Sales Account Manager, WGSN

The role

We are looking to hire a Sales Account Manager to join our Sales team in North America.

Salary range - $45,000 - $75,000

Working at WGSN

Together, we create tomorrow

A career with WGSN is fast-paced, exciting and full of opportunities to grow and develop. We're a team of consumer and design trend forecasters, content creators, designers, data analysts, advisory consultants and much more, united by a common goal: to create tomorrow.

WGSN's trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food and drink forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory. If you are an expert in your field, we want to hear from you.

Role overview

We're looking for a strong Sales Account Manager to join our team in North America and become an integral part of our Sales function.

You will manage a book of existing accounts across the US, partnering and sharing the values of WGSN and our reports.  You will embed yourself into the customer teams and act as a resource to help them grow. This is a fast-paced environment, and you will wear multiple hats.  As these are existing accounts, the aim to is get our customers to renew their accounts across the different categories that we operate within. 

The goal is to retain our customers. 

Additionally, the role has an element of cold calling. You are required to call a different department within the same business, highlighting the reports WGSN currently provide and the benefits this will bring the new department of the same business, e.g., the fashion department may be using WGSN reports, you will call the marketing department making them aware of the various marketing reports WGSN can provide along with the benefits. You will work across a mixture of verticals – beauty, fashion, interior, lifestyle, food and drink, consumer tech. 

The team

We have a high performing sales team who are diverse and based all over the US. The team have worked incredibly hard over the past year to achieve outstanding results. They are true winners!  

You will be joining this integral team where support, learning and team spirit will allow you to settle comfortably into the role.

Key accountabilities

• Manage contract renewals, identify business opportunities, build key prospect relationships, negotiate and close business deals and maintain extensive knowledge of current market conditions

• Identify and close new opportunities from assigned book of accounts - drive all aspects and stages of the sale including qualifying the viability of potential sales, delivering winning presentations, contract negotiations, legal and procurement discussions and managing the sales process through to its close

• Meet/exceed monthly KPI's quotas on a consistent basis

• Research prospects to get an understanding of their business needs and how WGSN will address their objectives and deliver value

• Manage a 12–16-week sales cycle and follow a systematic approach to identify future opportunities, set expectations and plan for future resource needs

• Manage a high-volume book of growth accounts to ensure the customer is delighted with the WGSN service (and successfully executing the renewal of the client contracts); maintain renewal rates

• Deliver in-person presentations and assist in telling our story and pitching the WGSN value as it relates to each prospect in all industry markets including fashion, CPG, technology, hospitality, branding, and automotive sectors

This list is not exhaustive and there may be other activities you are required to deliver.

Skills, experience & qualifications required

• Strong sales and account management experience

• Experience within a KPI / target driven environment

• Demonstrated experience developing relationships with executives within Fortune 500 organizations in an Outside Sales B2B capacity in the US market and renewing a book of business

• A demonstrable track record of sales success (preferably selling subscription-based products)

• Proven ability to quickly gain entry to key pursuit accounts and articulate a proven value/ROI based sale

• Understanding of how to communicate a service offering through proposals, presentations, phone calls and case study development - excellent presentation and negotiation skills are a must

• Salesforce based CRM experience a plus

• Ability to manage Salesforce.com database, opportunity pipeline and lead cultivation, including holistic overview of all outstanding communications and prospect relationships

Ascential’s supporting beliefs

• Focus: we ruthlessly prioritise and always keep things simple

• All in: once we commit we deliver, with a clear focus on outcome

• Trustworthiness, transparency & openness: transparency inspires trust & empowers

• Be creative: we are smart, pro-active innovators

• Facts: we always use data & insight to inform our work

• Empathy: we can be relied upon for fairness and consideration

• No silos: one team, one face, one reputation

What we offer

Our benefits and wellbeing package offers flexible benefits you can tailor to your own personal needs, including:  

• Paid Time Off – 15 days of vacation per year with an additional day for each year of service up to 20 days.  Ascential also observes the 12 Federal holidays.  We also offer 6 weeks of paid Parental Leave.

• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan – allows employees to save and invest for their own retirement on a tax deferred basis.  Ascential
  matches 50% of the first 6% contributed by employees. 

• Medical, Dental and Vision plans with Aetna

• Life Insurance, AD&D, Short and Long-Term Disability - all eligible employees receive coverage at no cost

• Mental Health – Ascential provides many ways for employees to access mental health care including an Employee Assistance Program and inpatient, outpatient and virtual care if enrolled in an Aetna medical plan

• US Stock Purchase Plan – all eligible employees can save for a two-year period to buy Ascential shares at a 15% discount

More about WGSN

WGSN is the global authority on consumer trend forecasting.

We help brands around the world create the right products at the right time for tomorrow’s consumer.

Our culture

An inclusive culture is one of our key priorities. We want our people to truly be themselves and thrive. We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas, different strengths and perspectives & reflect the global audience we work with.

Why choose us?

At Ascential, diversity, equity and inclusion is core to us. We’re a company built around our people - and we’re committed to supporting each and every one of them to be the best they can be. We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas and different strengths and perspectives to Ascential. Our employee-led networks, Ascential Pride, Black in Business and EmPower: An Ascential Women's Initiative, help us to create a place where communities and allies can connect and share experiences. In addition, our Early Talent programmes help grow and foster diverse new talent for our sectors. 

We are committed to supporting the environment and sustainability, including ensuring our pension plan defaults to sustainable options and striving to be net zero by 2030.  

Recognising great performance is a key part of our culture. Our Awards schemes recognise and reward the brilliant achievements of our people. 

We have a truly flexible working environment with a wide range of flexible, hybrid and agile-working arrangements. Conversations about flexible working have always been - and will continue to be - actively encouraged here.

We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to perform their best when interviewing, so if you require any reasonable adjustments that would make you more comfortable during the process, please let us know so that we can do our best to support you.

If we inspire you, why not join and inspire us?  Find out more on what our People say