Strategic Account Manager (Aerospace/Defense)

Role Summary

Join our team as a Strategic Account Manager (Aerospace/Defense)!

This is a hybrid role being onsite in Maple Plain, MN on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

A Strategic Account Manager is responsible for management within the Aerospace/Defense group, managing large Prime customers. The primary responsibility of this role is to meet and exceed the annual bookings quotas as established by the company, ensuring that all strategic initiatives and customer engagements align with this critical objective. The SAM is dedicated to driving Protolabs' growth by bringing highly vetted programs that push Protolabs to expand our offerings and capabilities to develop, support, and grow our largest revenue producing customers. As one of Protolabs’ top revenue generating salespeople, the SAM is expected to make a significant impact on our customers' businesses by providing innovative solutions that enhance efficiency and profitability for mutual benefit of both the customer and Protolabs. The SAM is considered a trusted advisor to the customer and a consultative manufacturing advisor, whom customers rely on by delivering unparalleled solutions at unprecedented speeds.

You Will

• Develops multi-year strategy for the account's organization through business plans, reviews and other customer strategy meetings with senior leadership.
• Creates an account budget and strategic account plan that will guide the direction of the account over a 2–3-year horizon.
• Aligns with customer KPI’s and utilizes Protolabs business analytics (technology, SFDC, DOMO, best practices, etc.) for the customer at the whole organizational level.
• Anticipates the customer's needs to provide solutions and penetrate the account. Sells across all service lines and aligns the customer to Protolabs full product life cycle capabilities to create competitive advantage.
• Introduces innovative, strategic manufacturing ideas across product life cycle for co-creating competitive advantage for the customer.
• Pursues individual development.
• Provides input and guidance for other team members for the purposes of succession planning and ensuring appropriate resources for account.
• Identifies key customer contacts at multiple levels across multiple departments including corporate senior executive leadership, champions and coaches.
• Leads and leverages necessary resources.
• Clearly defines and communicates responsibilities for account team and organizes multiple internal functions.
• Accountable for operational results and connected to operational excellence but spends no time on day-to-day account operations or on account administration.
• Aligns Protolabs to the account's entire organization which may touch multiple services, locations, product life cycle, and geographies.
• Primarily focused on growth and strategy of between 1 to maximum 3 accounts as a trusted advisor to the customer. Involved in strategic direction and decisions of account.
• Prospect and identify target key customer contacts at multiple levels across multiple departments including R&D, sourcing, corporate senior executive leadership to identify and incubate new business opportunities.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

What It Takes

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field or equivalent education and/or experience
• 8+ years of experience managing large enterprise complex B2B accounts, preferably working with Fortune 500 & MedTech customers.
• Consistent high performer fluent in how to proactively grow customer relationships across business units, locations, and personas to develop multiple coaches and champions as part of strategic business, partnership and growth plans
• Develops and drives enterprise-level programs and agreements with strategic customers to grow sustainable, long-term partnerships.
• Builds and maintains influential relationships with key decision makers and cross-functional partners across Protolabs to support strategic business and growth plans.
• Identifies, develops and executes new strategic business programs and capabilities in partnership with customers to drive long-term growth within and across customer verticals.
• Expert use of CRM and forecasting tools to manage the sales process, maintain a robust pipeline, and provide actionable insight to internal stakeholders.
• Deep technical understanding of Protolabs’ service lines and broader manufacturing/engineering topics; effectively introduces solutions to all levels of a customer organization.
• Clearly articulates customer value propositions and aligns Protolabs’ solutions to clients’ corporate initiatives and business objectives.
• Consistently sources leads and new opportunities, co-creates innovative value with customers, and negotiates win-win outcomes.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills at all organizational levels.
• Growth-minded culture champion who embraces new initiatives, practices continuous improvement, self-analyzes performance, and models Protolabs’ values and accountability.
• Travel expectation 25-50%

Physical Demands

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Benefits

• We offer a competitive total compensation package
• In addition, we offer competitive benefits including but not limited to:
• Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
• Dental and Vision
• Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Paid caregiver leave
• You will receive PTO + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
• 401k with company match and immediate vest
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• And More!

Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities. Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status. Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.

Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.