Outside Sales Representative - Industrial

Cogent Analytics; Peoria (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Cogent Analytics seeks a driven B2B salesperson to open doors, build a qualified pipeline, and win new industrial business. You’ll leverage consultative selling to develop strategic accounts and deliver measurable value to customers.

The role requires travel to customer sites and collaboration with leadership, operations, and technical resources to ensure reliable solutions and long-term relationships.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of successful B2B sales or business development in industrial sectors.
• Experience prospecting and moving opportunities from cold to closed.
• Strong consultative selling, questioning, and value communication.
• Comfort with CRM systems; HubSpot preferred.
• Ability to travel regularly; valid driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Open new industrial B2B opportunities through targeted prospecting.
• Build and manage a qualified pipeline from first contact to close.
• Develop trusted advisory relationships with key stakeholders.
• Coordinate internal resources for trials, offerings, and pricing discussions.
• Maintain CRM data and provide weekly pipeline visibility.

Skills

B2B sales

Prospecting

Consultative selling

Account management

Negotiation

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, Sales, Marketing, or related field

Tools

HubSpot

Job description

The Opportunity

Our client is seeking a driven, consultative B2B salesperson who can open doors, build a qualified pipeline, win new industrial business, and grow strategic customer relationships. This is not a passive account-maintenance role. The successful candidate will combine disciplined prospecting with solution selling and strategic account development, helping customers improve reliability, reduce downtime, solve maintenance challenges, and make better industrial-fluid decisions.

What You'll Do

Win New Business

• Research and target industrial, manufacturing, fleet, municipal, construction, metalworking, and other qualified B2B prospects.
• Create new conversations with maintenance, operations, purchasing, plant leadership, and executive decision makers.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline from first contact through discovery, proposal, follow-up, negotiation, and close.
• Use phone, email, LinkedIn, referrals, networking, field visits, and industry events to create opportunities.

Grow & Protect Strategic Accounts

• Develop trusted-advisor relationships with key customer stakeholders and decision makers.
• Identify cross-sell, upsell, reactivation, and multi-location growth opportunities within existing accounts.
• Conduct structured account reviews and proactively surface customer risks, needs, and expansion opportunities.
• Coordinate technical support, product trials, conversions, inventory programs, and custom solutions with internal resources.
• Protect retention, margin, service quality, and long-term relationship value.

Sell Solutions, Not Commodities

• Lead discovery conversations focused on equipment reliability, downtime, maintenance cost, application challenges, inventory, and total cost of ownership.
• Translate Comet Supply’s technical expertise, responsiveness, local support, custom blending, and industrial-fluid capabilities into measurable customer value.
• Know when to bring in internal technical expertise and coordinate the right resource to advance the opportunity.

Own the Sales Process

• Maintain accurate contacts, notes, opportunities, next steps, and pipeline stages in HubSpot.
• Follow up consistently on quotes, proposals, trials, and customer commitments.
• Prepare professional proposals and support pricing, contract, and margin discussions with leadership.
• Provide reliable weekly pipeline and activity visibility and participate in sales/KPI reviews.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of successful B2B sales, business development, or strategic account experience preferred; industrial, manufacturing, MRO, distribution, lubricants, chemicals, or technical sales experience is especially relevant.
• Demonstrated ability to prospect, create opportunities, and move business from a cold or dormant relationship to signed customer.
• Consultative selling skills: able to ask strong questions, diagnose needs, communicate value, and earn credibility with operational and executive stakeholders.
• Strong follow-through, organization, time management, and personal accountability.
• Comfort with CRM systems; HubSpot experience is preferred, but disciplined CRM use is more important than a specific platform.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work independently in the field while collaborating with leadership, operations, inside sales, and technical resources.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Sales, Marketing, or a related field preferred, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regularly to customer and prospect locations.