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You will be updated with latest job alerts via emailAre you a seasoned sales leader who thrives on building high-performing teams and shaping market strategy Zendesk is seeking a driven Senior Sales Manager to lead our SMB sales team in Japana pivotal role at the intersection of people leadership market growth and operational excellence.
About the Role:
As Zendesks Senior Sales Manager for SMB Japan youll drive one of our most strategic and high-growth markets. Based in Tokyo youll lead coach and inspire a team of talented sales professionals focused on growth in the SMB segment across Japan. Youll report directly to the VP APAC SMB Sales and collaborate closely with regional and global leadership.
Native-level Japanese fluency is essential to build deep connections with customers and partners. Your strategic mindset and operational discipline will help the team exceed targets in a competitive landscape. If youre passionate about scaling businesses mentoring future leaders and delivering results in SaaS this role offers the platform to make a significant impact.
What youll be doing:
Drive revenue growth for Zendesks Japan SMB segment achieving targets in new customer acquisition expansion and retention.
Lead a team of SMB Account Executives fostering a culture of accountability learning and high performance.
Hire coach and build development plans for your team to accelerate skills and career growth.
Act as a trusted advisor to C-level stakeholders in customer organizations.
Analyze market trends and customer insights to refine go-to-market strategies and capture new opportunities.
Engage directly in high-stakes customer meetings product demos and negotiations. Be capable of leading from the front.
Partner cross-functionally with Marketing Product and Customer Success to execute strategic initiatives and enhance the customer experience.
Continuously improve sales processes through innovation automation and data-driven insights.
Maintain strong knowledge of Zendesks solutions and the competitive landscape.
Own pipeline health and deliver precise forecasting to enable proactive business planning.
Monitor sales effectiveness by building Salesforce dashboards generating reports and analyzing customer data to identify buying signals expansion opportunities and churn risks
Champion Zendesks inclusive collaborative culture and serve as a role model for company values.
Represent Zendesk a global leader in customer service solutions trusted by over 100000 customers worldwide.
Bring cultural sensitivity and adaptability to lead effectively in Japans business environment while working in a global organization.
We hope youll decide to build a career as a Zendesk sales leader for the long term. We use the following leadership criteria - applied to key sales activities - to assess reward and promote sales leadership.
Innovate: Build your sales team to think creatively and adapt quickly to new ways of working. Adjust to the changing needs of your customers your market and our CX/EX product portfolio.
Collaborate: Work with your peers and partners across Zendesk to identify priorities share customer data and proactively seek to improve our ability to deliver value to our customers.
Operate: Know your business know your customers know your tools and know your data. Fill your funnel track your opportunities and convert. Be prescriptive and focused to minimize the number of variables between your customers and their outcomes.
Navigate: Study the future of our industry and the emerging needs of your customers. Coach and develop your team to be ready for the future and coach to convert todays opportunities.
Inspire: Use your unique insights and voice to move people into action. We are creating the future of CX and EX.
Champion: Build relationships with your customers to proactively sense and respond to their business needs. Help everyone at Zendesk connect emotionally with our customers and put their best work into solving their needs.
What youll bring to the role:
Based in Tokyo with significant experience leading sales teams in Japan and selling into the Japanese market.
Native-level fluency in Japanese (Mother Tongue / Business level spoken and written) and strong English communication skills.
7 years of sales experience including at least 4 years in sales management ideally in SaaS or related technology sectors.
Proven track record leading teams to exceed quotas in high-velocity sales environments.
Experience driving growth through both direct sales and channel partnerships through ownership of the segment performance.
Extensive sales experience preferably within SaaS Customer Support Sales or CRM software
Proven track record of consistently achieving 100% of quota as an individual contributor and sales manager.
Skilled at coaching and developing early-career professionals fostering a positive team environment.
Strategic thinker with strong operational discipline balancing big-picture vision and execution.
Confident engaging senior stakeholders internally and externally with excellent presentation and influencing skills.
Analytical and data-driven approach to managing pipeline performance and forecasting.
Proficiency in Salesforce and modern sales tools comfortable building dashboards and analyzing metrics.
Please note that anyone hired into this position must be physically located in and plan to work from Tokyo Japan.
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Hybrid: In this role our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection collaboration learning and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.
The intelligent heart of customer experience
Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.
Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working enables us to purposefully come together in person at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world to connect collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.
Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer and were proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity equity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race color religion national origin age sex gender gender identity gender expression sexual orientation marital status medical condition ancestry disability military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law please click here.
Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application complete any pre-employment testing or otherwise participate in the employee selection process please send an e-mail to with your specific accommodation request.
Required Experience:
Senior Manager
Full-Time