Account Executive - Sales

Location: Buffalo, NY

Job Overview

The Account Executive - Uniforms works to strategically target potential customers to generate and grow new business in Vestis’s Uniforms Division. Responsibilities include prospecting, cold calling, setting appointments with prospects, presenting programs & solutions, and meeting a sales quota. The role includes developing relationships with customers, qualifying leads within territory, generating revenue and market share, and meeting sales targets. The incumbent also positions the Company’s value proposition and whole-product solution to the customer to build and enhance strong customer relationships and to become a strong business partner. With a strong knowledge of business and market sense, the incumbent successfully prospects an assigned sales territory and reports on related marketing activities by conducting competitive market analysis, competitive intelligence, and other sales-related research.

Responsibilities/Essential Functions

• Developing a customer base by utilizing a systematic business development process to identify new prospects, and cultivate relationships using product materials and cold calling to sell Vestis products and services
• Developing & qualifying leads within territory to drive sales opportunities through lead generation campaigns
• Proactively initiating action with target customers by finding creative methods to establish and maintain customer engagement;
• Securing a high number of first appointments with target customer’s decision makers;
• Minimizing the number of opportunities that move to callback status and ensuring that the proper prospect funnel ratio is in place at all times, including new prospect list opportunities, calendar of first appointments, and percentages of closed business.
• Following-through with all selling activities to maximize close ratio.
• Ability to persuade, and demonstrate strong closing skills,
• Must be able to manage target selling & strategic selling,
• Strong phone-blocking/phone-calling/door-knocking,
• Building and enhancing strong customer relationships with multiple key decision makers with new customers.
• Identifying and building relationships with not only customers’ key decision makers, but also other political influencers associated with the customer.
• Conducting presentations to formally communicate current and future customer benefits.
• Ensuring 100% customer satisfaction and loyalty by utilizing all resources, tools, and technology provided.
• Proactively addressing every situation, anticipating possible problems, and working to solve them before they become an issue.
• Conducting a competitive market analysis, including existing territory, customer types, and existing competitive products.
• Most possess a track-record of being a master prospector.
• Preparing informative and interesting presentations, investigating/researching possible new prospect customers, monitoring existing customers, and competitive intelligence, and managing time and sales results.
• Using the Company’s proprietary sales force automation software to manage daily sales activities.
• Communicating with all appropriate parties in other segments of the Company to ensure effective collaboration and shared sales opportunities, communicating territory plan to obtain buy-in, and selling best practices.
• Updating his/her manager weekly with prospect information and status of movement in the prospecting stages and next action(s);
• Using a scheduling system to ensure effective use of time and to keep customer appointments
• Ensuring timely response to internal and external inquiries
• Must be able to work independently & manage territory
• Adapting to organizational changes as necessary and remaining flexible and productive by focusing on his/her sales goals in the midst of change.
• Incorporating the Company’s Guiding Principles (Valuing Relationships, Succeeding through Performance, Thriving on Growth; and Operating with Integrity) to ensure a quality customer experience as well as an organizational awareness of the Company’s values.

Decision Making

• The Account Executive - Uniforms focuses sales efforts in a geographical territory in coordination with and leadership from his/his appropriate manager.
• It is their responsibility to individualize a plan for each territory and to decide on the proper focus areas for how best to attain sales goals within the Uniforms Division.
• Must demonstrate the ability to discern when a strategic pivot is needed.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Superior interpersonal and written/oral communication skills with the ability to relate well and cooperate with others to effectively coordinate activities and accomplish goals.
• Proven success in developing new business and generating sales leads by managing a territory and selling activities.
• Demonstrated ability in problem solving, crafting a win-win solution (collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions in a timely basis) and negotiation with special emphasis on closing the sale.
• Must be able to utilize CRM & other sales Technology for effectiveness (i.e. Salesforce, LinkedIn Navigator)
• Ability to communicate and work with cross-functional teams and all levels in the organization.
• Results-oriented to ensure delivery of appropriate products and services in an accurate, complete, and timely fashion.
• Demonstrated intermediate skills with the standard features of various personal computer word processing and spreadsheet software (Microsoft Word and Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Internet, and proprietary software).
• Excellent presentation skills before both small and large groups.
• A demonstrable capacity to keep abreast of new industry trends and best sales practices and how they would successfully interact with Company products.
• Willingness and ability to work in the field and/or the region’s market center to successfully structure a productive day with little to no supervision.
• Strong self-directed organizational skills to organize time effectively on daily and weekly basis.
• Demonstrated ability to execute on a plan and drive results.
• Ability to maintain and upgrade individual skills set, per market, through continuous learning and market awareness.

Experience/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Sales, Marketing, or a related field preferred
• 18-36 months or more of successful outside business-to-business (B2B) sales experience selling value-added, whole solution products to customers within the consumer goods, service, or other transferable industry.
• Experience with market development concepts (adoption lifecycle, market development checklist, and STP (segmenting / targeting / positioning) based on sustaining products and innovations.
• Experience with Customer Relationship Management Systems - Salesforce preferred
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook)
• At least 21 years of age
• Documented track record of success in B2B sales (i.e. brag book)
• Previous President’s Club & demonstrated annual quota attainment

License Requirements/Certifications

Valid driver’s license.

Working Environment/Safety Requirements/Physical Requirements

• Ability to travel overnight (10%)
• Must have access to an operational motor vehicle
• The Account Executive – Uniforms position is an outside sales position that requires the incumbent to spend the majority of their time in the field
• Must be willing to maintain professional/business attire
• Must be able to do a needs assessment of customer facility & customer sizing which may involve bending
• Ability to lift up to 10 lbs in order to carry & deploy samples

Compensation: The salary that Vestis reasonably expects to pay for this position ranges from $65,000 to $70,000, depending on circumstances including an applicant’s skills and qualifications, certain degrees and certifications, prior job experience, market data, and other relevant factors. Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission.