WHAT DOES A KEY ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DO?

Published: Jan 05, 2026 - The Key Account Executive is responsible for driving sales growth by managing existing B2C accounts and actively sourcing new business opportunities. This role involves handling sales inquiries, conducting product briefings, negotiating technical aspects with clients, and ensuring customer needs are met with tailored sales strategies. The executive also prepares regular forecasts and reports, arranges site visits, and works independently to achieve monthly account openings and sales targets.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Key Account Executive

1. Key Account Executive Overview

  • Sales Targeting: Achieve volume and customer contribution targets for the assigned customers and local retail chains associations.
  • Customer Analysis: Analyze customers (sales performance, product portfolio, pricing, activities) and develop a customer business plan in line with the business planning process.
  • In-Store Execution: Monitor in-store execution (store check, feedback).
  • Activity Evaluation: Perform pre and post-evaluation on all assigned customer activities.
  • Credit Management: Follow up on the assigned customers' outstanding debts and claims.
  • Quality Control: Accountable for monitoring bad goods.
  • Cross-Functional Planning: Plan, execute and evaluate all customer development activities in cooperation with Marketing, Trade Marketing and Field Sales.
  • Key Account Management: Implement all customer development activities with the assigned key accounts.
  • Sales Forecasting: Input for forecast meetings.

2. Key Account Executive Role Purpose

  • Category Growth: Build Category Volume, Market Share and Profits in the assigned Pharmacy.
  • Sales Fundamentals: Deliver superior Sales Fundamentals in all covered Accounts.
  • Account Planning: Responsible for annual account business planning.
  • Trade Negotiation: Prepare and negotiate Trading Terms.
  • Market Analysis: Provide the Company with timely and accurate analysis on issues, trends and competitive data.
  • Business Review: Conduct regular business reviews and updates with accounts to influence categories and overall sales development.
  • Account Coverage: Develop and implement an effective Account Coverage.
  • Business Execution: Timely execution of the Business Development plan.
  • Stock Management: Eliminate customer out-of-stocks.

3. Key Account Executive Job Summary

  • Sales Leadership: Lead sales execution efforts and manage business needs and relationships.
  • Customer Focus: Promote a customer-centered culture to not only meet but exceed customer needs, requirements, and expectations.
  • Strategic Collaboration: Collaborate with customer decision makers and internal cross-functional partners and develop ideas that move relationships forward, delivering strong business results.
  • Data Utilization: Work to understand and effectively leverage customer, industry and internal sales information.
  • Compliance Management: Drive compliance and sustain a competitive edge.
  • Trade Budgeting: Manage trade dollars within assigned budgets and execute customer-specific trade plans.
  • Financial Analysis: Build customer profit and loss statements and analysis.
  • Cost Optimization: Take a meticulous and cost-effective approach that helps bring better options to more people, in more places.

4. Key Account Executive Duties

  • Account Management: Responsible for account management on behalf of the company.
  • Customer Understanding: Understand the customer's business in depth.
  • Relationship Building: Build strong relationships with customers.
  • Key Account Negotiation: Assist in key account negotiations, understanding customers' needs and delivering value propositions to those needs.
  • Customer Liaison: Act as a liaison between the customer and the Company.
  • Internal Collaboration: Work with internal departments.
  • Issue Resolution: Ensure that customers' queries, problems and issues are resolved effectively and efficiently.
  • Operational Presentation: Conduct monthly presentations on operations and safety.

5. Key Account Executive Responsibilities

  • Supplier Alignment: Deliver supplier objectives in line with JBPs.
  • Business Modelling: Co-own account business modelling, driving long-term strategic modelling of supplier investment and building customer plans supported by ROI analysis.
  • Budget Tracking: Track customer budgeted investment, effectively processing invoices and claims.
  • P&L Understanding: Demonstrate a basic understanding of customer P&L.
  • Range Influence: Influence range and distribution.
  • Space Negotiation: Negotiate space and activate features within customer brochures and online.
  • Reporting: Produce effective reports to be distributed both internally/externally.
  • Query Resolution: Resolve customer queries on time and in full.

6. Key Account Executive Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Sales Growth: Responsible for the sales activities and growing the company's range of products.
  • Account Management: Manage the existing list of B2C customers (accounts).
  • Business Development: Responsible for sourcing new business opportunities.
  • Account Acquisition: Responsible for opening new B2C accounts (monthly).
  • Sales Enquiries: Attend to sales enquiries, furnishing product information to customers.
  • Product Briefing: Conduct a product briefing to direct customers, architects, ID contractors, or fabricators.
  • Technical Negotiation: Liaise and negotiate with clients on all technical aspects of the project.
  • Relationship Management: Maintain good relationships with customers by identifying customers' needs and developing an appropriate sales strategy to meet their needs.
  • Sales Follow-Up: Arrange site visits, follow up with prospects until the closing of sales.
  • Sales Reporting: Prepare sales forecasts and reports for meetings (weekly and monthly).
  • Target Achievement: Meet the target and work independently.
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