Account Executive (Public Sales)

Job Description

Manages a defined set of accounts serving as the primary influencer in purchasing decisions. Builds and sustains strong, long-term relationships with customers. Collaborates with customers to understand their business goals, identify opportunities for upsell/cross-sell additional solutions, and create demand based on what's possible in customer roadmaps. Serves as the Account Orchestrator, aligning and integrating solutions with customer needs, driving sustainable cross-portfolio growth through coordination and competitive deal packing. Typically serves multiple domains or product areas across a portfolio or set of accounts. Maintains a comprehensive understanding of Cisco’s full product portfolio to articulate Cisco's overall product strategy and how it is differentiated in the market in response to customer outcomes. Has a deep focus on core secure networking technologies including switching, wireless, and routing. Engages Portfolio Solution Engineers to enhance the sales process. Engages specialist teams, particularly in non-core secure networking areas, where deep competitive positioning and technical expertise is required. Builds the sales funnel through good opportunity prospecting and drives opportunities through to sales completion to achieve revenue goals. Ensures funnel is accurately represented in Cisco's CRM tools. Analyses data and creates forecasts to set weekly, monthly, and quarterly sales commitments. Stays informed about industry trends, market dynamics, and competitive landscapes

What to Expect

• Specialization and Focus - Generalist, with knowledge of the full product portfolio but with expertise in the core secure networking portfolio including switching, wireless, routing and firewall. Additional dependencies on size and complexity of account, particular franchise focus (architectural, product or opportunity aligned ) may be relevant
• Customer Engagement and Accountability - Primary influencer and account owner, except if the customer relationship is held by a CE/CD.
  The Internal Sales Process - All deal stages. Spends most of the time between prospect/qualification and proposal of the deal
• Corporate Interlock - Low corporate interlock (High in SP, Moderate in Enterprise, Low in Commercial)
• Typical Sales Cycle - Medium Sales complexity. Average length of deal is 3-6 months but can be as long as 12-18 months in more complex accounts/opportunities. Variable deal size, can be between $50K to $750K (over $1M for SP)
• Success Measures - Sustained portfolio growth, account growth, account retention
  

What You'll Do

• Leads complex deal cycles with substantial business contributions. Typically prospects new deals and develops portfolio within accounts:
• With significant territory size, and customers in high segmentation tiers (e.g., Key and Premier Accounts)
• Primarily with C-suite executives including senior level management and decision makers
• Integrates multiple dynamic inputs (e.g., customer feedback, product dependencies, product performance) to maintain thorough knowledge of current customers and prospects
• Identifies customer(s) key decision makers and leverages an understanding of their unique perspectives, and priorities
• Regularly utilizes and leverages market trends and competitive insights to develop and deliver compelling demos and other customer-facing materials
• Elevates customer conversations with value-added insights, competitive analysis, and transformative solutions that drive measurable outcomes
• Acts as a strategic advisor to executive-level, high-value leaders (IT and CXOs) influencing key business decisions
• Negotiates utilizing a consultative approach, customizing terms, and effectively addressing customer objections, and secures commitment to next steps in every interaction
• Designs and presents a customer-first strategy, ensures account plans are informed by and aligned with portfolio plans
• Leads the account planning process and strategically engages partners/key stakeholders and drives expansion strategies
• Analyzes CRM data, sales performance reports, and workflow trends and co-creates enhancement plans
• Partners with RevOps, finance, procurement and IT teams to implement enhancement plans, refine sales workflows and reduce bottlenecks
• Champions cross-architecture collaboration to solve complex customer challenges

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors + 7 years of related experience, or
• Masters + 4 years of related experience, or
• PhD + 1 year of related experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to position end-to-end Cisco strategies and solutions to senior customer executives.
• Delivery of business value to both End Users and Partners.
• Strong technical and business knowledge with complimentary skills to understand the customers’ business drivers and then align them to Cisco solutions.
• Ambitious self-starter with ability to articulate Cisco product and business strategies and generate the demand to complete the deal.
• Passion, integrity, trust, leadership and execution.
  

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. 

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.