Account Executive

About this role

In compliance with applicable pay transparency requirements, the application window for this position is expected to close on October 16 , subject to change based on business need.

A Day in the Life and the Impact You’ll Make

The Account Executive is a developmental enterprise sales role designed to increase senior seller capacity, improve sales execution, support strategic growth opportunities, and develop future Business Development talent.

The role combines approximately 50% sales execution and opportunity-management support with 50% direct selling, prospecting, learning, and account-development activity. It is intentionally structured as a growth role and should not function as a purely administrative position.

The Account Executive will support senior Business Development leaders while developing an assigned portfolio of growth prospects and contributing to DEKRA’s purpose of improving safety, security, and sustainability outcomes for clients.

What You’ll Do

Support Strategic Business Development Efforts

• Partner with senior Business Development leaders on strategic account plans, executive engagement strategies, pursuit planning, and opportunity advancement.

• Participate in selected client meetings, discovery sessions, proposal reviews, account-planning discussions, and pursuit strategy sessions.

• Conduct account, prospect, market, competitive, and industry research to support growth strategies and customer engagement plans.

• Identify potential cross-sell and expansion opportunities across DEKRA service offerings.

• Support meeting preparation, executive engagement activities, and timely customer follow-up.

Lead Practical AI Adoption in Sales

• Help lead the practical adoption of AI across the sales process, including prospect research, meeting preparation, outreach, CRM management, proposal development, and productivity improvement.

• Use approved AI tools, such as Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT, to improve the quality, speed, and consistency of sales execution while applying sound judgment, protecting confidential information, and following company policies.

• Share effective AI-enabled selling practices, reusable approaches, and lessons learned to help advance responsible adoption across the Business Development team.

Drive Opportunity Management and Sales Execution

• Own opportunity tracking, next-action management, and sales-process coordination for assigned pursuits.

• Coordinate proposal schedules, contributor assignments, reviews, approvals, and submission activities using approved DEKRA processes and templates.

• Ensure supported opportunities have documented next steps, timelines, decision criteria, and clear ownership.

• Maintain complete and current account, contact, activity, opportunity, pipeline, and forecast information in Salesforce throughout the sales cycle.

• Prepare pipeline reports, forecast updates, sales analytics, and account-review materials.

• Coordinate internal pursuit teams, subject matter experts, operations leaders, legal, and proposal resources throughout the sales cycle.

Build Pipeline and Develop New Business

• Develop and manage an assigned portfolio of growth accounts and prospective clients.

• Create prospecting and account-development plans that generate qualified pipeline and new-logo opportunities.

• Use targeted outreach, referrals, industry networks, associations, conferences, digital channels, and demand-generation programs to engage prospective clients.

• Conduct consultative discovery conversations to understand business priorities, operational risks, safety challenges, and buying processes.

• Build credible relationships with operational, EHS, engineering, reliability, human resources, learning, and business leaders.

Sell Consultatively and Collaborate Across DEKRA

• Develop a working knowledge of DEKRA’s consulting, training, process safety, operational excellence, leadership, and risk-reduction capabilities.

• Partner with practice leaders and subject matter experts to shape stand-alone and integrated solutions around client needs.

• Participate in client presentations, pricing discussions, negotiations, and contracting activities with guidance from senior Business Development leaders and DEKRA’s Legal and operational teams.

• Coordinate with Global Sales Service and Global Account Managers when account assignments overlap.

Develop as an Enterprise Seller

• Participate in a structured mentoring relationship with assigned senior Business Development leaders and executive sales leadership.

• Join selected client meetings, pursuit reviews, and account-planning sessions with experienced sellers and subject matter experts.

• Build proficiency in consultative selling, opportunity qualification, account strategy, proposal development, commercial judgment, negotiations, and relationship management.

• Take on progressively more complex and independently managed opportunities as capability, results, and market knowledge develop.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, safety, organizational development, environmental health and safety, or a related field preferred.

• Three to seven years of progressive experience in B2B sales, account management, business development, consulting, training, industrial services, safety services, or another complex-services environment.

• Demonstrated ability to prospect, open new relationships, understand customer needs, and communicate business value.

• Experience supporting complex sales cycles, proposals, account planning, or opportunity management is preferred.

• Experience with industrial, manufacturing, energy, transportation, chemical, life sciences, consumer products, or related markets is beneficial.

• Experience using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT in a professional or sales environment is preferred. At minimum, candidates should demonstrate the learning agility and initiative to quickly become a power user and help…