About Us

The FT has an uncompromising mission: delivering independent, quality information, news and services to individuals and companies around the globe. It’s the cornerstone of our reputation and the heart of our ambitions for the future. But for our people, the FT offers so much more than what we do. FT people come from all kinds of backgrounds and work across a huge range of disciplines and locations, and find an empowering, warm and welcoming culture that values curiosity and rewards smart, ambitious thinking. Those who are willing to unite around our mission and live our values will find plenty to challenge, inspire and interest them. Like the audiences we serve, no two FT people are the same; but together we help our audience be better informed and understand the world around them. It’s a job that’s never mattered more, and a career that can take you anywhere you want to go.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace

At the FT, we give all employees a voice so that diverse perspectives are heard and valued. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work. We'll continue to remove barriers for all, and in particular barriers facing employees from underrepresented groups.

Role overview

Position Title: Senior Client Relationship Manager

Department/Team: FT Professional

Location: Mumbai 

Reports to Position: Regional Sales Director, Asia Pacific – FT Professional Content 

The FT professional Sales team is responsible for licensing FT content directly to corporate customers. Our customer base includes global Fortune 500 companies across a range of sectors including finance, government, resources and consulting. India is an emerging market well connected to global finance and trade and has established itself as a major presence in the digital economy. This presents a good opportunity to build digital readership in the India corporate sector.

The CRM is responsible for retaining and growing the allocated  bank of business across a number of sectors in India including Financial Services, Government, Corporate and Professional Services. The role involves working with decision makers and centralised information professionals across several industry sectors. The role requires negotiation skills and excellent relationship management and account management. CRM focus is on the development of an annual sales plan for their bank of business which identifies how the overall target will be achieved. Regular contact and building relationships with clients in partnership with Marketing and the Customer Success team is required to develop engagement activities throughout the year to support retention and upsell as well as cross-selling products. The role entails strong organisation skills and the ability to manage a large number of accounts with a strategic mindset in order to build relationships with key stakeholders. 

Excellent communication and the ability to seek out solutions to problems to support customer satisfaction will be crucial as well.  

In this role you will:

• Plan your sales approach with a strategic long term view to optimise sales revenue.

• Identify upsell, risky, and growth accounts within allocated bank of business to ensure renewal and upsell opportunities are maximised. This includes monetising engagement, identifying new growth opportunities and minimising attrition.

• Personally be responsible for the achievement of the retention and upsell business target set at the start of each new year.

• To work with the appropriate support departments to ensure that customer issues are handled consistently and effectively.

• To work closely with the Customer Success team to plan and prioritise activities to support the goal of retention and upsell.

• To prioritise face to face and virtual meetings with clients, gain knowledge of the business operations and information needs of the client and actively network to build strong relationships at a senior level and with stakeholders in other departments within the company.  This will lead to a better understanding of requirements and establish new opportunities to support retention, upsell and cross selling

• Maintaining awareness of an opportunity/accounts overall health and taking the appropriate action to mitigate the risk of downsell and/or cancellation.

• Document all sales activity in salesforce, and keep opportunities updated with regards to likely close dates.

• To keep up to date with market & competitor developments in the relevant sector and have the ability to speak with confidence on the FTs value proposition.

• To keep up to date with developments and news relating to the individual accounts you are responsible for ensuring a tailored and strategic approach.

• Feedback customer insight to assist with product development and cross selling new products.

• Ensure dates of all renewals are well planned and work commences at least three months in advance. 

Qualifications / Competencies / Skills / Experience

• Proven account management experience and of meeting or exceeding retention and upsell revenue targets with a strategic mindset.

• Experience carrying out face to face and virtual client meetings often negotiating with senior management within the company.

• Well developed influencing skills to gain commitment from clients and colleagues.

• Eager to develop a thorough understanding of the value of the FT from existing clients and utilise this information to grow, expand and upsell accounts.

• Excellent presentation and communication skills. 

• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team to succeed.

• High level of initiative, motivation, and ability to network both internally and externally to identify opportunities and maintain/build relationships.

• Excellent organisation skills and ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines.

• Display initiative in undertaking all aspects of the role with minimal supervision.

• Fluency in (business) English language, both oral and written

• Prior experience of using CRM system

• The role will require domestic travel 

 What’s in it for you? Our Benefits

Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best in class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include; generous annual leave allowances, flexible working (including working from home), medical cover, enhanced maternity & paternity packages, subsidised gym memberships and Giving Back opportunities. Full details of our benefits can be found here.

Further Information

The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We have implemented a hybrid working model and we also promote flexible working and will consider specific requests around flexibility for all roles where it can be accommodated. Please let us know if you require any adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements, or have any questions, [email protected] and a member of our team will be happy to help.

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