Manager-Account Development - Northern NJ - job 1 of 4

The Field Account Development Manager sits within a geographical territory and is responsible for the retention and continuous growth of our existing US Small & Medium Enterprise key client relationships, through face-to-face interactions. This entails having overall management of a defined portfolio of key existing accounts, identifying the evolving needs of our clients, ensuring we continue to serve those needs with our array of cash flow and payment solutions, to deepen our relationship with these clients. The key measurements of success for this Manager will be portfolio level account retention and volume growth. This is a field-based role in which in person engagement with the client base through face-to-face interactions is required. 

Job Responsibilities 

Planning (10 – 20% of time) 

• Identify accounts that are not utilizing the full terms and benefits of their AXP commercial products and prioritize those clients, identify top client information and track opportunity development in CRM database  

Relationship management (10 – 20% of time)  

• Proactively reach out to customers to uncover opportunities, treat the customer until there’s a change in customer spend in alignment with growth or retention conversations
• Develop client specific value proposition, identify key steps (strategy and tactics) to meet short and long-term client objectives
• Business travel, occasionally overnight, is required with the expectation of 50-80% of time spent in-market with clients 

Client solution (20 – 30% of time) 

• Use consultative skills to maintain and develop the existing customer relationship and substantially grow charge volume (e.g., onboarding new vendors, expanding existing vendors, adding supplemental cards)
• Maintain a high level of knowledge about American Express products, processes (Underwriting, Line Increase, Customer Financials, Pricing, Contract), key internal partners (Risk, UWA, PPI) and tools (ONE.force, C360)  

Negotiate and close (20 – 30% of time) 

• Seek opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell commensurate with the needs of the client
• Answer customer inquiries and bring in leadership, internal business partners and product specialists as appropriate to support growth opportunities and customers’ needs  

Compliance (100% of time) 

• Ensure all aspects of the American Express Code of Conduct, and our Sales Practices policies, standard, and procedures, are adhered to so that we uphold the highest standards in our interactions with our customers and compliantly meet all regulatory requirements 

Knowledge, Skills, Attributes, and Experience 

Knowledge and Skills  

Relationship management  

• Strong customer relationship building skills to follow through and motivate clients to act  

Consultative selling  

• Effectively identifies client needs to configure solutions that address client requirements and deliver value  

Closing  

• Overcomes objections and resistance to proposed solutions with key client decision makers  

Influence & persuasion  

• Uses appropriate interpersonal styles and communication methods to gain acceptance for products and/or services  

Demonstrating value  

• Proactively and consistently demonstrates the value of partnering with American Express  

Results focus  

• Demonstrates a competitive, positive attitude, quickly adapts to different situations, and recovers from setbacks  

Market, industry, & product knowledge  

• Understands at a tactical level market/industry key competitors, challenges, terminology, technology, trends, and regulation  

Attributes  

• High learning agility
• Intellectually curious
• Collaborative and growth mindset
• Personal accountability
• Compliance focused  

Experience  

• Bachelor's degree preferred
• Excellent sales experience, 3 - 5 years minimum
• Experience partnering with clients across various markets / industries
• Experience in a highly-regulated industry 

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.