Senior Sales Development Manager

Graco manufactures and markets premium equipment to move, measure, control, dispense and spray a wide variety of fluid and powder materials. What does that mean? Well, we pump peanut butter into your jar, and the oil in your car. We glue the soles of your shoes, the glass in your windows and the screen on your phone. We spray the finish on your vehicle, coatings on your pills, the paint on your house and texture on your walls. Graco is part of your daily life.
The Senior Business Development Manager leads the identification, development and conversion of significant new business opportunities within Graco’s Service & Repair market vertical across EMEA. The role focuses on lubrication service and maintenance, and other fluid handling applications in customer segments including automotive, fleet and transportation, heavy equipment, agriculture, and other machinery environments. The job applies deep market, customer and commercial expertise to shape growth priorities, influence investment decisions and resolve barriers across functions. The job partners with senior customer stakeholders, account managers, channel sales, application engineering, marketing and product teams to expand Graco’s reach and deliver sustained, profitable growth.
What You Will Do at Graco
Business Development and Pipeline Growth
• Identify, assess and prioritize high-value business opportunities across targeted industries, applications, customer segments and geographies.
• Build and manage a qualified pipeline of high-value, strategic opportunities through market research, executive networking, targeted prospecting, referrals and industry engagement.
• Develop multi-year market and account-entry strategies that define target customers, stakeholder engagement, competitive positioning, resource needs and Graco’s value proposition.
• Lead priority opportunities through discovery, qualification and solution alignment, then establish a clear commercial ownership and execution plan.
• Set opportunity goals, stage requirements, milestones and executive decision points that improve pipeline quality, conversion and long-term value.
Customer Discovery and Solution Development
• Engage senior customer decision-makers and technical stakeholders to uncover business priorities, operational challenges, technical requirements, buying processes and decision criteria.
• Shape differentiated solution strategies and commercialization approaches in partnership with application engineering, product, marketing and sales teams.
• Develop executive-level value propositions, presentations and business cases that connect Graco solutions to measurable customer and financial outcomes.
• Build and sustain relationships with customer executives, decision-makers, influencers and technical stakeholders throughout extended development cycles.
• Sponsor and coordinate trials, demonstrations, pilots and other validation activities needed to reduce risk and progress strategic opportunities.
Market Strategy and Cross-Functional Execution
• Synthesize market trends, competitive activity, customer needs and industry developments into clear recommendations for growth priorities and investment.
• Develop and execute business development strategies aligned with divisional, regional and product priorities, adjusting direction as market conditions evolve.
• Influence marketing campaigns, lead-generation programs, industry events and new product introductions to accelerate entry into priority markets.
• Establish opportunity governance and decision rights with account managers, channel sales and distribution partners to ensure coordinated customer engagement and execution.
• Provide senior leaders and cross-functional teams with market intelligence and recommendations that inform product, pricing, investment and go-to-market decisions.
Performance Management and Commercial Discipline
• Maintain accurate strategic-account, pipeline and opportunity information in the customer relationship management system and reinforce consistent opportunity-management practices.
• Define and monitor leading and lagging indicators, including market development activity, qualified pipeline, conversion, wins, revenue progression and return on investment.
• Provide concise executive updates on portfolio health, opportunity status, business risks, market insights and decisions needed from cross-functional leaders.
• Use performance data, customer feedback and market evidence to redirect resources, refine priorities and improve opportunity-development effectiveness.
• Follow Graco policies and applicable requirements related to pricing, contracts, confidentiality, safety and ethical business conduct.
What You Will Bring to Graco
• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, engineering or a related field, or equivalent related experience.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in business development, sales, account management or a related commercial function, including experience leading significant growth initiatives.
• Demonstrated success developing new markets, building strategic pipeline and converting high-value opportunities into sustained customer and revenue growth.
• Deep ability to connect customer business and technical needs to differentiated commercial strategies, value propositions and investment cases.
• Advanced business and financial acumen, analytical capability and judgment when prioritizing opportunities, resources and longer-term investments.
• Executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation and relationship-building skills across customer and internal stakeholders.
• Extensive experience leading cross-functional opportunity development and influencing senior stakeholders without direct supervisory authority.
• Advanced experience using customer relationship management systems, pipeline analytics and standard business productivity tools.
• Ability to travel based (50 %) on customer and business needs.
• Valid driver’s license
• Fluent in English with preference of French or German
Accelerators
• Experience in industrial manufacturing, technical products or engineered solutions.
• Experience developing and scaling new markets, applications, territories or customer segments across multiple regions or business lines.
• Experience with solution selling, value-based selling or consultative sales methods.
• Experience influencing global or multi-region commercial teams and navigating varied channel or customer structures.
• Master of Business Administration or another relevant advanced degree.
At Graco, you truly make a difference. Your unique talents contribute to our organizational growth and future. Not only do you make a difference, but Graco’s culture empowers employees to create their own career path. Whether you choose to advance within your current department or explore new opportunities in different divisions, you can build your future. Our managers are here to provide support and