Sales Activation Specialist (Data & AI), EMEA in Multiple Locations, Italy

As a Sales Activation Specialist in our Sales Activation and Transformation (SAT) team, you will use your consulting and sales skills to position, propose, and sell implementation services for Microsoft’s Data & AI to our most strategic accounts. Your deep understanding of how Data & AI solutions transform and modernise businesses will be fundamental as you get the opportunity to showcase Microsoft’s ability to advance our customers’ business strategies and goals.

You will be empowered to drive customer success as you demonstrate the value of our platform, growing your breadth and depth of solution sales expertise and being at the

forefront of complex deal-making, structuring, solutioning, and implementation planning.

If you are excited about developing leads, qualifying opportunities, and owning deals from start to finish, then could be the next career step for you as you leverage Microsoft’s powerful platform to deliver customer value and drive cloud revenue.

ISD & SAT

The Sales Activation and Transformation (SAT) team in Industry Solutions Delivery leads the way in accelerating adoption of the Microsoft platform. Our organization is at the forefront of innovation, driving value across the entirety of the customers’ digital and AI transformation journey through repeatable and customized cutting-edge solutions powered by Microsoft Cloud and AI.

Industry Solutions Delivery is a global organization hosting over 5,000 strategic sellers, industry experts, world-class data scientists and architects, consultants, and delivery specialists.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Take a look at our culture (https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/culture) and values (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/corporate-values) to see the environment you will be working in.

Responsibilities

This is a senior sales leadership role with considerable impact potential and you will be engaging and influencing senior executives within Microsoft and our customers. Some of your key responsibilities will include:

Sales Planning, Excellence & Execution

• Opportunity Ownership & Collaboration : Actively identify and partner with Area/EOU leaders and sellers (Account and Technical team: ATU, STU, CSU and SPT) to plan, drive and close sales opportunities — positioning ISD as strategic lever accelerating customer time to value. Critically assess opportunities to properly qualify and engage account, specialist, and ISD resources driving deal closure. Establish strong partnership with ISD CSA Leads driving consistent approach aligned to company strategy, regional and customer needs.

• Pipeline & Target Ownership: Develop and maintain robust sales pipeline delivering or exceeding ISD sales targets for Data & AI (contract value and profit margin). Take full accountability and leverage resources driving sales performance and delivering customer success.

• Sales & Deal Excellence: Adhere to Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM) sales methodologies and best practices. Leverage learning and identify opportunities to improve sales to delivery process.

• Sales Influence & Leadership: Articulate and evangelize the ISD services value proposition with Microsoft Sales (MCAPS LT, Region, Area/EOUs, CSA) and Engineering leadership.

Customer Engagement:

• Engage and provide strategic guidance, impactful thought leadership and industry insights on their digital transformation journey, identify how Microsoft Data & AI solutions modernize and digitally transform their business.

• Analyze and articulate the customer’s strategic, financial, and competitive position in market.

• Collaborate with Account and Technical teams (ATU, STU, CSU and SPT) to land and close sales opportunities (in alignment with overall account strategy and plan)

• Advise customers on digital & AI transformation. Cultivate robust relationships advancing adoption of cloud-based solutions. Build confidence and trust with client C-suite and Boards.

• Lead virtual cross-organizational teams on strategic projects and high impact solution sales deployments

Commercial Solution Area (CSA) Strategy :

• Influence Microsoft’s strategic product direction on behalf of customers and market trends or forces. Model customer and partner obsession through customer business outcomes leveraging solution area expertise.

• Partner with Account teams, CSA and Engineering to develop and implement comprehensive sales strategies meeting/exceeding product objectives.

• Understand competitive strengths, gaps and weaknesses and ability contrast Microsoft’s position.

• Foster solid relationships with OU account and specialist leadership to build trust, confidence and alignment of ISD services with Commercial Solution Area offers, sales and go-to-market plays

• Evangelize and drive ISD Data & AI offerings (new and existing)

Qualifications

Your enthusiasm for our customers’ and Microsoft’s success, and your eagerness to drive growth and impact in commercial business and public sector organisations, will position you well to be successful in this role.

Some of the key knowledge, skills and experience you will need to demonstrate include:

• Extensive experience of enterprise and cloud solutions sales, and a deep understanding of account planning, sales process and organisation, and execution

• Demonstrable expertise of key Microsoft technologies focused on Data & AI technologies

• A track record of identifying and driving new strategic, transformational sales opportunities, meeting or exceeding quotas regularly

• Experience of managing multiple accounts concurrently

• A background leading, cross-functional virtual team to meet or exceed sales targets and accountabilities.

• Regular interaction with senior leadership and able to articulate business value, financial and strategic benefits, and drive customer change.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .