District Sales Manager * Alabama*

Kadant Inc.; Alabama; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision insurance

401k with match

Company paid life insurance

Job summary

Kadant Solutions Division is seeking a District Sales Manager (DSM) to drive revenue targets for an assigned account list including paper and tissue mills. The DSM will build and maintain strong customer relationships, prioritize multiple projects, and ensure accuracy of customer information in CRM systems.

The role emphasizes understanding Kadant Solutions products, applying them to customers’ processes, delivering reliable forecasts, and meeting safety standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or minimum of five years selling experience in industrial markets.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Plan, schedule and execute customer visits to support the sales forecast and relationships.
• Demonstrate strong understanding of Kadant Solutions products and services.
• Understand customer process and apply Kadant Solutions products as solutions.
• Develop and maintain strong customer relationships with senior management, production, maintenance, engineering and purchasing.
• Provide accurate and timely forecasts and reports.
• Maintain up-to-date customer information in SharePoint and Salesforce.com.

Skills

Product Knowledge

Judgment/Decision Making

Initiative

Adaptability

Team Player

Customer Focus

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

The District Sales Manager (DSM) has overall responsibility for meeting revenue targets for their assigned Account List. The Account List will include both paper and tissue mills. The DSM will develop and maintain strong customer relationships at all accounts and will maintain accurate, complete and up to date customer information. The DSM must be capable of prioritizing and handling multiple projects or tasks simultaneously. Results will be measured by sale of targeted products, capital and consumables compared to forecast as well as other, predefined objectives.

Responsibilities

• 1. Plan, schedule and execute customer visits, at a frequency that supports the sales forecast and customer relationship. To accomplish this, the DSM must maximize their time in front of customers by spending at least four days each week with their customers.
• 2. The DSM must demonstrate a strong understanding of all Kadant Solutions products and services.
• 3. The DSM must demonstrate a strong understanding of the customer’s process and be able to apply Kadant Solutions products as solutions in their process.
• 4. Apply 80/20 strategies throughout the sales process
• 5. Develop and maintain strong customer relationships:
  • a. With Senior Management, Production, Maintenance, Engineering and Purchasing
  • b. By being responsive to customer needs and objections.
  • c. By providing strong value propositions (ROI) to support the proposed solution.
  • d. By utilizing Kadant Solutions Applications, Engineering, Technical Services and Management.
  • e. By facilitating meetings, presentations, seminars, training, etc.
  • f. By providing documentation in support of recommendations.
• 6. Develop and maintain strong internal Kadant Solutions relationships.
• 7. Provide accurate and timely forecasts and reports
• 8. Maintain accurate, complete and up to date customer information in SharePoint and Salesforce.com.
• 9. Safe working practices are critical as paper machines operate at high speed and injuries may be serious.
• 10. Adhere to Kadant Solutions Employee Handbook

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• 1. Product Knowledge: In-depth mechanical and application knowledge of the KSD product line.
• 2. Judgment / Decision Making: Demonstrate consistent logic, rationality and objectivity in decision making. Achieve balance between quick decisiveness and slower, more thorough approaches, i.e. is neither indecisive nor a hip-shooter. Show common sense. Anticipate consequences of decisions.
• 3. Initiative: Seek out seize opportunities, go beyond the “call of duty”, finds ways to surmount barriers. Resourceful, action-orientated “doer”, achieving results despite lack of resources. Re-stimulate languishing projects. Shows basis for action (“do it now”). Takes reasonable risk and learns from mistakes.
• 4. Adaptability: Flexible to new pressures from competition prioritize accordingly. Convert high self-objectivity into self-correction and personal involvement. Not rigid-intellectually, emotionally, interpersonally. Adjusts quickly to changing priorities. Cope effectively with complexity.
• 5. Team Player: Reach out to peers to tear down walls. Overcome “we-they” relationships. Approachable. Earn a reputation for leading peers towards support of what is best for total company. Cooperate with management (but not “yes person”) and establish collaborative relationship with peers (without being a “pushover”).
• 6. Customer Focus: Regularly monitors customer satisfaction. Meets internal and external customer needs in ways that provide satisfaction and excellent results for the customer. Establishes “partner” relationships with customers. Regarded as visible and accessible by customers.

Who is Kadant Solutions Division?

Kadant Solutions, based in Auburn, Massachusetts, develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of doctoring, cleaning, filtration, and forming systems and related consumables used in process industries worldwide including construction roofing materials, food processing, metals processing, nonwovens, pulp and paper, textiles and fibers, and tissue.

Why consider joining the Kadant team?

• Kadant was named as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2021-2026 by Newsweek
• Kadant was named as one of America’s Greatest Companies 2025 by Newsweek
• Kadant was named as one of America’s Greenest Companies 2025 by Newsweek
• 100% of Kadant’s energy comes from renewable sources.
• Kadant serves the pulp and paper industry which has recycled 68% of everything produced and 82% of cardboard since 2009, the highest of any processing industry.
• Kadant serves several process industries including lithium-ion battery production, food processing, metals processing, carbon fiber, nonwovens, textiles, and construction roofing materials.
• At Kadant, our customer-focused innovation allows us to deliver Sustainable Industrial Processing™ engineering services and technologies to help our customers create more value with fewer inputs.

*Equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state and local laws.

*Diverse and inclusive workplace.

*Competitive wage.

All benefits are effective upon date of hire.

• *Medical, Dental and Vision insurance with best-in-class premiums.
• *10 ½ paid holidays.
• *401k with match.
• *Company paid life insurance benefit.
• *Disability insurance.
• *Aflac insurance.
• *Lifelock insurance.
• *MetLaw legal assistance.
• *Employee assistance program.
• *Flexible spending.
• *Dependent care.
• *Educational assistance.
• *Employee stock purchase plan.

"Company Name is not accepting unsolicited resumes from search firms for this position. If you are a search firm, you will not be compensated in any way for your submission of a candidate, even if Company Name hires that candidate."

Qualifications

WORKING CONDITIONS

Frequent lifting, bending, climbing, standing and/or stooping. The DSM will routinely be exposed to customer facilities and machinery and is expected to adhere to all safety requirements as established by the customer as well as Kadant.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree and/or minimum of five years selling experience in industrial markets. Must possess working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

SUCCESS FACTORS

• 1. Results orientated.
• 2. Sound judgment and ability to balance time and territory management.
• 3. High energy level comfortable performing multi-faceted tasks in conjunction with day-to-day activities.
• 4. Superior interpersonal abilities. Ability to get along with diverse personalities, tactful, mature, flexible and a team player.