Account Executive

Account Executive – New Business Thingtrax | Manufacturing Technology & SaaS Location: UK, home-based with nationwide travel Travel: Minimum 50% of the working week Role type: Full-time, permanent Focus: New business acquisition – Food & Beverage Manufacturing About Thingtrax Thingtrax is a manufacturing technology company helping manufacturers improve operational performance, production efficiency and product quality through connected technology, real-time data and AI-powered solutions. Our solutions focus on two key areas: - Manufacturing Performance: Helping manufacturers gain real-time visibility of production operations, monitor OEE, identify downtime, improve efficiency and drive continuous improvement. - Thingtrax Label Validation: Our AI-powered machine vision solution automatically inspects labels and packaging on production lines, checking critical information such as dates, batch codes, barcodes and 2D codes. By validating every pack, it helps manufacturers reduce labelling errors, minimise waste, protect product quality and strengthen compliance and traceability. We work closely with manufacturers to understand their operational challenges and deliver technology that creates measurable business improvements. As we continue to grow, we're looking for an ambitious, commercially driven Account Executive to help us expand our customer base across the Food & Beverage (F&B) manufacturing sector. The Opportunity We're looking for a proactive, results-driven New Business Account Executive to identify, develop and win new customers within the UK Food & Beverage manufacturing market. This is a pure new business role, suited to someone who thrives on opening doors, building relationships, understanding customer challenges and closing complex B2B technology deals. You'll be responsible for introducing manufacturers to Thingtrax's Manufacturing Performance and Label Validation solutions, identifying opportunities where our technology can improve productivity, reduce operational costs and strengthen quality assurance. You'll take ownership of the full sales cycle, from initial prospect engagement through discovery, solution development, commercial proposals, negotiations and closing. You'll work closely with a Solutions Consultant who will support technical discovery, deliver product demonstrations and help develop solutions tailored to customer requirements. Your focus will be on driving the commercial sales process, building customer relationships and winning business. You'll also have the support of a Business Development Representative (BDR) to help generate qualified opportunities. However, we expect you to be equally comfortable generating your own pipeline through proactive outreach, networking, referrals and targeted account development. This is a home-based role with significant customer-facing activity. You should expect to spend at least 50% of your working week travelling to manufacturing sites, meeting prospects and progressing opportunities. Key Responsibilities New Business Development - Identify, prospect and win new customers across the UK Food & Beverage manufacturing sector. - Build and execute a territory and target-account strategy, focusing on manufacturers with strong potential for Thingtrax solutions. - Develop new opportunities through BDR-generated leads, self-sourced outreach, networking, industry events and referrals. - Proactively engage senior decision-makers, including Operations Directors, Plant Managers, Production Leaders, Quality Managers and other relevant stakeholders. - Consistently build and maintain a healthy, qualified sales pipeline to achieve new business revenue targets. Consultative Solution Selling - Lead discovery meetings to understand manufacturers' operational challenges, business priorities and improvement opportunities. - Identify opportunities for Thingtrax Manufacturing Performance solutions, including OEE improvement, downtime reduction, production visibility and operational efficiency. - Identify opportunities for Thingtrax Label Validation, including automated label inspection, code verification, quality assurance, traceability and the reduction of labelling errors and associated waste. - Position Thingtrax solutions around measurable business value, operational improvements and return on investment. - Partner with the Solutions Consultant to coordinate product demonstrations and technical presentations. - Work collaboratively with the Solutions Consultant to develop appropriate solutions that meet customer operational and technical requirements. - Lead the commercial proposition, including business cases, ROI justifications, pricing and proposals. - Navigate complex buying processes involving multiple stakeholders across operations, engineering, quality, IT and finance. - Own commercial negotiations and take responsibility for progressing opportunities through to contract signature. Pipeline & Sales Execution - Take full accountability for achieving individual new business sales targets. - Manage opportunities throughout the complete sales cycle, maintaining momentum and clear next steps. - Work closely with the BDR to prioritise target accounts, follow up on qualified leads and maximise pipeline generation. - Undertake independent prospecting and outbound activity to supplement BDR support and maintain sufficient pipeline coverage. - Maintain accurate CRM records, sales forecasts and opportunity updates. - Collaborate with Solutions Consultants and internal product and delivery teams to ensure proposed solutions align with customer needs and expectations. - Support a structured handover of newly won customers to the relevant implementation and account management teams. Customer & Market Engagement - Spend significant time on-site with prospective customers, building relationships and understanding their manufacturing operations. - Develop a strong understanding of challenges, trends and investment priorities within Food & Beverage manufacturing. - Represent Thingtrax at relevant exhibitions, conferences and networking events. - Share customer and market feedback to help inform product development, positioning and sales strategy. What Success Looks Like Success in this role means consistently creating and converting high-quality opportunities into new customers. You'll be expected to: - Achieve and exceed individual new business revenue targets. - Develop and maintain a strong, sustainable pipeline through both self-generated and BDR-supported activity. - Build relationships with key manufacturing decision-makers across target accounts. - Identify and develop opportunities across both Manufacturing Performance and Label Validation solutions. - Demonstrate a disciplined approach to sales execution, CRM management and forecasting. - Work effectively with the Solutions Consultant to progress technical evaluations and commercial opportunities. - Deliver a positive, professional customer experience from initial engagement through to contract signature. - Become a trusted, commercially credible partner to prospective manufacturing customers. Why Join Thingtrax? This is an opportunity to join a growing manufacturing technology business, selling innovative solutions that address genuine operational challenges. You'll have the opportunity to sell both real-time manufacturing performance technology and AI-powered vision inspection solutions, helping some of the UK's leading F&B manufacturers. Requirements About You We're looking for someone with energy, commercial drive and the confidence to engage manufacturing businesses at all levels. Essential Experience & Skills - A proven track record of winning new business in a B2B sales environment. - Experience selling either technology/SaaS solutions or products and services into manufacturing or industrial businesses. - Demonstrable experience managing complex, consultative sales cycles from prospecting through to closing. - Strong prospecting and pipeline-generation skills, with the motivation to create opportunities independently. - The ability to engage, influence and build credibility with senior operational and commercial decision-makers. - Confidence conducting face-to-face meetings, leading commercial presentations and negotiating agreements. - Ability to work effectively with Solutions Consultants and other technical specialists. - Strong organisation, opportunity management and forecasting skills. - A self-motivated, resilient and results-oriented approach. - Willingness and ability to travel extensively across the UK, with regular overnight stays where required. Highly Desirable - Experience selling machine vision, vision inspection or automated quality control solutions into manufacturing environments, particularly Food & Beverage. - Experience selling SaaS solutions into manufacturing environments. - Previous success selling into Food & Beverage manufacturing businesses. - Knowledge of manufacturing operations, including OEE, production efficiency, downtime, continuous improvement and quality control. - Familiarity with automated inspection, packaging verification, barcode validation or production-line quality assurance. - Experience selling industrial IoT, manufacturing software, MES, production monitoring, automation or AI-enabled technologies. - Experience developing ROI-led business cases and selling solutions that deliver measurable operational improvements. - An established understanding of the UK manufacturing landscape and its commercial decision-making processes. Benefits - Pension Plans - Work From Home - Employee Assistance Programme - Counseling - Cycle to work scheme