Enterprise Account Executive, Southeast

**Are you ready to unlock intelligence?** If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria below but are still interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box - we’re looking for candidates that are particularly strong in a few areas, and have some interest and capabilities in others. **About the Role:** We are seeking a committed Enterprise Sales Executive with a successful background in sales and account management, ideally within open source or similar enterprise software environments. In this role, you will be a key driver of our growth strategy, directly impacting the stability and expansion of our recurring revenue. This position is ideal for a sales professional who has experience in landing new clients, retaining existing customers, and driving account expansion for early-stage enterprise products in a dynamic, entrepreneurial setting. At Kong, we offer **UNCAPPED COMMISSIONS** with **MASSIVE UPSIDE**, competitive benefits, and equity in a company with huge growth potential. **What You’ll Be Doing:** - Develop and execute sales strategies to target enterprise customers, focusing on building and maintaining a robust pipeline that drives long-term growth. - Own the entire sales cycle, from prospecting and initial outreach to contract negotiations and closing deals, while consistently meeting or exceeding revenue targets. - Collaborate with internal teams, including product, marketing, and customer success, to ensure a seamless sales experience and alignment on customer needs. - Identify customer pain points and align our solutions to address these, delivering customized product demos and presentations tailored to their specific business needs. - Build and nurture relationships with C-level executives and key decision-makers within target accounts, establishing yourself as a trusted advisor and ensuring customer satisfaction and retention. - Lead account planning efforts by researching potential customers, understanding industry trends, and developing strategies to win new business and grow existing accounts. - Monitor and manage sales activities and results, accurately forecasting opportunities and keeping detailed records of interactions and progress in CRM systems. - Stay updated on industry trends, competitor offerings, and market changes to position our product effectively and maintain a competitive edge. - Contribute to business growth initiatives, providing feedback to product and marketing teams to influence product development and go-to-market strategies. - Represent Kong with professionalism, acting as a brand ambassador at industry events, conferences, and customer meetings. **What You’ll Bring:** - 7+ years of experience in enterprise sales (>5k employees), with a proven track record of closing complex deals in a SaaS, cloud, or enterprise software environment. - Demonstrated success in selling to large enterprises, particularly to senior-level executives and across multiple departments. - Strong consultative selling skills, with the ability to understand customer needs and present compelling solutions that drive business outcomes. - Excellent communication and negotiation skills, capable of managing high-stakes conversations and building lasting relationships with stakeholders. - A results-driven mindset, with a passion for meeting and exceeding sales goals and revenue targets. - Experience working with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce) and leveraging data to forecast accurately and track sales metrics. - Knowledge of open-source software, APIs, or infrastructure software is highly advantageous. - Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment, taking ownership of your sales territory and adapting to changing market dynamics. - Analytical and strategic thinking, with a knack for identifying business growth opportunities and devising plans to capitalize on them. #LI-BT1 **About Kong:** Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit [](http://www.konghq.com).