To meet the basic qualification for this role, you will have legal authorization to work permanently in the United States for any employer without requiring a visa transfer or visa sponsorship. In addition, to be a good fit for the Client Development Manager opportunity, you will have:

• Experience prospecting or working with long term accounts in outside sales
• A track record of success in establishing consultative relationships, quoting, negotiating, and closing
• Good understanding of general business and account management operations normally gained through the completion of a four-year business or marketing degree and four or more years of experience in a sales or marketing environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• A solution-driven mindset, high creativity and strong problem-solving skills. You should be able to analyze factors, develop effective sales strategy, anticipate and exceed client need, and close sales
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Internet and contact management software Quick question for you - click here

If you have exceptional relationship-building skills as well as the entrepreneurial drive and persistence to move the needle, this position offers you some compelling opportunities. You will:

• Partner with major-name food & beverage industry customers to understand their needs, recommend solutions, and coordinate internally to deliver exceptional products and services Quick question for you - click here
• Represent a high-profile brand that is respected in the walk-in delivery van industry
• Enjoy the support of a Customer Application Engineer who has strong industry experience and a creative approach
• Showcase your potential to take on additional responsibilities and advance; in fact, this position is open because the incumbent was promoted
• Join at an exciting time -- at Utilimaster and across The Shyft Group we are pursuing aggressive growth strategies, creating opportunities for strong performers

Utilimaster moves ahead of the competition when commercial trucks and upfit services require precision, planning, peerless people, and the perfect vehicle. Our vehicles deliver for well-respected global brands in the package delivery, ecommerce, food and beverage, linen and laundry, grocery and pharmaceutical markets. Utilimaster is a top-tier go-to-market brand of The Shyft Group (NASDAQ: SHYF), North America's leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets. The Shyft Group rebranded in 2020 to reflect a new focus on high-growth end markets to help ensure long-term profitable growth.

Pictured: Utilimaster's Velocity F-Series offers big-truck interior space without requiring a commercial driver's license -- thus expanding the pool of potential drivers for fleet operators. You will see these vehicles on the road and be able to tell friends and family, "I'm part of the team that builds those."

Reporting to the Director, National Account Sales, you will join a team that includes seven other Client Development Managers, each supporting an industry sector. You will be responsible for achieving best-in-class client retention (growth & profitability). In addition, we'll look to you to build and maintain executive-level relationships and strengthen account partnerships by promoting and supporting the Utilimaster value proposition with a consultative sales approach.

Your most important responsibilities will include:

• Growing sales by developing relationships, learning about the customer applications, anticipating the needs of the client, and recommending product options/best practices
• Clearly understanding and articulating the value proposition, concentrating on value-added selling; developing an in-depth understanding of each client and clearly defining their fleet goals and business objectives
• Successfully executing Utilimaster consultative-sales approach that ensuring alignment with client’s business goals and objectives; developing and maintaining an effective ongoing working knowledge of the company’s and client’s systems and processes
• Working with the client and other internal departments to identify and develop effective client management strategy; researching the industry by reviewing industry publications, attending trade shows, etc. in order to identify trends and/or new products; and providing accurate information and consultation to clients

Professional development
The Shyft Group and Utilimaster are committed to the professional development of our team. You will work with seasoned mentors and leaders and continue to advance your skills as you take on a wide variety of projects. You won't be siloed and can pursue advancement opportunities in Bristol or at other Utilimaster plants. You'll also have ample opportunity to demonstrate your talent and be recognized for your contributions.

Stability and growth
The Shyft Group is financially sound and will continue to be an aggressive market disrupter through strategic acquisitions, relevant product innovations, and aggressive growth models that serve strong and growing end markets. Be assured, our accelerated growth trajectory will create opportunities for strong performers.

Focused transformation
Utilimaster, alongside The Shyft Group's family of well-respected brands, continues to lead in every segment in which they compete. The Shyft name represents speed, efficiency, agility, and a high-intensity approach, which corresponds with the company's pivot in market focus and the forward momentum garnered in the work truck, specialty service, and delivery vehicle markets.

Driven to deliver
Ever evolving and advancing, The Shyft Group is driven to make an impactful difference in how effectively goods, people, and services are delivered in today's and tomorrow's marketplace. Through our unmatched industry knowledge, engineering expertise, and manufacturing reach, we continue to deliver job-enhancing, efficiency-driving, ever-reliable products and services made for the road ahead.

Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary, we offer medical, dental, vision, and prescription insurance plans; a health savings account; a flexible savings account; wellness credits; a wellness program; a 401(k) plan with a corporate match; an employee stock purchase program and more.

More about the requirements
In addition to the qualifications listed under The Requirements tab, we're looking for a professional who has the following competencies and characteristics:

• A high level of determination, initiative, perseverance and resiliency, with the ability to maintain a "can do" attitude in the face of client rejection
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to establish priorities, meet objectives and deadlines, and handle multiple tasks while maintaining a calm disposition in pressured situations
• Solid communication, presentation and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate the value and benefit of our products
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• The ability to achieve goals independently and also contribute as a team player

You also will need to be willing and able to travel (once it is safe to do so) around the US about 25% of the time. Travel will be on an as-needed basis, so some months you may not travel at all, while in other months you may be on the road two of four weeks. Our preference is that you are based in Bristol, Indiana, but we also will consider candidates in other locations, as long as you are near an airport.

More about the role
In addition to the responsibilities under The Role tab, you will:

• Prepare projections for assigned accounts and use the projections to proactively manage client relationships and achieve targeted goals/objectives
• Identify decision maker(s) and others who can influence the decision-making, and establish and maintain relationships with these individuals
• Act as the voice of the client advocate to develop data relative to marketing trends, competitive products and pricing; submit marketing intelligence to sales management
• Collaborate across all functional groups (engineering, operations, sourcing, etc.) to provide best-in-class consulting and service to clients
• Conduct and be responsible for conference calls, client visits, and resulting action items
• Anticipate and take appropriate action to avoid issues, and aid in the resolution of complex problems or issues; conduct a review of issues to proactively identify trends that may adversely impact client’s satisfaction
• Document any sales related activity in CRM Software (forthcoming)
• Interface with internal partners/departments to resolve any client issue
• Effectively manage the quote process and present quotes to existing clients for renewals/rebuys and additional products and/or services
• Conduct pilot reviews to further endear clients to UTM product, process and people
• Participate in sales order to transition meetings, representing sales and engineering regarding engineering dates for scheduling of vehicle

More about your success
Our most successful Client Development Managers are able to strike the right balance between building relationships and being aggressive. For example, they do the groundwork and make the presentation, but they don't wait for the client to call back. Instead, they practice proactive follow-up habits. They leverage their relationships to get leads on additional business, and they're persistent in getting to the decision-makers.

Our selling approach is vocationally driven. As you work with customers in food & beverage, you'll partner with an Application Engineer who often will accompany you on calls. The AEs know the value of listening and learning, and it's an approach you also should take. The AE also has strong experience and great ideas, and will help you offer solid, practical and value-add solutions.

We rarely try to win business by offering the lowest cost. Instead, you should be comfortable selling overall value, including the best solution, supply chain coordination, and exceptional customer service. To ensure we deliver on those expectations, you'll need to assume the mantle of customer advocate, coordinating among internal and external partners.