Strategic Account Manager - Sports - USA

The Strategic Account Sales Manager (SAM) will be primarily responsible for developing and maintaining strategic relationships with Vizrt’s key accounts within the sports broadcast and digital industry in the USA. Working with professional leagues, teams, media rights holders and content creators, this person will work to understand and satisfy customers' needs, resolve their issues promptly, and consistently delivers a positive customer experience. The SAM will collaborate with the customer success team to help drive a positive customer experience and satisfaction. The SAM is expected to build long-lasting, profitable relationships with clients, always striving to find the products that best fit individual clients' specific needs. 

The Strategic Account Manager (SAM) is primarily responsible for the strategic management of Vizrt’s largest customers in (region). Areas of responsibility include retention of Y/Y baseline revenue, creating go to market plans designed to add value to the customer relationship and drive new bookings and recurring revenue. Key objective is to expand Vizrt solutions footprint in these accounts with sales excellence best practices that will provide credibility and customer value resulting from enterprise level agreements. The SAM is also responsible for partnership with the Vizrt Customer Success organization, ensuring that negotiated service levels are achieved and project managing through to closing annual support renewals that meet business growth objectives. 

Tasks and Duties  

• Develop and sustain long-term customer relationships while engaging customers at all levels, including senior levels of the customer organization. 
• Understand customer business strategy and business case and drive alignment between customer objectives and company capabilities. 
• Develop, implement and drive Strategic Account plans for any Top 50 account. 
• Develop and provide functional demonstrations of the solutions to clients and solicit client feedback on product features and capabilities to provide actionable inputs to the company's product management teams. 
• Work with marketing and pre-sales to create demos and business pitches that demonstrate value to customer needs, growth and future development. 
• Conduct comprehensive account review at least quarterly with customers. 
• Provide guidance and management of the client through decision-making processes regarding cost-benefit, timelines, operational and change management issues. 
• Ensure early engagement in the customer buying process to diagnose customers' needs and tailor solutions to match them. 
• Ensure clients know any changes to offer related processes and procedures, including operational and business management changes. 
• Oversee the customer life cycle and ensure organizational alignment to drive adoption and usage of the company platform proactively. 
• Map and maintain relationships with key decision makers across all relevant customer departments. 
• Monthly customer status calls with Support org. and professional services. 

Business Development Responsibilities:  

• Hunt and identify new sales opportunities and focus on providing consultative support by building value proposition for solutions into the prospect.  
• Act as an expert in analyzing customer needs, provide insights, manage expectations and communicate with clarity the Vizrt value proposition and USP. 
• Diligently follow up and manage extensive customer contact including presentations, demonstrations, group meetings and sales calls (touchpoint management). 
• Drive sales campaign and strategic initiatives, plan for regional growth, identify opportunities for solution expansion. 
• Understand the competitive landscape in the (region), providing insight on strategic targets, new emerging players and the shifting rights packages.  

Operational Responsibilities 

• Drive and track key performance metrics. 
• Accurately forecast sales opportunities via pipeline report.  
• Manage the sales process from opportunity identification to closing. 
• Leverage cross-functional company resources to understand customers drivers and streamline sales efforts. 

Supervision Received 

• This role will require a self-starter approach with minimal supervision. The Strategic Account Sales Manager handles and manages the portfolio according to the defined Strategic Account Plans and new business opportunities under the direction and with support of the Head of Strategic Account Sales - Sports.

Competence Requirements 

• Bachelor/Master's degree in relevant field. 
• 5+ years of experience developing new business, identifying and selling to customer needs utilizing a consultative sales approach. 
• Relevant sales experience, including strategic sales, business-to-business sales and/or account management organization. 
• Proven track record in developing strategic customer partnership and year over year revenue growth. 
• Proficient in English. 
• Previous account management and selling in complex decision-making situations with experience in large complex deal negotiations with a successful track record. 
• Ability to drive a long-term account development strategy with mid-term goals as well as shorter term execution. 
• Demonstrated ability to support multiple product lines in a growing, fast-paced environment. 
• Knowledge of restructuring contract terms and condition relating legal, finance and billing. 
• Ability to work across cross-functional teams to drive results with external and internal stakeholders. 

Preferred Experience 

• 5+ years of experience selling broadcast hardware and software products within the media industry, including broadcast networks and local stations, media and digital companies. 
• Experience in enterprise IT services, MAM, and IP workflows preferred. 
• Highly driven, with passion for excellence in customer service and customer management with a confident assertive style. 
• Experience in Salesforce to track and forecast account activities. 
• Selling in a long sales cycle with complex financial data and strong understanding of financials, profitability and cash flow.  

Across Vizrt, we all work with our shared purpose in mind; to deliver more stories, better told. That is because we believe that stories have the power to impact not just the audience, but the teller as well. A well-crafted and well-delivered story can change the world. We strive and innovate to deliver the best software-defined visual storytelling tools to the world’s storytellers across broadcast, media, public service, enterprise, not-for-profit, education, health, houses of worship, in fact wherever there is a need to educate, entertain or inform. Because that is what stories do, it is why they are important. 

4 billion humans see the stories that our customers tell every day. So, for us diversity is not an optional objective, it is a simple reality. Our customers’ customers are diverse, our customers are diverse, Vizrt gains strength from being diverse. 

It is true that we hold our diversity to be essential, it is something we constantly nourish and pay attention to, but it is not something we take for granted. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment. We champion inclusion and we value each other’s stories, and we relish their telling.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans to keep you and your family healthy.
• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation days, sick leave, and holidays to ensure you have a work-life balance.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for ongoing training

Join our team and take advantage of these benefits while working in a dynamic and supportive environment.

Recruitment Process   

• Recruiter Screening 
• Team Interview 
• Case Interview
• Final Interview