Key Account Manager - Automotive

Our client is a flexible material-handling automation company that keeps goods moving.

With award-winning technology engineered for uninterrupted work between autonomous mobile robots (AMR), labor, and systems.

As a company, our client driven by the same collective vision: an uninterrupted and highly efficient global supply chain where robots do the dirty work and people do the human work.

With more than 5 million traditional forklifts moving over 5 billion pallets around the world, there is a ton of work to do to make that vision a reality.

Our client seeks a highly experienced and results-driven Key Account Manager with a strong background in automation and robotics sales within the automotive industry to take on this high-visibility role within our dynamic sales team.

The Key Account Manager will play a pivotal role in driving new sales and growth opportunities for our robotic solutions with our large automotive clients.

The ideal candidate is:

• a highly motivated self-starter with proven industrial automation or robotics sales experience
• has exceptional negotiation skills, and the ability to build and maintain strong client relationships.
• MUST understand the intricacies of working within the time sensitive and complex infrastructure of the automotive manufacturing industry

Reporting to the Director of Sales, this is a fulltime, salaried role based in Detroit, MI.

In this role, the Key Account Manager will:

• Client Relationship Management:
  • Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with key clients.
  • Understand the client's business goals and challenges related to robotics technology.
• Sales Growth:
  • Proactively drive new sales and growth opportunities by understanding the customer’s business needs and aligning their needs with appropriate solutions.
  • Capture net new accounts as well as maintain and grow existing accounts.
  • Identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities within existing accounts.
• Communication and Trust Building:
  • Effectively communicate the value proposition of the robotics solutions to clients.
  • Keep clients informed about new products, features, and industry trends.
• Problem Resolution and Negotiation:
  • Address and resolve client issues and concerns promptly.
  • Lead negotiations through a complex decision-making process.
  • Collaborate with internal teams to ensure client satisfaction and successful problem resolution.
• Contracts and Sales Strategies:
  • Prepare formal proposals and present them to all levels of the organization.
  • Negotiate contracts and agreements with clients.
  • Develop sales strategies, build pipelines in a specified industry.
  • Obtain competitive information during daily contacts and distribute it as appropriate to develop sales strategies.
• Market Analysis and Product Development:
  • Stay informed about market trends, competitor activities, and industry developments.
  • Assist in establishing product development priorities based on customer experience.
  • Provide feedback to the internal teams on market dynamics.
• Reporting and Sales Forecasting:
  • Prepare regular reports on account status, sales performance, and forecasts.
  • Own industry sales forecasting by demonstrating in-depth knowledge of sales and buying cycles from initial contact through the procurement process.
  • Capture customer information and sales activity data into the customer relationship management (CRM) system.
• Meet or exceed sales quota and revenue goals.
• Travel approximately 50%: Most of the time, business will be in greater Detroit. However, there will be overnight travel to Canada and other states – TX, TN, NY.

  What we are looking for:
  

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of direct sales experience selling products in the warehouse or tech environment.
• Proven experience as a Key Account Manager or in a similar high-visibility sales role within the robotics or technology industry.
• Exceptional negotiation and communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships across stakeholder levels.
• Proactive and results-driven with a track record of meeting or exceeding sales targets.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and sales analytics.
• Willingness to travel approximately 50% of the time.

Interested candidates should reach out to Jay Veniard - 602-888-8188 or jay@ventechsearch.com