Overview
Are you passionate about putting the customer at the heart of everything you do? As a Services Account Executive (SAE) in our Services Sales Team, you'll play a pivotal role in redefining how we deliver value through services.
You'll act as a trusted advisor, guiding organizations to unlock the full potential of the Microsoft Services portfolio and achieve meaningful business outcomes. As a SAE, you are responsible for proactively selling the entire Services portfolio-from delivering core value through Unified Support, to accelerating impact with Unified Enhanced Solutions, and driving transformational change through Microsoft Consulting.
In this role, you'll work closely with customers to understand their strategic goals, co-create tailored service solutions, and help them realize their ambitions. Your ability to build trust, foster long-term relationships, and elevate the customer experience will be key to your success.
As an experienced SAE, this role offers you the opportunity to accelerate your career growth, be part of a high-performing team, and develop, own, and close strategic opportunities that leverage AI and cutting-edge solutions to drive customer success and grow Microsoft cloud consumption.
We're looking for innovative, high energy, collaborative professionals who thrive in fast-paced environments, bring informal leadership to the table, and excel at aligning diverse priorities to drive shared success.
If you're ready to make a real impact and help transform the way we sell services-your next great career adventure starts here.
Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.?
Responsibilities
Accelerate Growth
Proactively builds and maintains up-to-date knowledge of customer's business priorities, risks and challenges, internal landscape (e.g., organization structure, stakeholders, business performance), industry/sector challenges, regulations, trends, and futures (e.g., impact of artificial intelligence [AI], sustainability) to meet customer needs and drive customer satisfaction.
Identifies, qualifies, leads, manages, and closes strategic industry cloud opportunities on prioritized accounts aligned to documented customer business value and outcomes. Accelerate Microsoft Cloud differentiation (e.g., security, AI) against competitors and win more market share. Increase customer business value with advanced technology (e.g., AI) and drive consumption.
Leverages Microsoft Consulting go-to-market scenarios to drive intentional customer conversations about Microsoft Cloud adoption. Educates decision makers of assigned account(s) (e.g., business-functional area leads) on Microsoft's value proposition, aligned to the customer's priorities and maturity, appropriately differentiating competitor solutions.
Account Team Orchestration
Orchestrates the consulting-sales relationship with the core account team, working closely with Enterprise colleagues to ensure successful creation, maintenance, and execution of the Industry Solutions account plan components, and a positive One Microsoft customer experience. Orchestrates and coordinates across the account team, customer success team, service team, and the Consulting account team, effectively influencing and collaborating with account-aligned and solutions-aligned, pursuit and delivery colleagues including Partners to bring the best resources to ensure customer success and satisfaction, successfully closing deals. Follows and champions the One Microsoft methodology (e.g., the common sales and delivery methodology for Microsoft).
Deal Excellence
Builds quality, close plans for all qualified opportunities, initially (at qualified stage) comprising the core Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline (BANT) information and commercial strategy for the deal, and progressing to include detailed customer procurement process, risks, and issues. Updates the close plan as deal progresses through each sales stage, securing Microsoft virtual Consulting account team and customer stakeholder buy in to schedule of activities for successful closure of the deal. Leads the consulting of the entire account team to execute the close plan, effectively influencing and collaborating with account-aligned and solutions-aligned, pursuit and delivery colleagues to perform agreed activities to successfully close the deal. Works with internal key stakeholder and approvers to ensure margin targets, consumption plans, and other key metrics are considered/met.
Leverages customer connections and the account team's insights to confirm Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline (BANT) information to determine progression or lack thereof of a lead to become a consulting opportunity. Secures pre-sales investment to secure appropriate consulting resources needed to shape and scope the opportunity into a compelling customer proposition. Focuses on opportunities that are in alignment with organizational strategy, prioritizing opportunities based on highest potential for impact/consumption. Consistently drives deal velocity as a result of executing high-quality lead qualification and close planning.
