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Microsoft Industry Solutions helps Microsoft customers around the world get the best outcomes from their investments in the latest Microsoft cloud technologies. We focus on empowering customers on their digital journey, from envisioning new possibilities to delivering solutions that result in targeted business outcomes and a great customer experience.

Responsibilities

Strategy and Planning

• Leads the virtual Consulting account team's contributions to the account vision and strategic approach. Provides insights, ideas, and recommendations to address immediate and longer-term customer priorities and Microsoft objectives. Contributes to the overall One Microsoft strategy, driving for agreement with account team on Consulting and Partner strategy. Leverages appropriate tools, frameworks, and methodologies (e.g., 3 Horizons model, customer and industry knowledge) to develop a deliberate approach to position potential modernization and digital transformation outcomes which are aligned with customer's priorities.
• Leads the virtual Consulting account team account-planning preparation, defining Consulting sales priorities and collaborating with Consulting delivery/account-aligned leads to leverage insight and provide input to overall account plan. Proactively looks ahead and identifies actions required to develop Consulting opportunities that are aligned with the account strategy, Microsoft's strategy and Consulting go-to-market scenarios and sales motions. Leverages 3-Horizon outcomes as a point of view/roadmap for digital transformation. Leads Consulting input to account-team planning sessions, uses the appropriate tools (e.g., account- planning tool), and provides updates per required account-team governance and rhythms. Facilitates and leads planning sessions/workshops, ensuring appropriate participation of stakeholders across all Microsoft business segments. Understands revenue drivers for other (non-Consulting) Microsoft business segments and aligns plans appropriately (e.g., cloud-success metrics, revenue-recognition timelines, etc.).

Customer Relationship Management

• Drives for agreement with account team on customer and partner stakeholder ownership, including consulting-led stakeholder relationships. Builds and maintains connections with key influencers and decision makers, and leads effective consulting rhythms of connection with customer and partner stakeholders. Leverages the consulting the virtual Consulting account team appropriately. Builds and maintains relationships with appropriate networks of Microsoft decision makers and leaders, and successfully leverages them where needed for customer and partner success.
• Leverages insight from consulting account-delivery team to ensure awareness of status of projects in delivery. Plans regular consulting connections with customer to seek customer feedback and maintain proactive dialogue on overall consulting value provided, as well as relationship risks and issues. Anticipates issues/risks on customer satisfaction, determines the root cause of problems, removes blockers and establishes recovery action plan to improve customer's overall experience. Facilitates Chief Executive Officer connections between customer and Consulting to enable customers to provide feedback directly to Microsoft executives, and to develop customer/consulting executive relationships.

Business Value Selling

• Proactively builds and maintains up-to-date knowledge of customer's business priorities, risks and challenges, internal landscape (e.g., organization structure, stakeholders, business performance), industry/sector challenges, regulations, trends and futures (e.g., impact of artificial intelligence [AI]). Proactively connects with internal and external network of industry experts to build industry knowledge and connections. Shares knowledge with virtual team.
• Leverages Microsoft Consulting go-to-market scenarios to drive intentional customer conversations. Educates senior decision makers of assigned account(s) (e.g., director-level) on Microsoft's value proposition, aligned to the customer's priorities and maturity. Appropriately differentiating competitor solutions. Proactively identifies and engages other stakeholders who are key influencers of decision makers.
• Demonstrates a deep understanding of a customer's business and differentiates themselves in complex selling environments by sharing insights, reframing the status quo, and quantifying business impact that motivates customers to take action. Brings ideas that trigger transformational customer conversations. Develops complex consulting propositions (e.g., multiple workloads, modernization and digital transformation scenarios) with customers.

Account Team Orchestration

• Orchestrates the consulting-sales relationship with the core account team, working closely with Enterprise colleagues to ensure successful creation, maintenance, and execution of the account plan, and a positive One Microsoft customer experience. Orchestrates the virtual Consulting account team, effectively influencing and collaborating with account-aligned, pursuit and delivery colleagues to bring the best resources to ensure customer success. Coordinates activities across the virtual Consulting account team and with the customer to successfully close deals. Follows the Microsoft prescribed sales process. Leverages peers for support and help.

Deal Excellence

• Drives the sales cycle from lead qualification through to deal closure, effectively executing per-sales process requirements (e.g., Microsoft Selling Process [MSP], Consulting Lead to Order [L2O] process). Consistently drives deal velocity as a result of executing high-quality lead qualification and close planning. Once deal is signed and the Consulting engagement is in delivery, ensures updates provided on actual consumption via the core account team's Consumption review meetings.
• Leverages customer connections and the virtual Consulting account team's insight to confirm Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline (BANT) information to determine progression or lack thereof of a lead to become a consulting opportunity and throughout the Microsoft sales process. Leverages trusted customer stakeholder relationships to expand customer thinking. Probes and challenges customer appropriately to determine quality of customer's BANT. Secures pre-sales investment to secure appropriate consulting resources needed to shape and scope the opportunity into a compelling customer proposition. Focuses on opportunities that are in alignment with organizational strategy, prioritizing opportunities based on highest potential for impact/consumption.
• Gains active contribution from others in building close plans for all qualified opportunities, initially (at qualified stage) comprising the core Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline (BANT) information and commercial strategy for the deal, and progressing to include detailed customer procurement process, risks, issues, etc. Updates the close plan as deal progresses through each sales stage. Obtains consensus and participation from entire account team to the close plan. Executes, updates, and closes on customer-centric actions that achieve alignment between Microsoft and customers. Builds and shares plans with the customer. Secures Microsoft virtual Consulting account team and customer stakeholder buy in to schedule of activities for successful closure of the deal. Leads the consulting the virtual Consulting account team to execute the close plan, effectively influencing and collaborating with account-aligned, pursuit and delivery colleagues to perform agreed activities to successfully close the deal. Anticipates potential risks and blockers and takes proactive action to mitigate to maintain deal velocity (e.g., by providing a ""heads up"" to Microsoft and customer leadership on support required).
• Ensures all applicable leads and qualified opportunities are linked to customer priorities in the account plan. Maintains accurate Sales Stage, Forecast Recommendation (e.g., committed, committed at risk) and Due Dates in required systems of record (e.g., Microsoft Sales Experience [MSX]), in alignment with close plan. Consistently delivers on committed forecast recommendations. Coaches peers by providing guidance and tips on good practice for ensuring accuracy in deal commitment forecasting. Uses required tooling to report out the state of the business.
• Drives discussions of terms and conditions (e.g., scope, milestones, price) with executive-level customer stakeholders (e.g., CFO, CEO, elected officials, board level) for opportunities in collaboration with the virtual Consulting account team and customer through multiple iterations to ensure agreement. Maintains productive working relationships with those involved in negotiation, persuading others without using manipulation, and driving a positive atmosphere during difficult objections and discussions. Successfully leverages recognized techniques for handling difficult questions, overcoming objections, respectfully challenging, etc. Builds and executes negotiation activities into the close plan for the opportunity, based on guidance from broader team (e.g., legal and business desk).
• Brings experience, insights, and perspectives from customer engagement to Microsoft business to drive deeper customer engagement.