Enterprise Account Executive - Chicago

Are you ready to power the World's connections?

About the role:

We are seeking a committed Enterprise Sales Executive with a successful background in sales and account management, ideally within open source or similar enterprise software environments. In this role, you will be a key driver of our growth strategy, directly impacting the stability and expansion of our recurring revenue. This position is ideal for a sales professional who has experience in landing new clients, retaining existing customers, and driving account expansion for early-stage enterprise products in a dynamic, entrepreneurial setting.

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What You’ll Be Doing:

• Develop and execute sales strategies to target enterprise customers, focusing on building and maintaining a robust pipeline that drives long-term growth.
• Own the entire sales cycle, from prospecting and initial outreach to contract negotiations and closing deals, while consistently meeting or exceeding revenue targets.
• Collaborate with internal teams, including product, marketing, and customer success, to ensure a seamless sales experience and alignment on customer needs.
• Identify customer pain points and align our solutions to address these, delivering customized product demos and presentations tailored to their specific business needs.
• Build and nurture relationships with C-level executives and key decision-makers within target accounts, establishing yourself as a trusted advisor and ensuring customer satisfaction and retention.
• Lead account planning efforts by researching potential customers, understanding industry trends, and developing strategies to win new business and grow existing accounts.
• Monitor and manage sales activities and results, accurately forecasting opportunities and keeping detailed records of interactions and progress in CRM systems.
• Stay updated on industry trends, competitor offerings, and market changes to position our product effectively and maintain a competitive edge.
• Contribute to business growth initiatives, providing feedback to product and marketing teams to influence product development and go-to-market strategies.
• Represent Kong with professionalism, acting as a brand ambassador at industry events, conferences, and customer meetings.

What You’ll Bring:

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise sales (>1k employees), with a proven track record of closing complex deals in a SaaS, cloud, or enterprise software environment.
• Demonstrated success in selling to large enterprises, particularly to senior-level executives and across multiple departments.
• Strong consultative selling skills, with the ability to understand customer needs and present compelling solutions that drive business outcomes.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, capable of managing high-stakes conversations and building lasting relationships with stakeholders.
• A results-driven mindset, with a passion for meeting and exceeding sales goals and revenue targets.
• Experience working with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce) and leveraging data to forecast accurately and track sales metrics.
• Knowledge of open-source software, APIs, or infrastructure software is highly advantageous.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment, taking ownership of your sales territory and adapting to changing market dynamics.
• Analytical and strategic thinking, with a knack for identifying business growth opportunities and devising plans to capitalize on them.

Kong has different base pay ranges for different work locations within the United States, which allows us to pay employees competitively and consistently in different geographic markets. Compensation varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to specific candidate location, role, skill set and level of experience. Certain roles are eligible for additional rewards including sales incentives depending on the terms of the applicable plan and role. Benefits may vary depending on location. US based employees are typically offered access to healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short and long term disability benefits, basic life and AD&D insurance, among others.

About Kong: 

Kong is THE cloud native API platform with the fastest, most adopted API gateway in the world (over 300m downloads!). As the innovation leader of cloud API technologies, Kong is on a mission to enable companies around the world to become "API-first" and securely accelerate AI adoption. Kong helps organizations globally - from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises - unleash developer productivity, build securely and accelerate to market.

83% of web traffic today is API calls! APIs are the connective tissue of the cloud and the underlying technology that allows software to talk and interact with one another. Therefore, we believe that APIs act as the nervous system of the cloud. Our audacious mission is to build the nervous system that will safely and reliably connect all of humankind!

For more information about Kong, please visit konghq.com or follow @thekonginc on Twitter. We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.