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Strategic Account Management - Retail

Microsoft

Sales & Business Development

Posted on Sep 9, 2025

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Strategic Account Management - Retail

Issy Les Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France

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Date posted

Sep 08, 2025

Job number

1848060

Work site

Up to 50% work from home

Travel

50-75 %

Role type

Individual Contributor

Profession

Sales

Discipline

Strategic Account Management

Employment type

Full-Time

Overview

The Strategic Account Manager manages the development and application of a mature/dynamic customer plan based on proven methodologies to manage a sustainable, long-term business portfolio Collaborates across organization and partners in discussions to impact the broader ecosystem (e.g., passing legislation). Leverages close relationships with leaders (e.g., senior leaders, C-level executives) of the assigned account and the broader ecosystem to shape long-term strategic direction and influence business metrics. Expands strategic customer relationships to drive larger impact for the customer and spread into other areas of the organization. Anticipates issues/risks on customer satisfaction, determines the root cause of problems, removes blockers, and establishes recovery action plan to improve customer's overall experience. Owns the development of strategies that showcase the value added by Microsoft's innovative cloud offerings and ideas grounded on a deep understanding of industry trends and based on account needs and customer's expectations. Leverages internal network of industry experts to strengthen knowledge of the industry, competitors, and customer business priorities and leverages in-depth knowledge of Microsoft's offerings to share knowledge internally, influence customers' business capabilities, drive more competitive solutions, and enhance growth of the account team.

Communicating with Impact

The ability to effectively articulate solutions' value with internal and external business stakeholders in a clear and concise manner, ensuring mutual objectives and priorities are presented and understood to drive successful outcomes in sales engagements.

Customer Strategic Partnerships

The ability to build and maintain strong business relationships and partnerships, nurture executive relationships, and establish credibility as a trusted advisor. It involves effective relationship management, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to confidently project executive presence. This capability empowers professionals to cultivate collaborative partnerships, drive business growth, and establish themselves as valued advisors in their field. The ability to guide customers' thinking through active listening, questioning, and reflecting; provides vital insight and seamless service to help define needs and then provide advice.

Driving Operations

The ability to effectively manage accounts via strategic decision-making and a focus on operational excellence. This includes orchestrating opportunities and deals, developing sales strategies, managing compliance, showcasing organizational savvy, and assessing and mitigating risks to drive successful business outcomes and maximize customer value realization.

Managing Sales Pipeline

The ability to apply ingenuity, inventiveness, and creativity to the inclusive design and construction of a product, service, program, or initiative by demonstrating value, influencing others, persuasively negotiating mutually beneficial agreements, disrupting conventional thinking, and consulting with stakeholders. This includes effectively navigating the sales process and demonstrating creativity, problem-solving, and storytelling skills to effectively articulate how solutions will drive business impact and value inclusive of our partners.

Maximizing Business Opportunities

The ability to apply business acumen and an understanding of businesses needs and opportunities across market, industry, and competition to effectively manage and prioritize business development opportunities. This includes the ability to effectively analyze market dynamics, recognize customer needs, qualify opportunities, and identify how Microsoft solutions can enable business capabilities that drive growth and innovation, while staying abreast of emerging trends and digital solutions.

Sales

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

Bachelor's Degree AND 10+ years experience working in Retail & Consumer Goods and/or driving digital transformation OR Master's Degree AND 9+ years experience working in Retail & Consumer Goods and/or driving digital transformation OR 13+ years experience in working in Retail & Consumer Goods and/or driving digital transformation OR equivalent experience. 6+ years experience making recommendations to and/or collaborating with mid-to-senior level executives. 8+ years experience closing large, complex agreements/deals.

Additional or preferred qualificationsBachelor's Degree AND 13+ years experience working in Retail & Consumer Goods and/or driving digital transformation OR Master's Degree AND 11+ years experience working in Retail & Consumer Goods and/or driving digital transformation OR equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

Account Management

Manages the development and application of a mature/dynamic multi-year customer account plan based on proven methodologies to manage a sustainable, long-term business portfolio. Leads strategies for the assigned account that yield high-volume sales and open new opportunities for both Microsoft and the partners, aligned to goals, budgets, and forecasts.

Proactively solicits feedback on additional needs, products, and features to develop targeted strategies for customers. Demonstrates a strong understanding of the customer's business model to articulate growth opportunities, leveraging industry expertise to shape ecosystem. Influences relevant (internal and external) stakeholders and resources to drive change on behalf of the customer and to enhance team capabilities, improve Microsoft offerings, and adapt Microsoft's messaging to the assigned account.

Leads efforts with key internal and external partners and business including vertical industry partners with technical decision makers in developing, sharing, and promoting mutually beneficial, long-term, tailored account plans to grow sales and partner impact, leveraging deep relationships, influence, and industry expertise. Collaborates across organization and partners in discussions to impact the broader ecosystem (e.g., passing legislation).

