Account manager Team Leader at JONAS SOFTWARE UK (2023-04 – 2026-07)
Managing a small team responsible for SaaS renewals and upsells for a company specialising in BACS payment solutions software, reporting to Chief Revenue Officer. Personally responsible for engagement and account management of top accounts across the Paygate brand.
- Managing client relationships, delivering quarterly account reviews and maintaining account plans
- Develop pricing strategy with the sales team and deliver client retention of existing customers to agreed targets
- Identify upsell and revenue opportunities with the team to meet ARR and Professional Services (PS) targets
- Support and coach the team using Sandler sales methodology while identifying opportunities for further development in regular 1-2-1 meetings
Account Director for Economic Development at ECONOMIC MODELLING UK Ltd (Now 'Lightcast') (2015-09 – 2022-09)
Remote Client Service and Business Development roles for a US-based provider of proprietary economic data and software (SaaS). My roles were focused on consultative B2B sales and account management with UK clients.
- As Account Director/Head of CS spearheaded customer relationships across economic development, higher and further education customer accounts, growing their value by identifying and closing upsell and cross-sell opportunities
- Successfully retained 100+ subscription renewals to an annual value of approximately £1 million (£5.5 million in total during tenure)
- As Head of Client Services remedied poor UK retention rates, boosting them from 68% to 93% in three years
- Negotiated price and licensing requirements in line with company targets and developed customer success plans to drive product engagement and demonstrate value
- Monitored customer communication, product issues and usage data via management software
- Provided monthly updates on annual retention and revenue goals at head office team meetings
- Delivered software onboarding (both on-site and remotely) and designed bespoke product training, materials and workshops
- Travelled the UK extensively to build trust and develop long term client relationships
- As Business Development Manager (2015-17), exceeded annual quota of £200k and doubled economic development client base among LEPs and local authorities
- Retained all clients to whom sales were made during seven years with the company
- Collaborated with marketing, innovation and product development teams to provide valuable product feedback
- Maintained sales pipeline using Salesforce and developed sales leads and opportunities via on-site demos, calls and webinars through to sales conversion
- Wrote successful research proposals and tenders, closing sales with prospects in line with monthly targets and quotas
Business Researcher/Writer at COBWEB INFORMATION LTD (2014-12 – 2015-08)
Working within the content team, I wrote and researched clear and concise content for a leading publisher of business information services, which included COBRA (the Complete Business Reference Adviser) used by business advisers, banks, enterprise support agencies and public libraries to support small firms and start-ups.
- Wrote and researched bespoke market synopses, sector guides and articles based on analysis of national statistics and online information sources
- Market synopses for the construction, hair and beauty, cleaning services, automotive retail, and fashion retail sectors
- Penned engaging articles on self-employment issues for Better Business magazine
Head of Research at PEOPLE 1ST (Sector Skills Council) (2012-09 – 2014-11)
Leading a team of researchers, I delivered labour market research for industries across the hospitality, tourism, passenger transport and travel sector, revealing the key industry and policy issues impacting upon employment, skills, training, productivity and competitiveness in the sector.
- Successfully delivered State of the Nation reports, based on a 3,000-sample employer survey
- Re-designed the questionnaire, appointed and managed fieldwork suppliers, advised on sampling strategy
- Took a lead role in the analysis, report writing and dissemination of the results
- Took a lead role in business development, writing a successful tender to secure additional research funding from UKCES
- Restructured the Research team to better reflect the changing needs of the organisation
Market Research Coordinator at RIBA ENTERPRISES (Royal Institute of British Architects) (2011-09 – 2012-08)
A client-side research position, in which I designed and delivered a programme of online primary research projects with thousands of construction professionals and RIBA members.
- Presentations and research summaries demonstrated impact and highlighted key insights that supported the development of RIBA/NBS products and services
- Helped to establish the organisation as thought leaders in topical industry issues
- Developed skills in online survey tools such as Snap, utilising the software extensively to design and implement surveys
- Used advanced SPSS skills for data analysis, tabulation, and reporting
Research Manager, North East Office at INFORMATION BY DESIGN (2006-10 – 2011-08)
A client-facing role with an independent, full-service research and evaluation agency, reporting to the company directors. Leading a regional office and delivering insightful research projects for clients in the North East.
- Wrote successful proposals and tenders, engaging face-to-face with clients across the region to strengthen relationships
- Successfully delivered primary research projects on time and within budget for public sector clients including NHS trusts, local authorities, arts and tourism, community and voluntary organisations
- Designed and developed complex bespoke, mixed-mode (quant and qual) methodologies
- Actively involved in all stages of the research process: establishing project plans, research design, questionnaire design, sampling, operational staff briefings, depth interviewing, quant. and qual. analysis, data analysis and weighting using SPSS, report writing and delivering presentations to clients
Research Manager/Researcher at LANTRA (Sector Skills Council) (2005-01 – 2006-08)
Leading on employment and skills-based research projects for the land-based and environmental sector I identified key industry and policy issues impacting upon skills demand, productivity and competitiveness. After being promoted from Research Analyst, I led a team of four researchers and delivered on the intelligence gathering phases of Lantra's Sector Skills Agreement for UKCES.
- Delivered a similar project for DARD in Northern Ireland
- Both projects helped to articulate the skills needed for the sector and thereby shape education provision
- Honed effective project management, planning and team leadership skills
- Applied appropriate research designs, methodologies, and statistical tests to demonstrate the robustness of research
- Engaged with stakeholders to understand industry research needs
- Established effective client management and reporting frameworks by establishing regular feedback meetings with clients and fieldwork suppliers
- Acquired high level of proficiency in interrogating primary and secondary data sources
- Prepared bespoke statistics, summaries, written reports and presentations that evidenced the skills and labour market challenges facing the sector
- Acquired skills in statistical packages (SPSS) for the tabular and graphical analysis of data, weighting, statistical testing
Senior Data Executive at MILLWARD BROWN INTERNATIONAL (1996-10 – 2005-01)
My formative years in market research working for an international market research agency specialising in branding and communication research. Processing timely data for tracking and ad hoc studies, dips, advertising tests, and multi-national studies such as global brand audits, BrandZ, Brand Dynamics in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