Maintains relationship with the customer to secure formal signing of contract and oversees the processing of that, including financial purchased orders. Drives smooth transition of sales-led accountabilities to delivery-led accountabilities. Supports win/loss reviews with sales and pursuit management, owns lessons learned activities to support improvements and efficiency for customers and peers. Identifies repeatable intellectual property that could be replicated and sold to other customers, increasing the sales team's ability to scale the solution and grow market share.
Ensures all applicable leads and qualified opportunities are linked to customer priorities in the account plan. Maintains accurate Sales Stage, Forecast Recommendation, and Due Dates in required systems of record (e.g., Microsoft Sales Experience [MSX]) in alignment with close plan. Uses required tooling to report out the state of the business.
Drives discussions of terms and conditions (e.g., scope, milestones, price) in collaboration with the entire account team and customer through multiple iterations to ensure agreement. Maintains productive working relationships with those involved in negotiation, persuading others without using manipulation, and driving a positive atmosphere during difficult objections and discussions.
Relationship Management
Proactively seeks customer feedback and insights on business priorities and/or experience. 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. Understands how and when to escalate issues to ensure resolution.
Understands how to plan stakeholder connections, in alignment with the core account team, building and strengthening relationships with the Microsoft overall account teams, solution teams, and other partner groups, through regular rhythm of connections where appropriate. Brings experience, insights, and perspectives from customer engagement to Microsoft business to drive deeper customer engagement. Supports the Microsoft overall account teams, solution teams, and other partner groups?
Owns and maintains agreements with the core account team customer and partner relationships, influences key decision makers, and leads effective rhythms of connection with customer and partner stakeholders. Prioritizes appropriately for multiple assigned accounts. Contributes to creating and managing connections and driving agreement between necessary stakeholders within Microsoft and customers.
Strategy and Planning
Leads the Industry Solutions account planning contribution with the wider Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS) account team, defines Industry Solutions sales priorities to leverage insight and provide input to overall account plan. Proactively looks ahead and identifies actions required to develop Services Sales renewal/up-sell opportunities that are aligned with the account strategy, Microsoft's strategy, and Services Sales catalog go-to-market solution plays. Positions AI business solutions, cloud and AI platforms, and security solutions to enable a point-of-view and roadmap for deploying and supporting customer AI-first transformation. Leads Services Sales input to account-team planning sessions, follows the common sales and delivery methodology for Microsoft, and provides updates per required account-team governance and rhythms. Leads the mapping of which customer and/or partner accounts need Unified contract renewals within the quarter, where there are upsell opportunities, and which accounts have gaps in Services coverage based on existing or future customer positioning and FRA spend. Understands revenue drivers for other Microsoft business segments (e.g., Microsoft Azure Commit to Consume [MACC]) and aligns plans appropriately (e.g., cloud-success metrics, revenue-recognition timelines). Thinks strategically about Services Sales account planning for assigned accounts, setting standards and priorities, outlining where to and how to invest resources of the account management team and other stakeholders, engaging internal and external decision makers on long-term business planning, and anticipating needs of assigned accounts to turn enterprise accounts into strategic accounts.
Leads the contributions of the Account Team by guiding the Services Sales account vision and strategic approach. Provides insights, ideas, and recommendations to address immediate and longer-term customer priorities to deliver, support and secure Microsoft products and objectives. Contributes to the overall One Microsoft strategy, driving for agreement with account team on Consulting and Partner strategy. Leverages appropriate tools, frameworks, and methodologies to develop a deliberate approach to position potential modernization, digital and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, security, and support outcomes aligned with customer's priorities. Understands the weaknesses and strengths of competitor solutions and footprints and leverage this knowledge in strategy and planning to align Services Sales with Microsoft Field Revenue Accountability (FRA) and cloud objectives.
Qualifications
Required/minimum qualifications
Bachelor's Degree AND 6+ years consultative sales experience in the commercial or public sector (e.g. finance, local government) or related work OR equivalent experience.
Additional or preferred qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Business, Information Technology (IT), or related field AND 10+ years consultative sales experience in the commercial or public sector (e.g. finance, local government) or related work OR equivalent experience.
Services Account Management IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $133,000 - $222,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $170,300 - $239,800 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
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 with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations. (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html)
