Recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Chicago by Fortune Magazine and Great Place to Work, Sasser prides itself on supporting an employee-driven, opportunity-based culture that empowers, recognizes, and rewards its employees. From highly competitive benefits to exciting employee events to organic, grassroots philanthropy and volunteerism, Sasser is an awesome place to begin and grow your career. We are a transportation asset services and management company with roots dating to 1928. Sasser’s subsidiary units are leaders in providing commercial- and industrial-focused rail, automotive, and containerized shipping solutions, including asset leasing, fleet administration management, asset repair and maintenance, and innovative technology services.
Sasser family of companies includes subsidiaries Chicago Freight Car Leasing, CF Rail Services, Moventum Fleet Management, Express 4x4 Truck Rental, and Falcon Lease. To learn more about what makes Sasser special, visit www.sasser.com.
This role supports our Express 4x4 Truck Rental team. Established in 1993 and acquired by Sasser in 2013, we offer flexible and affordable, mid- to long-term ½-ton, ¾-ton and 1-ton pick-up truck rentals for or clients, with a commitment to on-time delivery, anywhere in North America.
The Director of Client Experience is a critical leadership position is responsible for building a high-performing team of Strategic Customer Managers and Strategic Account Managers. The Director establishes best-in-class account management practices and creates a disciplined approach to retention, renewals, and account growth. The Director drives consistency in customer engagement, business reviews, and account planning, and partners closely with Sales & Growth, Sales Support, Operations, Fleet, Credit, and Moventum Leasing so every customer has clear ownership and a seamless experience.
By retaining customers, increasing share of customer business, protecting utilization, and strengthening executive relationships, the Director of Customer Relationships contributes directly to growing revenue and vehicles on the road at the same time, and to Express 4X4's vision of becoming the industry's leading nationwide commercial truck rental provider.
As a Director of Client Experience, Here’s What You Will Do:
Customer Relationship Leadership
- Lead the Customer Relationships organization with accountability for customer retention, revenue growth within existing accounts, customer satisfaction, and portfolio profitability.
- Develop and execute customer relationship strategies that strengthen long-term partnerships, increase share of customer business, and maximize customer lifetime value.
- Establish and standardize account management disciplines, including customer segmentation, business review cadence, strategic account planning, and customer engagement practices.
Retention & Account Growth
- Own renewals and extensions across the customer portfolio, making sure rentals are extended or renewed before vehicles come off rent.
- Lead proactive save and win-back efforts for at-risk, declining, and lapsed customers, and address the root causes of customer attrition.
- Grow share of customer business through additional units, new projects, new job sites and locations, and cross-selling with Moventum Leasing.
- Protect fleet utilization and asset value by keeping vehicles on rent and aligning customer demand with fleet availability.
- Manage renewal pricing and rate adjustments within established guidelines to protect margin and support long-term profitability.
- Develop strategies to identify customer expansion opportunities while proactively mitigating customer attrition and business risk.
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Strategic Customer Managers and Strategic Account Managers to deliver exceptional customer experiences, customer retention, and account growth.
- Establish clear goals, KPIs, and accountability, including customer and revenue retention, renewal and extension rates, units on rent per account, share of customer business, utilization, customer satisfaction, and payment performance.
- Partner with the Senior Vice President, Sales & Customer Experience and Human Resources to support career development, succession planning, organizational design, and talent development.
- Foster a collaborative, customer-centric culture focused on accountability, responsiveness, operational excellence, and long-term relationship development.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with the Director of Sales & Growth to ensure seamless handoffs from new business acquisition to customer relationship management, with clearly defined account ownership and handoff criteria.
- Partner with the Sales Support Manager so every off-rent notice and client swap is treated as a retention signal and an opportunity to extend, renew, or expand.
- Coordinate with Sales and Customer Experience leaders at Moventum Leasing to identify and execute cross-selling opportunities for customers operating mixed rental and leased fleets.
- Work with Operations, Fleet, Credit, Finance, Marketing, and other business partners to align customer strategies with operational capabilities and business objectives.
- Contribute customer insights, market intelligence, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership planning.
Customer Strategy & Engagement
- Build and maintain executive-level relationships with key regional and national customers, serving as a senior point of contact for strategic accounts.
