Account Executive - Construction

Southern Shade Tree Co.; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Shade Tree Co. seeks a results-driven sales professional to own and grow commercial relationships across land development, multifamily and related landscape construction opportunities. You will connect clients with internal teams and help win executable, profitable work, not just increase bid volume.

Expect a dynamic role with travel, client-facing negotiations and a collaborative culture focused on profitability and client trust.

Qualifications

• Required: landscape construction, site development, production builder, multifamily construction or closely related industry sales experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop relationships with builders, developers and other decision-makers.
• Maintain a strong field presence with builder visits, jobsites and events.
• Own opportunities from qualification through award and coordinate with estimating and operations.

Job description

Position Summary

Own and grow commercial relationships with builders and developers across land development / offsites, production homes / models, multifamily and related landscape construction opportunities. Represent Southern Shade Tree as an early, trusted resource, connect customers with internal teams and help win executable, profitable work—not simply increase bid volume.

Key Responsibilities

Client development and market leadership

• Develop relationships with builders, developers, purchasing teams, project managers, superintendents, design partners and other decision-makers.
• Maintain a strong field presence through builder office visits, jobsites, networking events, meetings and thoughtful relationship touchpoints.
• Earn early involvement and a meaningful opportunity for a final review of competitive proposals when possible.

Opportunity and estimating coordination

• Own assigned commercial relationships and sales opportunities from qualification through award.
• Qualify project scope, timing, buying process, fit, risk and likelihood of award; organize complete, actionable RFP packages.
• Serve as the communication link for estimating: secure clarifications, RFIs, addenda and buyer feedback while respecting estimating workload and pricing authority.
• Understand key scope inclusions, exclusions, cost drivers and commercial risks; coordinate approved proposal positioning and negotiations.

Award, handoff and follow-through

• Drive disciplined proposal follow-up and accurately record decision dates, barriers and next actions.
• Prepare construction operations for handoff with documented schedule, scope, commitments, risk items and contacts.
• Stay engaged after award; visit active projects and proactively resolve commercial issues with the appropriate operational leaders.
• Keep Salesforce opportunity records, relationship history and pipeline forecasts timely and accurate.

Performance and Accountability

Performance will be evaluated through role-appropriate activity expectations and KPI categories established by leadership; specific numeric targets are set separately by market, experience level and annual plan.

• Qualified opportunity creation and pipeline progression
• Meaningful builder / developer meetings, jobsite visits and strategic touchpoints
• Bid qualification quality and estimating package completeness
• Proposal follow-up discipline, opportunity win rate and award value
• Profitability / margin quality and commercially sound scope
• Handoff quality, customer engagement and repeat business
• Salesforce accuracy, forecast reliability and cross-functional responsiveness

Required Qualifications

• Required: landscape construction, site development, production builder, multifamily construction or closely related industry sales experience.
• Working knowledge of construction bidding, plan/specification review, scopes and project timelines.
• Ability to work collaboratively with estimating, design, operations and leadership.
• Strong client-facing communication, negotiation, follow-through and CRM skills.
• Ability to travel regularly throughout the assigned market and visit jobsites.

Operating Boundaries

Indicative operating rhythm: approximately 60% external / 40% internal, subject to market needs. Own the customer and commercial process; estimating owns its technical estimating deliverables and Operations owns project execution.

Culture and Professional Standards

Safety first. Integrity in every commitment. High initiative with low ego. Professionalism, accountability, clear communication, dependability and teamwork. Employees share information, support estimating and operations, and solve problems rather than passing them along. Success includes customer trust, profitable work and a stronger team—not individual production alone.

Compensation and Role Requirements

Base salary plus commission under the applicable written compensation plan. Commission eligibility, crediting, timing, adjustments and any other terms are governed by that plan. Travel within the assigned market, site / property visits and attendance at customer or industry events are expected as business needs require.