Senior Commercial Account Executive

Account Executive

Join us at Zendesk, where we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. We're accelerating our ambition by building products rooted in the belief that behind every interaction is an opportunity to make a human connection, increasingly powered by cutting-edge AI.

In pursuit of this vision, we are seeking a dedicated Account Executive with a proven track record in B2B sales and a passion for driving growth in the SaaS landscape. You will play a vital role in growing our Commercial account base and owning the full sales lifecycle. Your focus will be on building relationships and introducing innovative solutions—especially those leveraging Generative AI—to new customers, in addition to growing our existing partnerships by continuing to expand our offerings and deepen Zendesk's impact by aligning to our customers' goals.

What You'll Be Doing

• Drive top-line revenue growth by acquiring new commercial customers and developing innovative strategies for account expansion.
• Own the entire sales cycle, from strategic new business prospecting through sophisticated negotiation and expertise closing.
• Manage and nurture customer relationships ensuring maximum satisfaction and retention, and promoting long-term strategic partnerships.
• Act as a strategic advisor to C-Suite and VP executives, articulating the vision and transformative value of Zendesk's AI-powered platform and its impact on their business objectives (e.g., customer experience, operational efficiency, cost savings).
• Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to cross sell additional products and services to existing customers to optimize account revenue and profitability.
• Leverage data insights, customer intents, and adoption history to effectively prospect new clients and enhance retention strategies, leading to improved conversion rates in new business pipeline and increased retention and expansion of existing clients.
• Lead complex and competitive sales cycles utilizing your strong communication skills and value selling to articulate compelling business cases.
• Consistently develop a robust pipeline of qualified new business opportunities and maintain an accurate forecast to exceed quarterly and annual revenue goals.
• Establish and maintain executive sponsorship, leveraging your industry expertise to build relationships with decision-makers and champions.
• Collaborate with internal teams to enhance sales strategies and streamline sales execution.
• Exceed revenue goals on a quarterly and annual basis leveraging weekly and monthly KPIs.

What You Bring To The Role

• BA/BS degree or equivalent experience required.
• At least 4 years of B2B sales or solution engineering experience, preferably in the SaaS industry with a proven record of exceeding sales targets.
• Demonstrable expertise in end-to-end deal management, from lead generation and qualification to technical evaluation and contracting.
• Experience selling in the UK/Irish market.
• Expertise in navigating complex sales cycles and renewals, including multi-month, value-centric processes with proof of concept stages.
• Proven ability to engage, present to, and influence C-level (CEO, COO, CIO) and VP-level executives, translating complex product capabilities into clear business outcomes.
• Strong foundational understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) principles, with the confidence to discuss strategic AI roadmaps and Generative AI applications with executive stakeholders.
• Experience in managing and expanding customer relationships at various levels.
• Exceptional presentation, negotiation, and deal closing skills, with a proven ability to leverage industry and product knowledge to drive final commitment.
• An entrepreneurial spirit, strong collaboration skills, and a drive for continuous professional growth.
• Strong knowledge of industry trends and the ability to build relationships with key decision makers.
• Experience creating and leveraging territory and account plans.
• Familiarity with key Sales tools such as Salesforce, Clari Groove and Gong.
• Ability to travel as necessary.