- Lead executive business reviews, customer planning meetings, and relationship management activities to strengthen partnerships and uncover new business within existing accounts.
- Monitor customer satisfaction, service performance, utilization trends, payment behavior, and overall account health to proactively identify risks and opportunities.
- Represent Express 4X4 at customer meetings, industry conferences, trade shows, and other events that strengthen customer relationships and promote the company's brand.
Performance & Strategic Execution
- Continuously evaluate customer portfolios against business objectives, including retention, profitability, utilization, payment performance, and long-term growth potential.
- Translate corporate customer experience strategies into actionable customer relationship plans that support overall commercial objectives.
- Track and analyze customer relationship performance metrics, adjusting strategies to maximize retention, portfolio growth, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
- Provide regular reporting and strategic recommendations to the Senior Vice President, Sales & Customer Experience, highlighting customer trends, business risks, growth opportunities, and progress toward strategic objectives.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Management, or a related field.
- 8–10 years of progressive leadership experience in customer relationship management, account management, customer success, sales, or commercial leadership, ideally within the truck rental, fleet management, equipment leasing, transportation, or related industries.
- Proven track record of driving customer retention, renewals, revenue growth within existing accounts, customer satisfaction, and long-term strategic partnerships.
- Experience leading and developing high-performing account management, customer relationship, or customer success teams while building scalable retention and engagement practices.
- Demonstrated success developing customer relationship strategies, account segmentation, business review processes, and strategic account planning initiatives.
- Experience collaborating cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, Fleet, Finance, Credit, and Marketing to deliver exceptional customer experiences and achieve business objectives.
- Experience utilizing CRM platforms, customer analytics, and performance metrics to drive customer retention, account growth, and operational excellence.
- Experience leading organizational change, developing talent, and implementing scalable processes that support long-term business growth.
Skills
- Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to inspire, coach, and develop high-performing customer relationship teams while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and customer focus.
- Strong strategic thinking, analytical, and financial acumen with the ability to evaluate customer portfolios, assess profitability, and make data-driven business decisions.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and executive relationship management skills with the ability to influence customers, peers, and senior leadership.
- Proven ability to negotiate renewals, resolve complex customer situations, and build long-term strategic partnerships with executive-level stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and implement scalable customer relationship strategies, account management processes, and performance metrics that drive customer retention and revenue growth.
- Ability to effectively collaborate across Sales, Operations, Fleet, Finance, Credit, Marketing, and other cross-functional teams to achieve commercial objectives and deliver an exceptional customer experience.
- High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Power BI; experience utilizing Salesforce or other CRM platforms to drive customer insights, reporting, forecasting, and performance management.
- High level of emotional intelligence with the ability to lead through influence, navigate complex customer and organizational challenges, and build trust across all levels of the organization.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with the ability to manage ambiguity, adapt to changing business priorities, and make sound decisions with confidence and urgency.
- Self-motivated, self-directed, and results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset and a commitment to operational excellence.
- Demonstrates behaviors consistent with the Sasser Core Values and Competencies, including Respect, Teamwork, Continuous Improvement, and Customer Focus.
Compensation/Benefits
The hiring range for this role is: $160,000 - $180,000.00 USD Annual. This role is classified as exempt for purposes of applicable wage and hour laws, which means that the individual hired will not be eligible for overtime pay. This role is also eligible for an annual incentive bonus based on financial and personal performance throughout the plan year.
Sasser is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. Pay ranges are assigned to a job based on market data according to 3rd party salary benchmarking surveys. Actual base salary is dependent upon factors such as knowledge, skill level, and experience.
This role is also eligible for benefits. Sasser employees enjoy a competitive benefits program that:
- Includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans, including HSA and FSA accounts with employer contributions toward HSA
- Includes a 100% Company-paid disability and life insurance plans
- Includes a 401K plan with company match PLUS additional end-of-year funding
- Provides paid vacation time (tiered based on tenure), as well as personal time, sick days and summer half days for certain roles
- Provides 10 paid holidays annually
- Provides paid parental leave for new parents, as well as a monetary gift towards a 529 education account
- Provides a confidential Employee Assistance Program
- Provides training and tuition reimbursement
- Provides community service opportunities, charity match opportunities, employee recognition programs, and many celebrations!
#EX
The Company provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
