Join SUSE as we grow and build our customer base in the region – we are looking for a new business sales professional to lead country sales for all of SUSE & Rancher products in New Zealand. The role owns and is the new business account lead (single point of contact) for all accounts in the assigned country; understands a client’s key business and IT challenges and requirements and is focused on driving value for the client while maximizing revenue and margin for the company. Specializes in open source and cloud-native technologies such as Enterprise Linux, Virtualization, and Kubernetes/Containers with an emphasis on digital transformation. Focus on growing the base business, complex solutions, and new business opportunities. 

The role is supported primarily by Presales and Inside Sales Resources. 

Responsibilities:

• Develops account plans and a long-term sales pipeline to increase the company's market share.
• Focuses on larger deals/opportunities and value and/or volume portfolio management, and selling a range of company products and solutions.
• Works with management to develop future business plans; independently determines methods for achieving plans.
• Extensive time spent working with and leveraging a diverse set of external partners.
• Builds strong professional relationships with key IT and business executives, including C-level Executives.
• Applies consultative-selling techniques to identify and advance opportunities that result in ongoing profitable revenue growth for the company.
• Maintains a high level of customer loyalty and builds trust and integrity, as indicated in company conducted surveys and reports.
• Advocates for client needs in negotiating solution sales and troubleshooting delivery issues.
• Develops business plan in conjunction with the customer.
• Analyzes client industry and competitive research and information to facilitate rich client dialogue.
• Actively manages the account to protect and grow the company's business; coordinates all account forecasts, planning and reporting.
• Directs and coordinates all activity on the account(s).
• Focuses on generating new business and builds, monitors and manages sales pipeline activity.
• Responsible for achieving/managing quarterly, half-yearly, annual quota and/or margin.
• Enters all opportunities in pipeline tool and updates them weekly
• Builds a list of customers willing to be a reference in person or print.
• Ability to implement margin recovery activities/strategies.
• Acts as a first interface for international accounts in collaboration with members of global business teams, and local teams.
• Identifies customer requirements, matches with company capabilities and chooses the respective company supply chain accordingly (Volume Direct or Indirect).

Education and Experience Required:

• University or Bachelor's degree; Advanced degree or MBA preferred.
• Prior selling experience includes multiple, diverse sets of selling responsibilities.
• Viewed as an expert in the given field by company and customer; is a mentor of selling strategy, including designing strategy.
• Typically 12+ years of experience as referenced above.
• 5 years of commercial account management experience.
• Highly experienced in product specialty (computers, printers, servers, storage).
• Experience in related industry.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Knows how to motivate partners to sell our solutions.
• Have excellent time management skills and presentation skills. Is the go-to expert for the technology or solution being presented.
• Strong high-level customer management relationship building, especially working with executives in lines of business, and sometimes board level.
• High level of negotiation skills at high-level customer management.
• Adept at advanced sales negotiations and positioning solution value under pricing pressures from customer IT and procurement professionals.- proactive presentation of value solutions
• Extensive partner organization intelligence and ability to work closely with multiple partners, to engage the client in business solutions.
• Uses financial-selling techniques with the client and company internal to position value and advance sales motions.
• Expertise in managing end-to-end sales processes in complex, large deals.
• Relevant knowledge of client's industry; keeps abreast of trends and leads discussions with IT on strategic directions and linking discussions.
• Strong knowledge of the company's breadth of solutions and engages specialist resources as needed.
• Ability to understand the customer's business issues and translate to the company's solutions.
• Ability to prioritize and drive strategic sales activity on a complex, large deal basis.
• Excels in competitive selling skills.
• Sell across platform and specialty.