GME Account Manager - Japan

Job summary

Responsible for supporting the team to maximise profitability and sales opportunities by managing and developing strategic business relationships for sales direct/B2B in a defined geographic area, building on existing relationships and creating new business opportunities.
The Account Manager (AM) spends up to 70% of their time managing a portfolio of existing customers, and for the remaining canvassing sales, identifying and converting new prospects.
The AM is supported by a strong cross-functional customer accounts team, digital tools & platforms and the in-region Sales Operations Executive allowing the AM to focus on customer facing activities

Key Accountabilities :

• Supports a profitable portfolio of existing accounts (approx. 70% of time) and prospects in direct sales (approx. 30% of time), championing Castrol’s Value Selling principles and the SmartGains framework to develop existing relationships with customers and deliver profitable growth via new customer acquisitions.
• Participates in the development of local B2B business strategy, and regularly reviews the direct sales risk pipeline to maximise team profitability, assisting the team to maximise their effective time in attracting and retaining business.
• Conducts sales activities such as volume and margin analysis, supporting tender activity, resolving customer operational issues and monitoring pricing performance integrity to enhance customer perception of value.
• Drives new offers, building a deep understanding of the market, and actively supports prospecting activities, developing a pipeline of opportunities through more detailed customer analysis.
• Supports the implementation of the GME in-year programmes and priorities. Aligns personal objectives and individual annual plans with Area Sales Manager to deliver results through implementation of inyear programmes, offers, priorities as defined by the area annual plan (e.g. Smart Gains, New Builds, ancillary sales, price interventions etc.).
• Clearly articulates product and services offers in a way that demonstrates distinctiveness and can translate this differentiation into customer value substantiated by customers’ willingness to pay a premium.
• Prioritises personal resources and activities to enable effective strategy execution and demonstrable growth within existing customer accounts through acquiring new vessels/ assets and upselling/ cross selling (prioritised to strategic target sectors).
• With input from Demand Contol, develops and regularly updates detailed monthly
  customer forecasts, opportunities & vulnerabilities for the regional demand review
  which drives the LBM (Lubricants Business management) forecasting tool.
• Spends atleast 60% of time in front of customers and is able to navigate
  conversations across a diverse contact map at all levels and through all functions of
  the customer to build strong relationships that build trust, generate powerful
  insights and enable business growth.
• Builds a robust plan to underpin each customer volume/ GM delivery and identifies
  areas to exploit further organic growth. Gains pricing approval through the pricing
  team (Net Tool).
• Has a small portfolio of qualified prospects and works the pipeline
  drawing support from the Sales Operations Executive to manage Prospecting
  Pipeline Management (PPM) KPIs in-line with targets.
• Leads virtual customer account teams to meet customer needs drawing support
  from Customer Operations, Global Business Services (GBS), Demand Control and
  Technical Support teams including a clear delegation of responsibilities.
• Builds personal development plan (PDP) based on career plan and line manager
  coaching/ feedback.

• Minimum Graduate or tertiary business qualification with equivalent experience.

• Ability to develop, maintain and build new relationships with customers, OEMs and Industry bodies.
• Ability to present persuasive offers to senior level management within the customer’s business
• Leverages resources and own networks to achieve goals and objectives
• Understanding of shipping, oil & gas market and global dynamics, trends, regulatory environment desirable
• B2B sales management experience with a track record of delivery of sales targets and performance