Area Sales Trainer

Gardner--white-Furnitur; Bloomfield Hills (MI); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Gardner--white-Furnitur is seeking an Area Sales Trainer to serve as the face of training across its stores. You will translate programs into consistent selling behaviors, partnering with store leaders to improve coaching effectiveness and measurable results across the territory.

You will lead pre-opening trainings, observe live customer interactions, and provide actionable feedback to enhance sales performance and product knowledge.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in commissioned retail sales, sales leadership, or training.

Responsibilities

• Cover 11-12 stores with daily travel; observe, coach, and reinforce sales standards.
• Lead pre-opening training sessions and deliver standardized content.
• Provide actionable feedback to improve customer engagement and sales process execution.
• Deliver training for new associates and ongoing skill development.
• Guide onboarding, certifications, and 180-day ramp plan for new staff.
• Partner with managers to strengthen coaching culture and performance.
• Communicate field feedback and performance trends to leadership.

Skills

5+ years retail sales/training

top-performer track record

credibility with sellers

facilitation & group presence

read scorecards & coach

direct feedback style

flexible schedule

valid driver’s license

Job description

Description

The Area Sales Trainer serves as the face of sales training in our stores. They serve as the primary representative of translating training programs into consistent selling behaviors and measurable results. This role partners with store leaders to strengthen coaching effectiveness, drive associate performance, and provide actionable insights on training adoption, operational execution, and opportunities for improvement across assigned stores.

Job Responsibilities:

Store Coverage & Field Execution

• Execute a structured store visitation schedule that ensures consistent coverage of all assigned locations.
• Arrive prior to store opening and maximize time on the sales floor to observe performance, coach associates, and support business objectives.
• Maintain a regular field presence to assess execution, identify opportunities, and reinforce sales standards and best practices.

Training Delivery & Morning Meeting Facilitation

• Lead engaging and focused pre-opening training sessions that reinforce key sales skills, product knowledge, promotions, and daily performance objectives.
• Support development of and distribution of standardized meeting content and facilitation tools for store leadership to utilize between coaching visits.
• Ensure training delivery remains consistent, relevant, and aligned with organizational priorities and sales goals.

Sales Floor Coaching & Performance Development

• Observe and evaluate live customer interactions using established coaching and observation approaches.
• Provide actionable feedback to improve sales effectiveness, customer engagement, and execution of the sales process.
• Demonstrate and model best-practice selling behaviors through live customer interactions when appropriate.
• Reinforce core selling disciplines, including customer greeting, needs discovery, T.O. execution, financing discussions, and protection plan presentations.

Associate Training & Skill Development

• Deliver individual/group training sessions based on performance data, observed skill gaps, and business needs.
• Facilitate role-plays, product knowledge training, skill-building workshops, and development activities designed to improve associate performance.
• Identify opportunities for retraining and continuous development to strengthen sales capabilities across the territory.

New Associate Onboarding

• Guide new associates through onboarding programs, ensuring successful completion of required milestones.
• Conduct skill certifications and readiness assessments prior to granting full sales floor independence.
• Support associates throughout their first 180 days through structured follow-up, coaching, performance check-ins, and developmental guidance.
• Identify and communicate potential performance or retention risks to store leadership and recommend appropriate interventions.

Leadership Coaching & Enablement

• Partner with store and sales managers to strengthen coaching effectiveness.
• Support the development of a strong coaching culture focused on continuous improvement and associate growth.

Communication, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Provide regular feedback and reporting to leadership regarding store performance trends, skill gaps, coaching outcomes, and development opportunities.
• Communicate observations related to sales processes, product knowledge, customer experience, and operational execution.
• Identify top-performing associates, recognize best practices, and share opportunities for improvement.
• Gather and communicate field feedback regarding training programs, products, promotions, and organizational initiatives.

Learning Systems, Operations & Budget Management

• Lead training and readiness efforts for new product collections, promotions, financing programs, and operational process changes.
• Ensure store teams understand and effectively execute new initiatives prior to launch.
• Partner with business stakeholders to support successful adoption and implementation of organizational changes across the territory.

Requirements

Qualifications needed to perform this position:

• 5+ years of experience in commissioned retail sales, sales leadership, or training, including 3+ years of training experience; home furnishings, mattress, or other high-ticket retail preferred
• A consistent top-performer record in commissioned sales
• Credibility with sellers: you can sell, and associates know it
• Strong facilitation and presence in front of groups of every tenure level
• Comfort with sales data: you read a scorecard and turn it into a coaching plan
• Direct, constructive feedback style; you raise issues to store leadership without undermining them
• Flexible schedule, including early starts, evenings, and weekends tied to store traffic
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation

Success Metrics:

• Five to Thrive metrics by store and by associate, versus baseline: Conversion, Average Ticket, Protection Program Adoption, and Finance Applications
• New-hire ramp to target, certification on schedule, and retention
• Floor observations completed and documented per week
• Associate retention in coached stores
• Additional metrics to be determined

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position does not have any direct supervisory responsibilities.

Work Environment:

This position provides training and coaching support for 11-12 stores across an assigned territory and requires extensive daily travel between stores.

Physical Demands:

This employee will regularly be standing, walking, driving and speaking.

Travel:

This position requires daily travel to stores throughout the assigned territory.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full‑time position working a flexible schedule based on the needs of the business.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, duties, and responsibilities associated with the role.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.