NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER
🔍 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Background & Purpose of the Job
This exciting and challenging account manager role leads the company’s efforts to maintain and expand relationships and results within top priority growth accounts. Assigned to Costco, TJX, and other alternative channel accounts, this role is responsible for achieving sales and margin quota, in addition to assigned strategic account objectives. This role will represent a range of company brands, products, and services to assigned customers and will lead the customer account planning cycle, ensuring assigned customers’ needs and expectations are met by the company.
This role is based in Scarborough and is hybrid.
Who You Are & What You’ll Do
Account Management
• Direct sales for assigned account(s) as per annual objectives as stated by management.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support the maintenance and operational excellence of the accounts, delivering superior customer service.
• Implement company marketing and other strategies to deliver value to customers and find new avenues to growth.
• Provide timely feedback on key customer meetings and market/competitiveness to drive stronger internal decision-making.
• Lead partnership strategies and meetings with key customers.
• Lead vendor negotiations on contracts and promotional / product plans.
• Identify new business opportunities and develop comprehensive sales plans.
• Propose and manage new product rollouts and transitions.
• Monitor and provide feedback on competition and any relevant Sales and market data.
• Maintain a trusted partnership with the account through effective communication and timeline management.
P&L / Finance / Margin
• Monitor and take appropriate action to achieve the provided sales and margin targets for accounts.
• Take ownership of the account’s P&L and meet assigned expectations for profitability by actively reviewing and optimizing spend investments and product mix.
• Manage co-op, over and above funds, and rebates in compliance with external and internal process requirements.
Account-specific marketing activities
• Maintain a strong focus to work closely with the Marketing team in the development of specific products for assigned accounts as necessary and submit to management for approval.
• Maximize catalog and web exposure.
• Develop meaningful relationships with key customers to meet our mutual goals in line with overall strategies.
• Responsible for setting up and tracking account-specific promotional plans.
• Maintain up-to-date details of assigned account advertising/promotional events/calendars.
• Develop meaningful relationships to effectively collaborate and coordinate with all areas of business, marketing, communications, supply chain, customer service, and management.
Forecasting
• Ensure orders are in place to reflect production timelines.
• Work with the forecast team to review sales forecasts per item every month to reflect customer needs.
• Take ownership of yearly sales forecasts, split by month and by account.
• Take appropriate action to understand any deviation of sales forecast vs approved forecast.
Other
• Ensure new prospective accounts are fully qualified for respective brands and approved by management.
What You’ll Need to Succeed:
Minimum Experience Required
- Minimum of 5 years of account management experience working preferably with Costco and TJX.
Main Skills Required
- Proven strategic sales experience in a business-to-business sales environment, calling on national accounts.
Critical Skills for Success in This Role
- Drive and ambition to win and achieve results.
- Persistence when faced with internal and external adversity.
- Customer focus.
- Excellence in promotional planning and execution.
- Ownership and creative problem solving.
- Leadership and collaboration.
- Analytical thinking.
Required Business Acumen
- Extremely strong project management and cross-functional skills relating to account management.
- Ability to prioritize time and resources in an organized fashion.
- Ability to influence internally and externally using data and insights.
- Strong communication skills.
Additional Skills and Familiarity
- Familiarity with Costco, TJX is not necessary, but nice to have.
- Familiarity with Small Domestic Appliances, Cookware, or Kitchen products is not necessary, but nice to have.
- PC proficiency with agility to learn new tools and automated systems (MS Office, SAP, etc.).
- Minimal travel required.
As a National Account Manager, you will receive a competitive salary that recognizes your expertise and contribution to the team. In addition, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
- RRSP retirement plan with company contribution
- Paid time off and holidays
- Flexible hybrid work arrangements
- Continuing education opportunities
- Employee discounts on company products
- Wellness programs
- Casual dress code
- Positive work culture that values work-life balance
#LI-Hybrid