Design Team Sales Manager

Nell Hill's; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Nell Hill's in Kansas City, MO is seeking an experienced Sales Manager to lead the Interior Design Department. You will coach a talented design team, drive sales performance, and cultivate a showroom culture focused on connection and extraordinary client experiences.

The role starts with a base pay of $65k–$75k per year with uncapped commissions tied to team performance, rewarding success with no cap on earnings. Weekend shifts are required.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of retail sales management experience in design/home furnishings/lifestyle
• Experience leading, coaching, and developing a sales team to meet/exceed goals
• Strong understanding of interior design principles to support a design team

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Designers, fostering a culture of positivity, accountability, and sales focus
• Set clear expectations for performance, professionalism, and client engagement
• Lead by example on the showroom floor with clienteling, product knowledge, and customer connection
• Build a team environment that is driven and self-motivated, positive and genuine, collaborative and respectful
• Handle complaints and performance issues professionally, escalating as appropriate
• Hold monthly one-on-one meetings to review performance and set goals
• Facilitate regular team meetings to align on priorities and updates
• Develop and deliver trainings on product knowledge, sales techniques, clienteling, and design services
• Implement systems and processes that support consistency and team effectiveness
• Push through company programs and initiatives with team engagement
• Own department sales performance, monitor results, and identify trends
• Run reporting to understand activity, pipelines, and metrics
• Support Designers in working leads from initial contact through close
• Gather customer feedback and project data to provide input to buying team
• Attend Market to support buying process and deepen product knowledge
• Build monthly schedule for the design team and manage floor coverage

Skills

Team Leadership

Coaching

Sales Management

Customer Engagement

Communication

Organization

Tools

POS systems

Shopify

Reporting systems

Job description

What You'll Do

Team Leadership & Culture

About This Role

Nell Hill's is looking for an experienced Sales Manager who leads with passion, builds with purpose, and inspires their team to create extraordinary interior design experiences. If you love beautiful spaces, thrive on connection, and know how to bring out the best in the people around you, we built this role for you. You'll lead our Interior Design Department: coaching a talented team of designers, driving sales performance, and creating an environment where every team member is motivated, supported, and proud of the work they do!

Compensation

This role starts with a base pay of $65k–$75k annually, based on your experience. You'll also be eligible for commissions: as the Design Team Sales Manager, you'll receive a monthly commission based on the total eligible sales associated with your team, paid in addition to your base salary. There is no cap on the commission you can earn, increased sales in your department translate directly into increased earnings for you!

What You'll Do

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Designers, fostering a culture of positivity, accountability, and sales focus
• Set clear expectations for performance, professionalism, and client engagement
• Lead by example on the showroom floor - demonstrating best practices in clienteling, product knowledge, and customer connection
• Build a team environment that is driven and self-motivated, positive and genuine, collaborative and respectful, and independent and accountable
• Handle complaints and performance issues professionally, escalating to leadership as appropriate

Coaching, Training & Development

• Hold monthly one-on-one meetings with each Designer to review performance, provide feedback, and set goals
• Facilitate regular team meetings to align on priorities, share updates, and celebrate wins
• Develop and deliver trainings on product knowledge, sales techniques, clienteling, and design services
• Implement systems and processes that support consistency and team effectiveness
• Push through company programs and initiatives, ensuring the team is informed and engaged

Sales Performance & Reporting

• Own department sales performance - monitor results, identify trends, and take action to meet and exceed goals
• Run reporting to fully understand individual and team sales activity, pipelines, and performance metrics
• Support Designers in working leads from initial contact through project follow-up and close
• Gather customer feedback, project data, and team suggestions to provide actionable input to the buying team
• Opportunity to attend Market to support the buying process and deepen product knowledge

Scheduling & Operations

• Build and manage the monthly schedule for the design team, ensuring adequate floor coverage
• Approve time-off requests and manage scheduling changes in accordance with company policy
• Ensure Designers are maximizing floor time with customers while supporting their project prep and planning needs
• Maintain oversight of the Design Studio - organized, welcoming, and fully functional

Client Engagement & Project Support

• Maintain a deep understanding of interior design to support the team at every stage - from leads and appointments to project follow-up and order resolution
• Support Designers in building lasting client relationships focused on long-term loyalty, repeat business, and referrals
• Assist in resolving escalated customer concerns with professionalism and a solutions-first mindset
• Support the team in building and maintaining client portfolios so completed work can be shared

Vendor Relationships & Product Knowledge

• Maintain strong relationships with key vendors to support custom order placement and management
• Develop and maintain a high level of product knowledge to coach the team and support customer interactions
• Support Designers in the accurate preparation and submission of custom orders

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Collaborate with Visual Merchandising to support weekly floor moves and maintain a beautiful showroom
• Partner with the Buying team to share sales data, customer insights, and team feedback
• Communicate significant design projects to the Marketing team for shareable content and service promotion
• Attend monthly leadership meetings and communicate key updates and priorities to your team
• Participate in special events, seasonal activations, and storewide initiatives

What We're Looking For

• 3–5+ years of retail sales management experience, preferably in design, home furnishings, or a lifestyle environment
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop a sales team to meet and exceed performance goals
• Strong understanding of interior design principles at a level that allows you to confidently support a design team
• Experience managing custom orders and vendor relationships
• Comfortable with POS and reporting systems; Shopify experience is a plus
• Excellent communicator with the ability to deliver clear feedback, run productive meetings, and collaborate across departments
• Highly organized, proactive, and solutions-oriented
• Warm, approachable, and genuinely passionate about people, product, and the customer experience
• Comfortable managing complaints and navigating difficult conversations with professionalism and grace

PLEASE NOTE

Weekends are a required part of this role. Our busiest, most energetic days on the floor are where genuine connections happen most often. We are looking for someone who is genuinely joyful and enthusiastic - warm, curious, and passionate about beautiful spaces, home décor, and design - and who lifts the energy of those around them.

Physical Requirements

• Comfortable standing and walking for extended periods
• Able to lift and carry merchandise up to 50 lbs as needed
• Adaptable to a lively retail environment with frequent customer and team interaction