Business Development Manager Animal Nutrition – US

Job Description

About Eastman

Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,500 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries.

Job Description

As Business Development Manager, you will be responsible for aligning with and executing strategies for Eastman’s advanced animal nutrition (with a focus on the SWINE industry) solutions within your defined territory. You will create value for Eastman Animal Nutrition through a project-oriented account management approach by driving new business opportunities at an individual account level.

Your ability to understand customer needs will help you show the value-add of Eastman’s technically sophisticated feed additive solutions. In close collaboration with the customer, your core responsibility will be the specification and qualification of these solutions, including successful testing and implementation. You will also work to securely establish their continuous use, thereby growing the actual share of wallet and opportunities with the account.

By maximizing the margin for Eastman’s value-added product portfolio and helping to develop and secure new offerings, you will keep Eastman Animal Nutrition innovative and relevant for the market. You will work closely with the salesperson responsible for the commercial closing of customer projects and the implementation of commercial agreements with accounts.

Responsibilities

• Command a thorough understanding of, provide feedback on, and influence Eastman segment strategy. Be able to articulate how that strategy aligns with customer needs.
• Effectively engage potential customers using a project-oriented account management approach to understand a customer’s corporate objectives and strategy as context for optimizing understanding of their unmet needs and buying process. Be unafraid to challenge customers to provoke consideration of new ways of winning together.
• Be able to articulate and maximize current and addressable Eastman market share within the accounts for which they have responsibility.
• Develop strong trust and credibility with all key players impacting the customer’s buying process (e.g., pre-mix or veterinarian companies), including creating a line of sight to the entire value chain.
• Present information that enables the prospective customer to clearly understand the value proposition of potential solutions and how these solutions can help the customer win.
• Cultivate a broad network of relationships across the value chain and within the customer organizations beyond procurement (e.g., Nutritionist, Formulators, Veterinarians, Operations, Sales, and Marketing, etc.) to enable successful development of new business.
• Steward the customer’s development, evaluation, and decision-making for the new solutions.
• Structure and negotiate commercial and co-promotional arrangements with customers (e.g., incentives, pricing, etc.).
• Utilize public and business sources for competitive and customer information that allows a deep understanding of the market. Use this information to expand sales.
• Collaborate closely with internal teams like ADTS and product management to ensure opportunities are provided with the required resources to ensure timely funnel movement.
• Responsible for collaborating with Account Managers as potential sales opportunities are being won to ensure a seamless transition for ongoing success of specified business.
• Use Opportunity Management processes to effectively document, prioritize, track, and drive sales opportunities.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Animal Nutrition, Veterinary medicine, or a similar field from an accredited university is preferred.
• A strong technical knowledge and commercial aptitude of the Animal Nutrition industry, specifically in Monogastric
• >5 years of technical sales experience in Animal Nutrition with a specific focus on the swine industry, Feed or Feed Additives with a network of contacts into feed producers and the nutritionist and veterinarian community
• A desire to create and drive new business and the tenacity to see winning solutions be implemented successfully
• Experience with developing and executing account strategies and managing local distribution partners
• A collaborative team player that can guide various stakeholders’ expectations to a positive outcome