Director, Salesforce Alliance Lead Northern Europe

Job Description:

Merkle is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that specialises in the delivery of unique, personalised customer experiences across platforms and devices.

With a thirty-year heritage as a leading data and analytics consultancy, in 2016, Merkle became part of dentsu, one of the world’s top five media agency networks with 60,000+ employees across 146 countries and now is the leading Salesforce Agency Globally and in EMEA.

Merkle has seen sustained YoY growth in services revenue related to our Salesforce Partnership and to continue to support and accelerate this our Salesforce practice is hiring a key individual to lead our Northern Europe Salesforce relationship. This person will be critical in maintaining our double-digit growth trajectory and supporting our Industry aligned Alliance Sales Leads in expanding our presence, relationships and engagement within Salesforce while owning and driving our Northern Europe Salesforce Alliance strategy, GTM, content and own what success looks like with clear KPIs with direct support from our VP EMEA Salesforce Alliance Lead.

Role Overview
As an Alliance Lead with 5+ years of experience, you will play a crucial role in cultivating and expanding our relationship with Salesforce by developing and executing a comprehensive alliance strategy to drive business growth and influence pipeline across Northern Europe.

By leveraging your organisational skills and creative approach, you will engage with multiple markets and leadership at Salesforce Northern Europe, fostering strong, long-term relationships and executing a regional alliance GTM strategy to drive mutual business success.

Working closely with our marketing teams and Salesforce EMEA team, you will help open doors to net new logo accounts in Northern Europe through Salesforce partner-sourced opportunities, contribute to regional marketing efforts (events & campaigns), and proactively seek new Salesforce services clients through your outreach, network, and existing client base.

You will be responsible for:

• Cultivate strong, strategic, and meaningful relationships with key stakeholders and Salesforce AE’s in Northern Europe.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive alliance strategy for mutual success across the region.
• Define clear objectives, KPIs, and milestones for the Salesforce Northern Europe alliance partnership.
• Organise and manage events, driving attendance to webinars, seminars, conferences, and networking opportunities.
• Facilitate introductions for the Merkle Northern Europe Sales team to new relationships and opportunities for pipeline generation.
• Collaborate with the Northern Europe Marketing team to drive engagement and inbound enquiries.
• Liaise with internal Merkle Client Partners to coordinate joint GTM sales plays.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and Salesforce product updates, providing actionable insights to sales and leadership teams.
• Develop deep relationships and understanding across our Merkle Salesforce practice and the Salesforce partner ecosystem.
• Become well-versed in Merkle’s value proposition and differentiators in the market.
• Present at internal meetings and Salesforce team meetings to drive visibility and alignment.

Key Activities:

• Oversee the Salesforce sales pipeline and ensure forecasting accuracy for the Salesforce practice in Northern Europe.
• Work closely with Salesforce Alliance Leads, Solutions, Strategy, and Practice leaders to define and position vertical-specific Go-To-Market Salesforce propositions.
• Analyse and map competitors’ customer landscapes and understand Merkle’s Salesforce win themes.
• Stay updated on Salesforce technology and digital marketing industry trends through a self-motivated and inquisitive approach.
• Leverage key case studies across EMEA and Worldwide to strengthen credibility and drive impact in the market.

Qualifications & Experience

• 7+ years of business development/consultative sales experience in digital/CX agencies, CRM, commerce technology, or tech recruitment.
• Sales experience in technology, professional services, or digital agencies (Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, Sitecore, Braze, CRM, marketing automation, CDP’s, AI, or CX experience is desirable).
• Strong knowledge of software alliance partnerships is a plus.
• Experience managing end-to-end sales lead qualification, from lead generation (MQLs, SRLs, SQLs) to inbound/outbound campaigns and events.
• Proven ability to curate winning sales strategies, GTM motions, and content.
• A creative mindset, thinking outside the box to forge new relationships.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proven experien