ABBOTT LABORATORIES Account Manager - Retail Sales - Cincinnati, OH Salary in the United States

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 103,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Best in Class Selling

• Achieve territory and national volume sales quotas within established trade funding parameters.
• Develop and implement short and long-term strategic and tactical business plans by business unit and category.
• Identify and actively pursue all new business opportunities within an assigned territory.
• Monitor sales results vs. plan throughout the year, making adjustments when appropriate.
• Create and Deliver joint, strategic and tactical initiatives aligned with Business Unit direction and customer priorities.
• Utilize the brand provided item level hierarchy to ensure optimal distribution mix.
• Utilize syndicated data, customer sales data and category management studies to provide fact based analysis and deliver short and long-term business building initiatives.
• Conduct on-going internal and external account business reviews to measure, evaluate and present sales performance; and provide annually on future growth opportunities.
• Work with customer and internal teams on account financial management with solid understanding of gross and promo margin management, trade spend efficiency, and overall customer funding management.

Marketing Support

• Work in coordination with Shopper and Trade Marketing to develop and execute account-specific promotional plans that increase: (1) awareness, (2) trial, (3) consumption, (4) retention, (5) brand equity, and (6) ROI.
• Manage Trade Spending: (1) Monitor customer promotional events and funds. (2) Process deductions on a timely basis. (3) Include proper event documentation.
• Effectively invests resources to drive profitable results for the company and the customer in a responsible manner.

Customer Management

• Develop and leverage a thorough knowledge of the customer, the industry and the competitive landscape.
• Penetrate the account beyond the category manager and buyer to better understand and align strategy and long-term vision.
• Work to: (1) improve deduction resolution and supply side efficiencies, (2) gain contacts and implement approved promotional plans, (3) increase sales orders, and (4) enforce display compliance.
• Work with Retail Operations, Store Operations and/or Retail Broker partner to create retail priorities that align with business goals and objectives.  Continuously monitor proper retail implementation and general shelving conditions.
• Participate in any customer share groups to increase understanding of broader account environment and identify Abbott opportunities, where available.  

• Leverage Abbott Category Management team to function as the preferred Category Partner (leader) through expertise in Category Management, strategic marketing initiatives, and consumer/shopper insights.
• Manage account/brand level forecasts. Communicate forecast rationale including consumption trends, inventory positions, promotional volume, new item pipeline, discontinuations, etc. Proactively call out material variances to forecasts.
• Coordinate and development all sales presentations.
• Use Abbott and the customer’s best promotional venues to drive sales and effectively utilizes analytic tools available to drive decision making.
• Measure achievement based on goals assigned by a territory or brand.

Communication and Administration

• Represent Abbott as the primary point of contact for assigned accounts.
• Interact internally and externally through cross-functional relationships on account opportunities.
• Communicate pertinent information about customers to the management team and team members. Possible information includes competitive intelligence, pricing, assortment, marketing activities and merchandising opportunities/risks, forecast changes and supply issues. 
• Complete all administrative duties in an accurate and timely manner.

Experience

• 4+ years industry experience with progressive role responsibility

Scope of work

• Accounts managed are strategic, analytically sophisticated and regional in scope.