Inside Sales Representative

Valtris Specialty Chemicals; Midland (MI); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Valtris Specialty Chemicals is seeking an Inside Sales Representative to drive inbound sales opportunities and coordinate sample requests across North America. You will partner with Technical Service, Customer Service, Marketing, and Logistics to ensure timely responses and accurate follow-up.

The role emphasizes strong communication, organizational skills, and CRM proficiency within a fast-paced chemical environment.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree preferred in Business, Marketing, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• Experience: 2-5 years in inside sales, customer service, or sales support for industrial/B2B customers.
• Knowledge & Skills: strong communication, organizational skills, attention to detail, and CRM proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Respond promptly to sales inquiries via company website, campaigns, trade shows, and other channels.
• Qualify inbound leads and identify customer requirements, applications, volumes, and timing.
• Route opportunities to the appropriate Business/ Territory/ Account Manager.
• Maintain lead tracking and CRM activity.
• Generate reports on lead activity, conversion rates, and follow-up status.
• Support customer retention through proactive outreach and relationship management.
• Coordinate customer sample requests from inquiry through delivery, ensuring timely fulfillment.
• Collaborate with Technical Service, R&D, Regulatory, Logistics, and Customer Service teams.
• Provide product information, documentation, and marketing materials to customers.
• Support pricing documentation and customer correspondence.
• Schedule meetings and follow-ups for sales personnel.
• Maintain accurate customer records and opportunity pipelines.
• Prepare reports and dashboards for management review.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Multitasking

Customer-focused

2-5 years inside sales experience

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Equivalent combination of education and experience

Tools

Salesforce

Dynamics

HubSpot

CRM software

Job description

The Inside Sales Representative serves as a critical customer-facing member of the North American commercial team. This role is responsible for managing inbound sales opportunities, responding to website inquiries, coordinating customer sample requests, qualifying and nurturing prospective customers, and providing administrative support to the broader sales organization.

The position acts as the first point of contact for many prospective customers and distribution partners, ensuring timely follow-up, professional communication, and seamless coordination with technical service, customer service, marketing, supply chain, and outside sales teams. Success in this role requires strong organizational skills, customer focus, commercial acumen, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced specialty chemicals environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Respond promptly to sales inquiries received through the company website, marketing campaigns, trade shows, and other lead generation channels.
• Qualify inbound leads and identify customer requirements, applications, volumes, and timing.
• Route qualified opportunities to the appropriate Business Manager, Territory Manager, or Account Manager.
• Maintain active lead tracking and follow-up activities within CRM systems.
• Generate and distribute reports regarding lead activity, conversion rates, and follow-up status.
• Support customer retention initiatives through proactive outreach and relationship management.

Sample Request Management

• Coordinate customer sample requests from initial inquiry through delivery.
• Work closely with Technical Service, R&D, Regulatory, Logistics, and Customer Service teams to ensure timely fulfillment.
• Track sample shipments and communicate status updates to customers.
• Follow up with customers after sample evaluations to gather feedback and identify commercial opportunities.
• Maintain sample request records and conversion metrics.

Customer Communication

• Serve as a primary contact for non-technical customer inquiries.
• Provide product information, documentation, and marketing materials.
• Coordinate customer requests related to specifications, SDS documents, regulatory information, and product availability.
• Maintain professional communication with manufacturers, distributors, and prospective customers throughout North America.

Commercial Administration

• Support the sales team with quote preparation, CRM updates, customer opportunity tracking, and commercial reporting.
• Assist with pricing documentation and customer correspondence.
• Schedule customer meetings, calls, and follow-up activities for sales personnel.
• Help maintain accurate customer records, opportunity pipelines, and account information.
• Prepare reports, presentations, and commercial dashboards for management review.

CRM & Data Management

• Ensure opportunities, activities, sample requests, and customer interactions are documented accurately.
• Monitor aging leads and recommend follow-up actions.
• Support marketing and sales initiatives through data management and campaign tracking.
• Identify process improvements to increase lead response speed and conversion effectiveness.

Qualifications:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant commercial experience will be considered.

Experience

• 2-5 years of inside sales, customer service, commercial support, or sales administration experience.
• Experience supporting industrial, chemical, manufacturing, or B2B customers preferred.
• Experience working within CRM platforms preferred (Salesforce, Dynamics, HubSpot, or similar).

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly organized with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Customer-focused mindset with strong follow-up discipline.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams).
• Ability to interact professionally with internal and external stakeholders.
• Basic understanding of specialty chemicals, industrial products, or manufacturing processes preferred.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Website inquiry response time
• Lead qualification and conversion rates
• Sample request fulfillment cycle time
• Sample-to-opportunity conversion percentage
• CRM data accuracy and completeness
• Quote and administrative turnaround time