Business Development Manager (Automotive)

Our client is seeking a commercially driven Key Account Sales & Product Training Specialist to grow key customer accounts while supporting product adoption through effective user training.

This hybrid role combines B2B sales, account management, product demonstrations, and customer enablement. The successful candidate will manage the full sales cycle, build strong relationships with key stakeholders, and deliver structured training programmes that improve user competency, product utilisation, and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities

Sales and Key Account Management

• Manage the full sales cycle for assigned key accounts, from lead generation and needs discovery to proposal, negotiation, and closing.

• Develop and maintain a strong sales pipeline with accurate opportunity tracking and forecasting.

• Build relationships with decision-makers, influencers, user champions, and other key stakeholders.

• Conduct product demonstrations and value-based presentations tailored to customer requirements.

• Develop strategic account plans to identify growth opportunities, stakeholder priorities, and competitive activity.

• Drive new business, upselling, cross-selling, renewals, and account expansion.

• Understand customers operational challenges and recommend suitable products, services, and solutions.

• Work with Marketing on customer campaigns, exhibitions, webinars, roadshows, and other business development activities.

• Gather customer feedback and collaborate with internal teams on product improvements, market trends, and customer requirements.

Product Training and User Enablement

• Assess customer training requirements and identify knowledge or competency gaps across different user groups.

• Deliver onsite, virtual, and hybrid training sessions, including product onboarding, refresher courses, advanced programmes, and train-the-trainer workshops.

• Adapt training content to suit frontline users, supervisors, technical teams, and senior stakeholders.

• Develop and maintain training materials such as user guides, standard operating procedures, quick-reference guides, videos, checklists, and frequently asked questions.

• Provide product education relating to new features, product updates, workflow changes, and best practices.

• Measure training effectiveness through assessments, participant feedback, competency results, engagement levels, and product usage.

• Work closely with Customer Success, Technical Support, and Sales teams to ensure smooth onboarding and continued product adoption.

• Conduct follow-up sessions where required to address usage gaps or additional customer needs.

CRM and Reporting

• Maintain accurate and complete records of customer interactions, sales activities, opportunities, training sessions, and follow-up actions in the CRM system.

• Ensure leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities are updated according to company standards.

• Monitor pipeline progression and maintain accurate sales stages and forecasts.

• Record training attendance, competency assessments, customer feedback, and agreed follow-up actions.

• Use CRM data to identify sales opportunities, customer adoption gaps, usage trends, and potential retention risks.

• Prepare reports relating to sales performance, training outcomes, user adoption, account development, and forecast accuracy.

• Work with Sales Operations to improve CRM processes, data quality, and reporting practices.

• Ensure compliance with internal documentation standards, data privacy requirements, and company policies.

Key Performance Indicators

• Achievement of sales, revenue, and new business targets.

• Upselling, cross-selling, and account growth.

• Sales conversion rates, pipeline coverage, and forecast accuracy.

• Customer activation, adoption, usage, and training completion rates.

• Training effectiveness and competency improvement.

• Customer satisfaction and feedback scores.

• Renewal rates and customer retention.

• Accuracy and completeness of CRM records.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Education, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

• At least 5 years of experience in B2B sales, key account management, customer success, or a related commercial role.

• Proven track record of achieving or exceeding sales targets.

• Experience delivering customer training, product demonstrations, technical education, or user enablement programmes is preferred.

• Strong presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.

• Comfortable engaging with senior decision-makers, technical stakeholders, and frontline users.

• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to identify customer needs and recommend suitable solutions.

• Proficient in CRM platforms such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar systems.

• Proficient in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or other productivity tools.

• Strong organisational, analytical, communication, and time-management skills.

• Able to work independently and manage multiple customer accounts and training schedules.

Preferred Experience

• Experience within the power tools, industrial equipment, engineering, construction, or technical products sector.

• Experience using learning management systems or e-learning content development tools.

• Train-the-Trainer, adult learning, or instructional design certification.

• Familiarity with structured sales methodologies such as MEDDICC, Challenger, or SPICED.

• Additional language capabilities relevant to the regional customer base.

Working Conditions

• Frequent local and regional travel of up to 70%, depending on customer and business requirements.

• Flexibility to support customer meetings, demonstrations, and training sessions outside standard office hours when necessary.

• Working arrangement may include onsite, hybrid, or remote work, depending on operational requirements.