About this Sales Manager - Industrial Components role at Keller Executive Search
Keller Executive Search is recruiting for a profitable, growing industrial manufacturer serving processing and manufacturing markets. Our client sells application-specific physical products through OEM, reseller, and end-user channels. Increased production capacity has created a strong platform for profitable commercial growth.
This is a high-impact opportunity for a hands-on B2B seller who wants autonomy, direct access to senior leadership, and the chance to shape a sales function. You will personally prospect, open accounts, expand existing relationships, visit customer facilities, and manage opportunities from application discovery and quoting through closing and follow-through. Success means generating growth while protecting margin and customer profitability.
The role also supports a planned leadership succession, providing time to learn established customer relationships, technical applications, and pricing practices. Initially, this is an individual-contributor and functional-lead position with no direct reports. It offers a credible path to Sales Director and the opportunity to build a sales team as results support further investment.
Key Responsibilities
- Generate new business through targeted prospecting, field activity, trade shows, and disciplined follow-up.
- Expand existing accounts through additional products, applications, and customer locations.
- Own the full sales cycle, including discovery, site assessment, quoting, negotiation, order handoff, and follow-through.
- Build relationships with OEMs, resellers, distributors, end users, and key accounts.
- Conduct plant visits, investigate applications, take accurate measurements, recommend specifications, and train customers.
- Apply sound pricing, discount, gross-margin, complexity, and cost-to-serve judgment.
- Create territory and account plans using sales, margin, product-mix, and pipeline data.
- Maintain accurate customer, opportunity, quote, and order records in ERP or CRM tools.
- Plan efficient multi-day customer trips and represent the business at industry trade shows.
- Coordinate with the external marketing agency on campaigns, lead generation, and trade-show activity.
- Partner with customer service, production, purchasing, and technical resources to ensure deliverable commitments.
- Establish scalable sales processes and pipeline discipline for future growth.
Requirements
Essential
- At least 5 years of successful B2B sales experience with full-cycle responsibility.
- Recent personal success prospecting, opening accounts, and expanding existing business.
- Experience selling technical, engineered, application-specific, or consultative products or solutions.
- Understanding of pricing, gross margin, discounting, customer profitability, and cost-to-serve.
- Ability to learn technical products, assess applications, record measurements, and explain specifications.
- Strong analytical, mathematical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
- Experience using an ERP and/or CRM, plus working knowledge of Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint or equivalent tools.
- Fluent English with effective written, spoken, presentation, and customer-instruction skills.
- Self-directed, ethical, accountable, and collaborative working style.
- Ability to travel approximately 40 to 50%, including overnight and occasional weekend travel.
- Ability to navigate industrial facilities and perform site assessments, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Reliable transportation to the office and customer locations.
Preferred
- Experience selling industrial equipment, components, MRO products, engineered materials, or similar technical products.
- Sales exposure to food, chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, paper, fertilizer, or related processing industries.
- Familiarity with OEM, reseller, distributor, end-user, or multi-channel sales.
- Experience managing a regional or multi-state territory and visiting manufacturing facilities.
- Success building sales processes while retaining personal selling responsibility.
- Leadership, coaching, or mentorship experience.
- Bachelor's degree or related education in business, engineering, or industrial technology.
- DELMIAWorks/IQMS experience or Spanish proficiency.
Ideal Candidate Profile
You are a commercially disciplined technical seller who enjoys creating opportunities, understanding real-world applications, and earning trust on the plant floor. Self-directed, ethical, low-ego, and data-minded, you can succeed without extensive support and want to build profitable business and a scalable sales function.
Benefits
- Base salary of $80,000 to $110,000 annually in USD, based on experience and fit.
- Commission, incentives, and MBO rewards tied to profitable growth, with target total compensation of approximately $130,000 to $145,000 and performance upside.
- 75% company-paid employee health, dental, and vision coverage.
- Company-paid life, short-term disability, long-term disability, accident, and critical illness benefits.
- 3% 401(k) match plus 3% profit sharing.
- Two weeks of vacation, one week of sick/personal leave, and 13 paid holidays.
Agency statement
Keller is a recruitment agency that provides services to clients ranging from startups and non profits to multinational corporations. Keller emphasizes ethical search processes, attentive candidate care, and leadership placements that support long-term client outcomes.
To learn more about the firm and about our candidate services - please visit our website
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