Description
Join Zendesk as a Strategic Account Director, Retail New Business, and create and close durable net-new business in large retail and consumer brands.
You'll build trusted relationships with executive buyers, connect their priorities to Zendesk's service and AI solutions, and guide complex opportunities from first conversation through close.
Responsibilities
- Build and manage qualified pipeline through targeted prospecting, inbound opportunities, partner relationships, and territory planning.
- Lead complex sales from discovery and qualification through business case, proposal, negotiation, and close.
- Connect customer goals and service challenges to a credible Zendesk platform and AI solution, with measurable outcomes.
- Build relationships across executive, business, technical, finance, security, and procurement teams.
- Own pursuit strategy, deal progression, and commercial decisions within approved guidelines.
- Bring together Solution Engineers, Product Specialists, Marketing, SDR/BDR teams, partners, and leaders to advance opportunities.
- Maintain accurate CRM records and forecasts, surface risks early, and keep buyers aligned on next steps.
- Document customer goals, commitments, and success conditions to support a smooth handoff and share market insights with internal teams.
Requirements
- Typically 12+ years of related experience, with demonstrated success in complex retail software sales.
- A record of owning new-business opportunities and delivering measurable commercial outcomes, such as quota attainment, new ARR, or equivalent growth results.
- Experience with prospecting, value-based discovery, executive engagement, and complex deal ownership.
- Ability to discuss AI, automation, and platform value credibly, and to involve specialists when deeper technical expertise is needed.
- Equivalent practical experience is welcome; no specific degree is required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Repeated success closing large, complex net-new enterprise deals.
- Experience creating demand and shaping account or market strategy for high-value prospects.
- Strength in ROI storytelling, competitive positioning, and guiding multi-stakeholder buying decisions.
- Experience partnering with channel or ecosystem partners and cross-functional sales teams.
- Familiarity with service operations, customer experience, or AI-enabled business transformation.
What Makes This Role Distinctive
You'll help enterprise customers turn service challenges into a clear case for change. The role combines disciplined new-business selling with the judgment to make an AI-powered future state credible to executive buyers.