Account Director, Brand Sales (MRI-Simmons Team)

About this job

MRI-Simmons is seeking a highly motivated Account Director, Brand Sales to drive both new business acquisition and organic revenue growth within existing accounts. 

This is a true hunter-farmer role. The successful candidate will be responsible for identifying, developing, and closing net-new opportunities while also expanding strategic relationships with existing enterprise clients. The Account Director will serve as a consultative partner to marketers, consumer insights teams, media organizations, analytics leaders, CRM teams, audience strategy groups, and retail media stakeholders. 

Success in this role requires the ability to uncover business challenges and align the full MRI-Simmons portfolio, including syndicated insights, bespoke research, data enrichment, audience activation, advanced analytics, and strategic solutions, to client objectives. 

We are looking for an ambitious sales professional who thrives in complex consultative sales environments, enjoys opening new doors, and can build long-term partnerships that drive recurring growth. 

Responsibilities 

• Develop and execute strategic territory and account plans designed to drive both net-new business and expansion revenue. 

• Prospect and engage senior decision-makers across brand marketing, consumer insights, analytics, audience development, media, CRM, customer data, and retail media organizations. 

• Own the full sales cycle from prospecting through contract execution and renewal. 

• Expand relationships within existing accounts by identifying new departments, use cases, and stakeholders that can benefit from MRI-Simmons solutions. 

• Consult with clients to understand current consumer intelligence, audience targeting, measurement, and activation approaches and identify opportunities where MRI-Simmons can create value. 

• Generate revenue through the sale of:  

• MRI-Simmons syndicated consumer insights solutions 

• Custom and bespoke research engagements 

• First-party data enrichment solutions 

• Audience development and segmentation services 

• Audience activation solutions 

• Retail media audience solutions 

• Consumer analytics and strategic consulting services 

• Partner with internal research, analytics, client success, and product teams to develop tailored solutions that address client business objectives. 

• Identify opportunities to embed MRI-Simmons data into clients' marketing technology, data, measurement, and audience ecosystems. 

• Build executive-level relationships and become a trusted advisor to client leadership teams. 

• Deliver compelling presentations, business cases, and thought leadership that demonstrate the strategic value of MRI-Simmons. 

• Negotiate annual and multi-year agreements while maximizing client retention, expansion, and lifetime value. 

• Maintain accurate pipeline reporting, forecasting, and account planning within Salesforce. 

• Consistently achieve or exceed new business, renewal, and upsell revenue targets. 

• Travel up to 35% as needed. 

Preferred Client Targets & Stakeholders 

The ideal candidate will have experience selling into one or more of the following: 

• CPG and consumer brands 

• Financial services 

• Retail and retail media networks 

• Healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations 

• Telecommunications 

• Travel and hospitality 

• Automotive 

• Technology and emerging digital-first brands 

Key buyer personas include: 

• Chief Marketing Officers 

• Chief Consumer Insights Officers 

• Consumer Insights Directors 

• VP/Director of Analytics 

• Audience Strategy Leaders 

• Media Directors 

• CRM and Loyalty Leaders 

• Customer Data Platform Leaders 

• Retail Media Leaders 

• Data Strategy Executives 

• Agency and Media Buying Leaders