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[POSITION FILLED] January 22, 2022 – Schaffer Associates is recruiting for a Southern Regional Manager for a well-respected fastener manufacturer. Based in Texas, the Southern Regional Manager will be responsible for leading the development and execution of sales and marketing strategies for all Company products with the major industrial supply distributors, contractor supply (STAFDA) distributors, and fastener distributors, as well as with industrial end users, throughout the Southern US (TN, AL, MS, LA, AR, TX, OK).

Providing direction to the company’s manufacturers’ rep sales force (2 rep organizations headquartered in Dallas and Memphis) but more importantly by working directly with key contractor supply and industrial distributors and their sales teams, the Southern Regional Manager will be responsible for increasing sales and market share throughout the region.  In addition, this individual will be responsible for working with distributors’ sales teams in developing relationships with major end-users in the region in order to raise their awareness of the company’s products and programs that are supported by its distribution partners.   To accomplish these goals, the Regional Manager will have to maintain continued interface with existing and potential customers and with major industrial distributors (such as Vallen, RS Hughes, Fastenal, etc), contractor supply/STAFDA distributors, and. fastener distributors.

In support of business development initiatives, the individual will be responsible for providing input back to Company leadership with respect to market penetration, product development, and competitive positioning. This position will also have responsibility for coordinating with the Company National Accounts Manager – Mexico (located in Southern California) for developing growth with end users in Mexico. This will be accomplished by working jointly with current Company distributors in Mexico and training their salespeople in Mexico on presenting the benefits of Company products to industrial end users. The Southern Regional manager will also be working with the Company sales rep based near Monterrey in identifying potential domestic distributors for Company in Mexico.  This position will require travel to Mexico to key industrial cities and areas such as Monterrey, Mexico City, Puebla, San Luis Pitosi, Queretaro, Guadalajara, Juarez, and other key manufacturing cities along the Texas / Mexico border.

Major Job Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain strong working relationship with the key contractor supply and industrial distributors in the market and work closely with them to develop sales strategies to deliver effective programs to their end-users.
• Focus on existing and potential distributors with National distribution capabilities.
• Establish training programs and implement as necessary to lead, guide and direct sales efforts with distributor sales teams.
• Build and maintain positive customer relationships at all levels, particularly with Sales VP’s, Regional Managers and District Managers.
• Establish strategic sales plan to develop and grow the company’s market share with the key contractor supply, fastener, and industrial distributors and with major end-users in the Southern region.
• Develop and evaluate the product value propositions for targeted end-users and define sales strategies with trade channel partners to ensure successful program development.
• Connect with and train distributors’ inside and outside sales people in all aspects of Company advantages with quality, price, breadth of line, features & benefits, and unique items to ensure the Company “story” is presented effectively to the end user.
• Recommend marketing strategies to ensure effective communications with the universe of decision-makers and influencers in the targeted markets.
• Evaluate opportunities in new channels such as electrical distributors, HVAC distributors, and LBM wholesalers
• Be vigilant of competitive activity and report details of new developments
• Represent the company at major trade shows throughout the year

 Personal Attributes: 

• Organized, strategic thinker with strong work ethic and professional demeanor.
• Must be bi-lingual, fluent in Spanish
• High sense of urgency, energy, and enthusiasm balanced with a disciplined approach to decision making.
• Ability to be productive and self-starting in long periods of unsupervised work activity. Past success in managing a sales territory from a home office.
• Resourcefulness and confidence with locating and developing new business opportunities
• Experienced sales professional and strong communicator with the ability to train distributor sales teams.
• Competent in achieving defined goals in a smaller company environment with limited resources.
• Ability to travel domestically a minimum of 50% to build market share and brand awareness / preference at the end user level.
• Good planning skills relative to maximizing travel productivity and minimizing travel expenses
• Strong personal moral and ethical standards

Education and Experience Prerequisites:

• Bachelor’s Degree strongly preferred.
• Sales management experience with a manufacturer of tools or fasteners or with contractor supply and / or industrial distributors of at least 5 years is a prerequisite. Experience with distributors with national distribution, and / or distribution into Mexico is an added benefit
• Documented experience in managing a sales team or manufacturer sales reps, selling to contractor supply and / industrial distributors, is required.
• Must have expertise and proficiency with basic MS Office software, e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

Location:

• The ideal candidate would be currently located within a one-hour drive time radius of Houston IAH airport or Dallas DFW.

This job posting is for information purposes only. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Schaffer Associates is a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future.

Call us at (704) 535-9939 or find us at www.SchafferAssociates.com