and then works with and suggests behavioral changes as needed such that a call ratio closely resembles a relationship to customer sales. Ideally, top ten accounts represent 30% to 35% of total sales and time, top 20 accounts at 50% of sales and time spent, top 50 accounts represent 75% to 80% of the individual’s total sales and time.
Time Management. Time management involves not only the Account Managers time spent on tasks and calls, but more importantly the efficiency and effectiveness of the time spent. Additionally, time management requires the delegation of tasks and functions to members of the account team. As sales and strategic plans and goals are developed for account, the Account Manager must assign areas of responsibility and a timeframe for various tasks to be performed. Some events or activities require a very short term horizon by day or week, while others focus on quarterly and annual installments. The Account Manager must be able to coordinate and keep track of various activities, marshal resources as needed, and follow up with the team and receive communication and feedback from them regarding the outcome of activities.
Relationship Management. One of the few constants in business revolves around the value of a personal relationship. Trust, confidence, personality, enthusiasm, sincere care and concern, politeness, professionalism integrity, intelligence, communication skills, adaptability, approachability and friendliness are all key ingredients needed to develop successful relationships. Understanding your customer as a person and understanding your customer’s business are just a part of the relationship management challenge. One’s ability to successfully manage relationships is closely tied with their ability to handle the previous four mandates. Relationship management is not limited to the external customer, but rather all account team members, co-workers, internal customers, suppliers, and other key stakeholders.
Product, Service, and Application Knowledge. Account Manager’s must comprise a knowledge of each CBT SBU product and service group and how they are applied to our customer’s industrial applications. Knowledge of competitive situation and assessing need or interest in alternate products or options.
Job specific skills:
Knowledge of Power Transmission products
Knowledge of Mechanical Product Mfg/Reps
Ability to read and interpret blue prints
- Provide technical assistance to customers
Critical skills:
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Ability to handle a fast paced work environment, customer focused friendly, outgoing personality, ability to interact efficiently and effectively with internal departments
Technically competent in area of product specialty
Proficiency with multiple customer and manufacturers’ web site formats and portals
Ability to learn and adapt to changing technologies and customer/supplier requirement.
Computer literacy
Letters/Spreadsheets/Proposals/Sales Presentations
CBT specific product and systems knowledge
We are an employee centered business. We believe by taking care of our people, we take care of our business. We invest in our people with excellent pay and benefits. Our team members enjoy many benefits including:
Financial - Our salary structure is very competitive, and we offer 401(k) plus company match as well as free Financial Planning Education
Healthcare - Keeping our workforce healthy is key to our productivity. We offer medical, dental, and vision plans, HSA and FSA, and free Employee Assistance Program. CBT makes a generous HSA contribution to all team members accounts annually.
Career Advancement - We know that when you grow, we grow! CBT will pay/reimburse for qualified professional development & training opportunities
Work/Life Balance - CBT has generous PTO (3 weeks) as well as 9 paid holidays
Employee Events - What's life without a little celebration? From sports events to TopGolf and family days at the Cincinnati Zoo - we work hard AND we play hard.
