Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for National Account Executive

🎯 Role Definition

Are you a strategic sales hunter and a master relationship-builder? We're looking for a dynamic National Account Executive to spearhead our growth strategy for our largest and most strategic clients. In this pivotal role, you will be the face of our company, owning the entire sales cycle from prospecting to closing multi-year, enterprise-level deals. You will act as a trusted advisor, deeply understanding your clients' business challenges and aligning our solutions to drive their success. If you thrive on navigating complex organizations, negotiating high-stakes contracts, and consistently exceeding ambitious targets, this is your opportunity to make a significant impact on our trajectory and your career.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Regional Account Executive / Senior Account Executive
Strategic Account Manager
Senior Business Development Manager

Advancement To:

Director of National Accounts
Vice President (VP) of Sales
Global or Strategic Accounts Director

Lateral Moves:

Director of Channel Sales
Sales Enablement Lead
Director of Sales Operations

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute comprehensive strategic account plans to achieve sales targets and expand the company's footprint within a portfolio of assigned national accounts.
Proactively hunt for and generate new business opportunities within target accounts, building a robust and sustainable sales pipeline to ensure long-term revenue growth.
Build, maintain, and deepen strong, long-lasting executive and C-level relationships, positioning yourself as a trusted strategic advisor.
Masterfully articulate and communicate the company's value proposition, tailoring presentations and proposals to address specific client needs and business objectives.
Lead the end-to-end sales process for complex, multi-stakeholder deals, from initial qualification and discovery to solution design, negotiation, and closure.
Negotiate complex, high-value contracts and commercial terms, ensuring mutually beneficial agreements that protect company interests and drive profitability.
Conduct and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with key client stakeholders to review performance, reinforce value, and identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.
Accurately forecast quarterly and annual sales revenue, tracking key account metrics and pipeline progression meticulously within the company CRM (e.g., Salesforce).
Serve as the primary liaison between the client and internal teams, including Customer Success, Product, Marketing, and Legal, to ensure seamless service delivery and client satisfaction.
Deeply understand the client's industry, competitive landscape, and business challenges to effectively position our solutions and differentiate from competitors.
Identify and map the key decision-makers, influencers, and stakeholders within each account to develop effective engagement strategies.
Prepare and deliver compelling, high-impact sales presentations and product demonstrations to executive audiences.
Travel nationally to meet with clients, attend industry events, and strengthen key business relationships in person.

Secondary Functions

Collaborate with the marketing team to develop targeted account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns and collateral for your assigned portfolio.
Provide insightful market feedback and client intelligence to product and strategy teams to influence the future roadmap and company direction.
Act as a mentor and subject matter expert for junior members of the sales team, sharing best practices in enterprise selling and account management.
Manage and resolve escalations from your accounts with a high degree of professionalism and urgency, ensuring client retention and loyalty.
Maintain expert-level knowledge of our complete product and service offerings, as well as emerging industry trends.
Develop and manage Joint Business Plans (JBPs) with key accounts to establish shared goals and drive mutual growth.
Support ad-hoc data requests and contribute to strategic analyses to uncover growth opportunities within the customer base.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

CRM Mastery: Deep proficiency in using CRM platforms, particularly Salesforce, for pipeline management, forecasting, and activity tracking.
Sales Forecasting: Demonstrated ability to produce accurate and reliable sales forecasts based on data-driven pipeline analysis.
Contract Negotiation: Proven experience in structuring, negotiating, and closing complex commercial agreements and MSAs.
Financial Acumen: Strong understanding of business finance, ROI analysis, and creating compelling business cases for investment.
Presentation Software: Expertise in creating and delivering polished, professional presentations using tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides.

Soft Skills

Executive Presence: The ability to confidently and credibly engage with C-level executives and senior leadership.
Strategic & Consultative Mindset: A natural ability to think strategically, diagnose client needs, and prescribe effective solutions.
Relationship Building: Innate talent for building rapport, trust, and long-term partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
Resilience & Drive: A tenacious, goal-oriented personality with a strong desire to win and the ability to handle rejection gracefully.
Exceptional Communication: Superior verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complex concepts.
Persuasion & Influence: Masterful negotiation and influencing skills to drive consensus and achieve desired outcomes.
Problem-Solving: Proactive and creative problem-solving skills to navigate complex client challenges and internal roadblocks.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s Degree

Preferred Education:

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration
Marketing
Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 7-12 years of quota-carrying B2B sales experience, with a significant portion focused on enterprise or national accounts.

Preferred:

A verifiable track record of consistently exceeding 7-figure annual sales targets.
Experience selling SaaS, technology solutions, or complex services in a long sales-cycle environment.
Documented history of managing and growing Fortune 500 or equivalent enterprise-level accounts.