Sales Account Executive - North/East India

Overview

This is an incredible chance to be part of a company that has been at the front of AI and high-performance data storage innovation for over two decades. DataDirect Networks (DDN) is a global market leader known for powering many of the world's most demanding AI data centers in industries like life sciences, healthcare, financial services, autonomous cars, Government, academia, research, and manufacturing.

DDN is the global leader in AI and multi-cloud data management at scale. Our advanced data intelligence platform is made to speed up AI workloads, letting organizations get the most value from their data. With a proven record of performance, reliability, and scalability, DDN helps businesses handle the hardest AI and data-intensive workloads with confidence.

Our success comes from our strong commitment to innovation, focusing on the customer, and a team of dedicated professionals who bring their expertise to every project. This is a chance to make a big difference at a company that is shaping the future of AI and data management.

Our commitment to innovation, customer success, and market leadership makes this an exciting and rewarding role for a driven professional looking to make a lasting difference in the world of AI and data storage.

Job Description

We are currently looking for a Sales Account Executive, HPC & AI, to work in North and East India. This position is field-based and involves travel approximately 30% to 40% of the time.

Job Summary

The Sales Account Executive will work on developing strategic HPC & AI, Government, Public Sector Enterprises, Defense, and Life Sciences accounts in a given geographic territory. The Account Executive must be in front of the end user, even if not selling directly, to build the relationship and share the DDN story. This job involves managing a territory and growing business through your own experience, including previously set up relationships. A successful applicant must have strong industry contacts and a demonstrated success in personally closing business in the HPC & AI and public sector space. Success involves a long and complex sales cycle, and the majority of sales go through channel partners, so strong contacts with related channels are necessary.

This person will be responsible for looking after North India.

Responsibilities

• Drive new business through strong partner and customer contacts and industry knowledge in key HPC & AI and Enterprise accounts.
• Create and maintain a customer pipeline, hitting revenue goals and growing the territory.
• Meet committed sales numbers on a quarterly basis.
• Build relationships with Channel and OEM partners to grow brand presence to end users.
• Establish executive-level relationships, understanding the needs and language of the customer’s specific business.
• Lead and coordinate complex, team selling efforts with internal and external partners.
• Develop and maintain a strong partnership with all DDN staff, especially with Sales Engineers and technical support staff.
• Develop a strong understanding of the customers’ technology structure, strategy, and business needs.
• Work with internal staff to create successful Proposals and Presentations in response to RFPs and other customer needs.
• Drive a territory strategy that matches the DDN brand strategy.
• Accurately forecast sales figures and projections.
• Have regular communication with DDN Sales Leadership, including sales reports.
• Manage accurate data and record keeping in SalesForce.com to increase customer satisfaction and brand reach.
• Attend trade shows and other activities to raise DDN’s presence in the industry.
• Successfully negotiate with internal and external partners and end-user customers.
• Manage customer relationships after the sale, including a plan to get repeat business.

Qualifications for this role are

• Must have a minimum of 10 years of experience selling HPC & AI systems, storage, with strong technical expertise, including deep industry knowledge and contacts.
• A successful Sales Account Executive will be expected to drive business through their own experience, including previously set up relationships.
• Must consistently be in the top 25% of the sales force in quota achievement.
• Must have experience negotiating large deals and be important in closing business.
• BA or BS in a related field is required.

Preferred Qualifications (Nice to Have)

• A demonstrated knowledge of DDN SAN/NAS appliance product lines is desired.

Critical Success Skills

• Develops Sales Leads: Shows the initiative to find sales opportunities. Actively attracts the interest of potential customers. Networks to increase contacts. Stays on top of market conditions to find new leads. Consistently follows up with leads to check their interest in the product or service. Creates and maintains a strong network in the industry. Uses relationships for introductions to key decision-makers. Has regular face-to-face meetings with partners and customers and consistently makes proactive sales calls.
• Qualifies prospects with standard probes: Uses a formula or series of questions to figure out if the prospect fits the product. Expects to sell to the majority of prospects since they are known to need the seller’s products. Reacts quickly and objectively to the answers to standard probes by disqualifying the prospect or moving forward in the selling process. Asks questions of customers and partners to find needs. Uses knowledge of industry to find potential targets for business. Uses network to find new business. Consistently digs to find chances to sell more to existing customers.
• Makes Persuasive Presentations: Gets the customer excited with an enthusiastic presentation style. Shows value and actively promotes products and services by making an emotional appeal. Holds the customer’s attention and interest by keeping the presentation content relevant. Changes style to build toward a buying decision. Responds effectively to RFPs with impact and success. Partners with SEs to create strong presentations. Clearly explains DDN’s selling points verbally and in writing. Gets the customer to agree to case studies and success stories to tell future clients.
• Commits Time and Effort to Ensure Success: Enjoys working. Tends to get better results in direct proportion to the time they are willing to commit to their work. Stays focused on the goal and is not easily discouraged or distracted. Uses work as a chance for interaction and includes personal contacts in task completion and sees work as a major source of personal satisfaction. Constantly invests in and manages their professional network. Driven toward success and doing what is needed to win. Constantly tries to understand the industry and the direction it is moving. Gets accurate feedback and takes the right action.
• Maximizes results by partnering as a customer advocate: Consistently gets better-than-average sales results by understanding the customer’s business, feeling what their problems are, and setting a plan to meet their needs. Tirelessly focuses on building strong relationships with customers by acting on their behalf to work the seller’s internal systems to meet their needs. Sees partnering with customers as the effective way to reach personal sales career goals. Asks questions to find customer needs and tries to find solutions for customer problems. Effectively works with channel partners to understand their needs and requirements.
• Adapts approach to Different Buyer Motivations: Gathers necessary information to figure out the benefits customers need to be sold. Is willing to adjust the sales approach to fit different buyer motivations. Influences or persuades others by figuring out how the other individual can benefit, and then communicates those advantages. Tries to understand the different motivations of partners and end-users and finds the real business case of each customer to clear the path for the sale. Tries to understand the state of the industry (including competition) and trends that customers face. Changes sales style to match the decision-maker of each deal.

DDN DataDirect Networks, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will get consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, sex stereotyping, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Category

Sales & Business Development