Customer Service & Sales Specialist

akesafetyequipment; Rochester (MN); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

AKE Safety Equipment seeks an Inside Sales & Customer Success Representative to lead regional efforts, communicate with sales reps and customers, and drive forward movement of the business.

You will own sales goals, manage CRM data, and coordinate across departments to improve orders, RMAs, and customer satisfaction.

Qualifications

• Strong problem solving and analytical abilities with practical solutions.
• Growth-oriented, accountable, and driven to achieve results.
• Excellent planning, organization, and multitasking skills.
• Detail-oriented with accuracy across orders and records.
• Excellent communication and sales skills with customers.
• Proficient with CRM and business systems; technologically capable.
• Self-directed, proactive, and able to improve processes.

Responsibilities

• Deliver responsive, professional customer service and resolve issues.
• Own and achieve sales goals through follow-up and upsell.
• Plan, prioritize, and track sales activities; adjust strategy as needed.
• Investigate issues, identify root causes, and implement solutions.
• Identify trends and propose ideas to improve results and the customer experience.
• Accurately manage orders, RMAs, records, and reporting.
• Collaborate across departments to resolve issues and improve processes.

Skills

Problem solving & analytical thinking

Growth mindset

Planning & organization

Detail orientation

Communication & sales

CRM & systems literacy

Self-directed & initiative

Ownership & accountability

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

Tools

Salesforce

Fishbowl

Job description

DESCRIPTION:

AKE Safety Equipment is a locally owned small to mid-sized manufacturing and sales driven company. We operate on a national scale, targeting customers who farm and reside in agriculturally productive areas of the U.S. Our Inside Sales & Customer Success Representative will be the department lead responsible for communicating with our regionally based sales representatives and customers. This role requires creativity, quick adaptation to change and has the ability to keep the success and forward movement of the business as the ultimate top priority.

Specific Responsibilities

• Deliver responsive, professional customer service; understand needs, solve problems, de-escalate concerns, and drive issues through to resolution.
• Own and achieve individual sales goals, including year-over-year growth, through proactive customer follow-up, refill sales, new product sales, and identifying customer needs.
• Plan, prioritize, and track sales activities and results; analyze performance and adjust strategy to stay on goal.
• Notice when something is off, investigate the cause, and take ownership of developing and driving the solution.
• Identify customer, sales, or process trends and bring forward ideas to improve results, efficiency, and the customer experience.
• Accurately manage orders, RMAs, customer records, serial numbers, registration cards, lost package claims, NPS, and required reporting.
• Work effectively across departments to resolve issues, facilitate orders, and improve processes.

Required Skills

• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and critical-thinking skills with the ability to investigate issues and develop practical solutions.
• Growth-oriented and accountable, with the drive to own results rather than simply complete tasks.
• Strong planning, organization, tracking, and follow-through.
• Highly detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple priorities accurately.
• Excellent communication, customer service, and sales skills.
• Technologically capable and comfortable learning and using CRM, business, and operational systems.
• Self-directed, resourceful, and willing to bring forward new ideas and challenge inefficient processes.
• Able to recognize problems, take ownership, and drive solutions to completion.

Preferred Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• 3+ years of customer service experience.
• Previous sales or inside sales experience.
• Experience with Salesforce and/or Fishbowl or similar CRM/order-management systems.
• Experience in an industrial, manufacturing, technical, or product-based environment.
• Experience with NPS/customer feedback, order processing, RMAs, inventory, shipping, or fulfillment.
• Experience using data and performance metrics to identify opportunities and make business decisions.
• Farming experience would be a plus