Early Career Sales Rep - IL or WI

Smurfit Westrock Company; Aurora (IL); On-site; USD 62,250 - 103,750; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Comprehensive training

Performance bonus

Job summary

WestRock Company in Illinois seeks an Early Career Sales Representative to develop new business and grow assigned accounts in the small to mid-size segment. The role emphasizes inside sales with a clear path to outside sales within 12–14 months.

You will coordinate orders with management and staff, engage prospects remotely by phone, email, and videoconference, and apply our Sales Excellence methodology to win new business and expand relationships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent with education and experience.
• Experience in B2B inside or field sales.
• Ability to manage full book of assigned accounts across units.
• Proven ability to close opportunities by phone/videoconference.

Responsibilities

• Develop new business and manage/grow assigned accounts.
• Coordinate orders with management and plant staff.
• Expand customer base through outreach to new and former customers.
• Meet volume and margin targets and drive cross-sell/up-sell opportunities.

Skills

Inside sales

CRM (Salesforce)

Phone sales

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Job description

IL Aurora Corrugated, IL New Lenox, WI Pleasant Prairie

Employment Type

Full Time

Date Posted

01-Apr-2026

Relocation Support

No

Description & Requirements

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) is the go-to leader and partner of choice in sustainable packaging. We are dedicated to creating efficient and scalable paper and packaging solutions to help solve complex packaging challenges. Guided by our values of safety, loyalty, integrity and respect, we are committed to delivering meaningful value for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities where we operate.

The Opportunity:

The Early Career Sales Representative (ECSR) will be responsible for developing new business and managing and growing assigned customer accounts primarily within the small to medium business segment. The ECSR will work to gain success within inside sales to secure an area outside sales role within 12-14 months. The ECSR will work with corporate and plant management and staff to coordinate orders, secure orders for new business, and to resolve any account issues. Additionally, the ECSR will work with inside sales management and plant management to expand the customer base by engaging with new potential customers and previous Smurfit Westrock customers with the goal of gaining or winning back business.

The ECSR will be expected to develop a deep rapport with customers with the goal of understanding their business, and the challenges they face, and forming relationships with the people within their organization who make or influence buying decisions. Activity will be centered on remote communication including teleconference, phone, and email communication. The ECSR will follow Smurfit Westrock’s Sales Excellence methodology to gauge interest, identify areas of business growth opportunity, and close new business.

How You Will Impact Smurfit Westrock:

• ECSRs will be dedicated to improving Smurfit Westrock customer experience while also driving value by creating both cross-selling up-selling, and new business opportunities.
• Stay up to date and well versed in the Paper and Packaging industry, Smurfit Westrock products, manufacturing challenges and retail trends by category segments
• Maintain a working knowledge of Smurfit Westrock Enterprise solutions and continue learning by studying new products and participating in educational opportunities
• Understand the business pressures effecting our customers and the relevant value of Smurfit Westrock’s solutions as well as an understanding of competitor information and trends by region to create SWOT analysis and competitive selling strategies
• Research new and current customer accounts and identifykey playersto engagethrough outbound calls and digital tools.
• Conduct complex issue resolution for customers (involving communication with both customer and appropriate Smurfit Westrock colleagues). Some examples include pricing, delivery, quality, warehousing, logistics, new product design, and margin improvement.
• Maintain and improve quality results by following established processes and methodologies.
• Collaborate with Business Unit and Plant sales teams to maintain relationships and coordinate potential overlapping business responsibilities.
• Strive to achieve individual and team established metrics and goals.
• Meet targets for volume and margin with sales including cross-selling and up-selling.
• Achieve department and organization goals by accepting ownership for completing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value.
• Generate ideas and pro-actively work with Inside Sales Manager/Director and regional area plants to ensure positive customer experiences.
• Drive cross-sell and up-sell opportunities by establishing rapport and understanding customers’ unique challenges.
• Cultivate consultative interactions with customers.
• Efficiently manage customer interactions across Smurfit Westrock divisions.
• Create and deliver on margin improvement plans for customers.
• Coach junior team members.

What You Need to Succeed:

• Minimum of 1- 3 years of B2B inside sales, field sales, or related experience strongly preferred
• Experience in fiber-based packaging industry is strongly preferred
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience is required
• Ability to manage full book of assigned accounts, spanning multiple business units
• Ability to develop and qualify new opportunities, present solutions, overcome objections, negotiate, and close business over the phone & videoconference
• Consistent track record and top performer among ECSR team
• Flexible and resilient problem solver
• Salesforce.com or similar CRM software
• Requires a home office or workspace, free of disruptions; company provided laptop and phone
• Excellent phone presence, verbal, and written communication skills
• Comfortable making dozens of calls per day
• Strong listening and presentation skills
• Ability to prioritize, and manage time effectively
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to close opportunities with customer
• Team player; works exceptionally well with others
• Adapts well to a matrix organization

What we offer:

• Corporate culture based on integrity, respect, accountability, and excellence
• Comprehensive training with numerous learning and development opportunities
• An attractive salary reflecting skills, competencies, and potential
• A career with a global packaging company where Sustainability, Safety and Inclusion are business drivers and foundational elements of the daily work.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law.

The salary range for this position is $62,250.00 - $103,750.00, depending on your role, level, and location. The range listed is also the expected pay for roles in Illinois and Colorado. The benefits for this role include short-term bonus incentive, health, dental and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance programs, and paid sick leave as required by applicable state/local law, 15 days of paid vacation, and 11 days of paid holidays, subject to annual change. Your pay will be based on factors such as your skills, experience, and education.