National Account Manager - Wanzl North America

Position Overview 

The National Account Manager is responsible for all facets of sales and marketing between the Company and assigned existing and new target customers, as well as geographically focused new business development. The NAM will aggressively pursue new product opportunities within existing accounts as well as be charged with new account acquisition.  The NAM will be provided a list of target accounts but should not limit themselves to only those on the list but continuously build their pipeline with new account opportunities.   

The NAM must understand the specific needs of the customer and provide solutions according to, and including, uncovering, and prioritizing customer requirements, competitive information and working closely with product management, sales, and operations to ensure revenue and customer satisfaction goals are met while ensuring support of the company’s overall strategy and goals.  

An inside-sales team will support the NAM’s charge primarily with Shopping Carts enabling the NAM to pursue new opportunities for growth of WNA’s Access Systems, Shelving and Fixtures, Material Handling product categories, and Service.  

Company and Opportunity Overview 

Wanzl North America’s (WNA) vision is to be a leading entrepreneurial player in terms of market share, agility, and game-changing solutions.  WNA is a solution provider, creating value along the supply chain of our customers, from the online purchase to the delivery to their customers.   

WNA, which includes the Technibilt and Cari-All brands, headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.  With nearly 500 employees and 175 MUSD of sales, WNA focuses on the retail and distribution market segments with marquee customers such as Walmart, Amazon, and the majority of large grocers and retailers. 

In addition to being the largest manufacturer of shopping carts in North America, WNA has three (3) additional main product segments as well as a Service business, providing turnkey solutions for customer guidance (Access Systems) and Shelving & Fixtures, as well as Material Handling/Rolling Stock products. Additionally, WNA is active in building a “digital” business line with products for shopping cart containment, smart exit gate technology, and solutions for autonomous and/or semi-autonomous retail stores.  

WNA is part of the Wanzl group, headquartered in Germany, and has 12 plants in 8 countries, providing comprehensive, solutions-driven service and expert knowledge of local markets for customers across the globe through their 360° service. 

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Proactively pursue new business opportunities with current customers as well as drive new account acquisition. 

• Find and develop new customer opportunities and drive them to closure. 

• Devote 80% of sales effort to growing WNA’s Access Systems, Shelving and Fixtures, Material Handling product categories, and Service.  

• Build strong business relationships with prospective customers and manage the sales cycle by continually addressing their current, and anticipating future, business needs. 

• Prepare and confidently present sales proposals, including pricing and product/service terms, to key decision makers. Influence, negotiate and close the sale with the best interest of the company and the customer in mind. 

• Collaborate with and engage the operations team and product management to ensure the needs of the customer are attainable. 

• Communicate regularly and prepare reports on key performance indicators and communication on sales progress within the sales cycle and achievements.  

• Intimately know the customer base and area activity and utilize information and data to capitalize on sales opportunities and recommend sales strategies. 

• Diligently update CRM reflecting new opportunities and progress toward closure. 

• Resolve any issues as they arise and involve subject matter experts and key decision makers as needed to remove obstacles. 

• Provides overall account maintenance and customer service to ensure customer needs are met. 

• In collaboration with Director of Sales, indirectly lead the Inside-Sales Team dedicated for the assigned market to meet your targets. 

• In collaboration with the Customer Service Manager, indirectly lead the Customer Service Representatives dedicated for the assigned market. 

• Promote and represent Wanzl North America positively and professionally within the community and industry to all customers, competitors, and industry associates. 

• Help develop and execute the Sales market growth strategy. 

• Participate and provide meaningful input into the annual budgeting process. 

Skills and Experience: 

• Minimum 4-year BA/BS Degree is desired. 

• Minimum of 5 years’ Retail/Grocery/Convenience Store industry knowledge experience is required. Retail/Grocery/Convenience Store B2B sales experience in fixtures, technology, and/or services are a plus. 

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in outside sales role; proven field experience with frequent customer contact via email, phone and in-person is required. 

• Strong interpersonal/communication skills; negotiation and conflict resolution 

• Effectively work independently under minimal supervision.  

• Ability to rely on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish tasks and goals. 

• Effective planning/organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to multi-task and set priorities. 

• Strong experience growing revenue and growing revenue via new sources within existing accounts a plus. 

• Comfortable using a variety of technology tools to streamline sales processes and manage time efficiently. Skilled in using time management and productivity apps to organize tasks, set reminders, and prioritize work. 

• Flexible and proactive with ability to manage changing priorities in pressure situations. 

• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office products, especially Excel and PowerPoint.  

• Extensive experience achieving success utilizing a CRM and Pipeline Management system is required. Familiarity with data analysis software to evaluate sales trends, customer behavior, and market conditions is a plus. 

• Adaptive learner, ability to learn an ERP system (navigate, review/extract data, various data input). 

• Skilled in negotiating terms and conditions with clients to close sales while maintaining profitability. 

• Travel up to but not confined to 50% 

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