Sauder Manufacturing was founded in 1945 as a Church furniture Company. We have a rich history in crafting solid wood into beautiful, enduring, quality furniture and today that is blended with modern technology and a strong customer focus.
Sauder Manufacturing Co. sells in four strategic markets: Healthcare Furniture for Acute Care Hospitals, Education Furniture for colleges and universities, Worship furniture for churches, synagogues, courthouses and furniture for human services markets which is a diverse network of agencies providing residential housing to many individuals. At Sauder Manufacturing, how do we do our work----new technology, new products and new ideas----changes constantly---but our values----how we treat our customers, suppliers and each other----never change.
Position Summary:
Sauder Education, a leading furniture manufacturer for the higher education market, is seeking a manufacturer's sales representative to sell our Residence Hall furniture to the higher education market in the South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida Territory. Our products are purpose built for this challenging environment and valued by our customers for that reason. The person that represents Sauder Education in this territory will be selling one of the hottest products in college housing, the Trey® chair, the zTrak bed system and popular innovative lounge products Rally and Chill.
Description of Key Duties:
- Develop, orchestrate and build relationships with key decision makers on Higher Education campuses with a focus on Residence Life
- Sell and quote Sauder Education furniture
- Travel the territory in person by vehicle
- Facilitate the installation of the furniture
- Participate and be engaged in all training required by sales management
- Enter and update all opportunities, contacts, and accounts into our CRM system
- Update all quotes with accurate forecast dates and probabilities in the quoting system
- Communicate regularly with sales management
- Utilize virtual meeting technology to connect with customers
What does success look like in this Territory?
- Have a home office and a vehicle to haul and demonstrate furniture
- Hauling furniture around and demonstrating furniture directly to end users and specifiers on a frequent and on-going basis
- Increasing the number of colleges and universities each year that do business with Sauder Education
- Increase market share each year in the segment of Res Life on College and University campuses.
- Selling a good mix of casegoods, chairs and upholstered furniture
- Consistently good Net Promoter Score feedback, (9’s and 10’s)
- Submitting clean and complete orders
- Developing solid relationships with many college/university customers as well as architects, designers, and dealers specifying in the higher education market with a focus on res life and housing on campus
- Filling the pipeline with projects for the next 2-3 years ahead and keeping the opportunity pipeline database updated
- A trend of growing sales each year
Experience and Knowledge Required/preferred:
- It is highly desired to live within the specific territory defined
- 5+ years of successful sales experience
- Territory management experience
- Experience in Higher Education and Residence Life
- Maintain adequate transportation to facilitate moving samples and materials
- Persistent, likeable, trustworthy
- Ability to build and maintain long-term relationships
- Ability to manage long-term sales cycle
- Familiar with using Microsoft office
Key Attributes Required:
- Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables
- Ability to solve problems in stressful situations
- Ability to take a “no” and move on with respectful persistence
- Strong attention to details
- Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
- Self-starting, goal-oriented individual who takes personal accountability for performance
- Communicates effectively in both oral and written forms
- Individual will need to demonstrate previous success in excellent organizational, facilitation, and communication skills
- Computer skills to help with communication and quoting
- Ability to organize information to be support territory, project, and account management
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to travel throughout the territory meeting with end users, dealerships and A&D firms and will often be required to lift heavy furniture items, occasionally exceeding 80 lbs. The employee is regularly required to talk or hear and frequently required to walk and sit. Use of hands and fingers will be required for writing, computer use, and phone use. Work in a manner consistent with standard Sauder safety practices and expectations. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Encompasses the full spectrum from customer’s offices, personal offices, to executive board rooms. The noise levels in these work environments are usually low to moderate. Personal protective equipment such as eye protection and ear protection may be required in the shop floor environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer M/F/Disabled/Veteran
Specific Outcomes to be Delivered:
Leadership
Model the Company’s Leadership Values and develop a strong collaborative and engaged team-based culture
Collaboration
Contribute to and be an effective member of the SMC organization. Engages regularly with team members to identify competitive advantages with both home office and other territory managers
Talent Development
Ensure continual development of sales skills to higher levels of competency with the goals of meeting future sales targets
Customer Service
Ensure the highest level of customer service is consistently provided by effectively communicating and coordinating the activities during the sales process
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer M/F/Disabled/Veteran
Skills Required
- 5+ years of successful sales experience
- Territory management experience
- Experience in higher education and Residence Life
- Adequate transportation to move samples and materials
- Ability to build and maintain long-term relationships
- Ability to manage long-term sales cycles
- Familiarity with Microsoft Office
- Strong organizational, facilitation, and communication skills
- Computer skills for communication and quoting
- Ability to organize territory, project, and account information
- Residence within the defined territory
- Ability to frequently travel throughout the territory by vehicle
- Ability to lift furniture items, occasionally exceeding 80 pounds
What We Do
Sauder Manufacturing Co. designs and manufactures quality contract furniture, combining solid-wood craftsmanship with modern technology and a customer-focused approach. Founded as a church-furniture company, it serves four key markets: healthcare, higher education, worship, and human services, with products for acute-care hospitals, colleges and universities, religious institutions, courthouses, and human-services organizations. Its portfolio spans these specialized environments through several distinct brands.