Proactively expands strategic network of key internal and external partners and decision makers, including vertical industry partners, to ensure execution of core tasks and account transactions and to provide a comprehensive account management experience.

Orchestrates the execution of strategies for the assigned account to ensure engagements yield high-volume sales, drive plans to increase revenue potential, and open new opportunities for both Microsoft and the partners, aligned to goals, budgets, and forecasts. Leads and coordinates a diverse team (e.g., industry experts) on plan execution (e.g., prioritization, delegation) and drives accountability to execute and deliver on account plans and grow the account, leveraging industry expertise.

Competitive Knowledge

Leverages internal network of industry experts to strengthen knowledge of the industry (e.g., emerging trends), competitors (e.g., AWS, Salesforce) and customer business priorities (e.g., challenges, competitive landscape) and leverages in-depth knowledge of Microsoft's offerings (e.g., product landscape, solutions, strategy to address customer needs) to share knowledge internally, influence customers' business capabilities, drive more competitive solutions, and enhance growth of the account team.

Customer Engagement

Proactively develops a strong, comprehensive understanding of customer's business needs, priorities, strategies, and industry insights. Anticipates customer's needs to deliver new insights on their business strategy, and educate customers on ways to address them jointly. Shows long-term differentiated value for the customer, leveraging industry expertise and guides internal colleagues on ways to develop deeper customer knowledge. Delivers solutions into overall long-term business strategy.

Proactively elevates stakeholder relationships and uses Microsoft sales strategies through multiple levels of the customer's organization to secure buy-in and execution. Expands strategic customer relationships to drive larger impact for the customer and spread into other areas of the organization.

Sales Excellence

Orchestrates high-impact solutions that enable digital transformation for assigned accounts and drive outcomes that create business value for customers. Owns the development of strategies that showcase the value added by Microsoft's innovative cloud offerings and ideas grounded on a deep understanding of industry trends and based on account needs and customer's expectations. Brings greater ecosystem together with the customer to discuss how to enrich customer's value to their customers.

Orchestrates the creation of long-term strategies aimed at building a level of loyalty that would be hard for competitors to overcome. Anticipates issues/risks on customer satisfaction, determines the root cause of problems, removes blockers, and establishes recovery action plan to improve customer's overall experience. Builds trust and loyalty with the customer by providing up-to-date insights, challenging the customer when necessary, and introducing innovative ideas relevant to the customer's business strategy. Enables customers to provide feedback directly to executives to help transform account space by establishing open communication channels for feedback, providing executive sponsorship, and providing direction to others to ensure customer feedback is addressed through One Microsoft approach.

Leverages understanding of customer business and engages Microsoft decision makers to drive customer's strategy, goals, and optimization. Engages and influences decision makers of the account (e.g., senior leaders, executives) to position Microsoft to increase customer's budget allocated to Microsoft, and tailor solutions that satisfy customers' Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Earns and maintains status as a trusted advisor to C-level business decision makers of the assigned account by bringing innovative ideas and leveraging industry expertise. Mobilizes and mentors the account management team and relevant internal stakeholders with deep industry expertise to build deep partnerships with decision makers of the assigned account. Leverages best-in-class sales and communication strategies and tools to meet business needs and identify new opportunities. Builds new relationships to create new opportunities and expand relationships within the customer.

Creates and qualifies new opportunities by identifying strategic opportunities (e.g., large, long-term) within accounts and guiding the customer on how to best identify new opportunities, leveraging deep customer and industry relationships and consultative selling skills. Drives new business opportunities across the team by creating a partner ecosystem, and empowers team members to find new opportunities by acting as a role model and by setting a clear vision and energy for the team to drive towards.

Uses business cases to develop and present compelling value proposition presentations and specialized business plans for customers that showcase Microsoft's products and solutions to connect decision makers in the account to the broader Microsoft solutions, provide thought leadership to guide others on tailoring presentations, and generate new opportunities.

Strategic Thinking

Articulates Microsoft's and partners' point of view and creates deep connections with decision makers throughout multiple levels of the customers' organization to drive purchase decisions and increase interaction and participation, leveraging relevant tools and resources (e.g., LinkedIn). Leverages relationships to address complex political blockers and drive execution for the customer.

Leverages unique, strategic, industry-focused business insights and opportunities to create long-term, competitive advantage for the customer.

Engages in strategic discussions by articulating ideas to evolve and facilitate evolution of customer business model, using Microsoft capabilities to solve customer's complex business problems. Drives strategic initiatives to promote a more holistic digital approach between Microsoft and the customer.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

Industry leading healthcare

Educational resources

Discounts on products and services

Savings and investments

Maternity and paternity leave

Generous time away

Giving programs

Opportunities to network and connect

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

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