Sales Manager

The Kendall Group; Traverse City (MI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ownership

401(k) plan

Job summary

The Kendall Group, an employee-owned leader in electrical, automation, and related industries, is seeking a Sales Manager in Traverse City, MI. You will lead a team of Account Managers, set sales goals, and collaborate with Marketing and Operations to drive revenue and customer satisfaction.

Expect travel up to 75% and a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Responsibilities include coaching, strategic planning, and maintaining strong relationships with key suppliers and customers to ensure

Qualifications

• Five years’ selling experience in industrial or technical sales.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
• Strong MS Office and Excel skills; able to learn new software.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach Account Managers in a high-performance outside sales team.
• Set sales goals, develop strategies, and drive revenue growth.
• Forecast performance and report to senior leadership.
• Analyze market trends, customer needs, and competitive activity.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Operations, and product specialists.
• Ensure customer satisfaction, retention, and profitable growth.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and partners.
• Recruit, develop, and mentor team members; conduct regular evaluations.
• Drive price and margin strategies; lead continuous improvement initiatives.
• Represent sales in cross-functional leadership meetings.

Skills

Customer Focus

Action Oriented

Builds Effective Teams

Develops Talent

Instills Trust

Decision Quality

Plans and Aligns

Strategic Thinking

Optimizes Work Processes

Drives Results

Managerial Courage

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Office

Advanced Excel

Job description

About The Kendall Group

The Kendall Group is comprised of eight divisions with 75+ locations in ten states. Combined, we serve the Electrical, Automation, Pipe, Valve, and Fitting products, Steam, Lighting, Industrial Controls, and Instrumentation Industries. The Kendall Group is a 100% employee-owned company. Kendall offers a great opportunity for a rewarding career.

Why The Kendall Group?

Our employee ownership model is the core of who we are. You will not only own part of the company, but you will own your future. At Kendall, you’ll have opportunities to learn and grow while being coached and mentored along the way. We’re that company where people stay! We’re proud to say more than 60% of our associates have more than 5 years of tenure, and more than 40% have greater than 10 years. At Kendall, you will be valued and supported, your ideas will be heard, your voice will matter, and you’ll work alongside incredible people who care about your success.

Role Summary: Reporting to the General Manager, the Sales Manager is a key member of the Outside Sales Team. The Sales Manager will be responsible for leading and managing a team of Account Managers. You will be responsible for setting sales goals, developing sales strategies, motivating and coaching your team to achieve those goals. The Sales Manager will also work closely with other departments, such as marketing and operations, as well as key vendors, to ensure that all aspects of the sales process are running smoothly.

Exciting work you will do:

The essential duties and responsibilities of the Sales Manager position will consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

• As a leader, model the following behaviors with your team:
  • Provide leadership, direction, growth, and mentoring
  • Adhere to our company values of Success Beyond the Sale, Partnership as a Promise, We Do What We Say, Legacy of Impact, and Purpose-Driven Progress
  • Invest in self-growth through participating in continuous improvement, learning, and development
• Develop and implement sales strategies that meet revenue, profit, and margin goals while supporting long-term company growth goals
• Forecast sales performance, establish realistic targets, and prepare clear reports for senior leadership
• Analyze market trends, customer needs, and competitor activity to identify opportunities and risks
• Define and lead sales initiatives at the territory and account levels, including identifying appropriate campaigns in partnership with Marketing
• Provide customer-centric leadership, fostering a culture focused on accountability, recognition, and long-term relationship building
• Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction, retention, and profitable growth
• Oversee key account management, resolve escalated customer issues, and build trusted relationships with customers and partners
• Hold Account Managers accountable for executing plans and ensuring customer outcomes match company values and financial goals
• Recruit, develop, coach, and mentor Account Managers
• Set clear expectations, conduct regular performance evaluations, and provide ongoing feedback
• Develop proactive, long-term strategic account plans in collaboration with Account Managers to promote intentional customer engagement
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performance team culture that promotes continuous learning and development
• Build and maintain a strong talent pipeline, including partnerships with local colleges and universities and involvement in recruiting activities
• Drive discipline in the sales process using a buyer-centric/Modern Sales Foundation (MSF) approach
• Leverage SalesHub and related tools to track performance, manage pipelines, and improve team effectiveness.
• Analyze data to identify trends, optimize processes, and drive results
• Lead effective pricing, margin management, and profitability strategies
• Champion continuous improvement through innovation, adaptability, and consistent process evaluation
• Represent the sales organization in cross-functional and leadership meetings, advocating for sales and customer needs
• Collaborate with product specialists to provide integrated, value-added customer solutions
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key supplier partners at local and regional levels
• Engage senior leadership as appropriate to strengthen partnerships, remove barriers, and support strategic growth initiatives
• Perform other duties as assigned

Competencies you possess:

• Customer Focus
• Action Oriented
• Ensures Accountability
• Builds Effective Teams
• Develops Talent
• Instills Trust
• Decision Quality
• Plans and Aligns
• Strategic Thinking
• Optimizes Work Processes
• Drives Results
• Managerial Courage

What you’ll need:

• Work Experience: 5 years’ selling experience with industrial or technical sales product lines
• Required Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Analytics/Computer Skills: Experience working with MS Office; intermediate to advanced Excel; ability to learn new software; ability to decide which products to focus on and how best to reach customers
• Organization Skills: Highly organized and detail-oriented; ability to multi-task and shift priorities as needed; ability to work in fast-paced, continuously evolving, and at times ambiguous environment
• Cross-functional skills: Ability to work well cross-functionally; provides excellent internal and external customer service
• Communication Skills: Strong interpersonal communications, problem solving, organizational and written/verbal communication skills
• Physical, Mental and Visual Skills: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disability to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, talk, and hear. The employee must be able to stand, walk, climb stairs, and operate a vehicle.
• Physical Environment: Normal office environment; warehouse, fabrication environment and exposure to moving equipment
• Travel: Willing to travel up to 75% within assigned area; minimal overnight
• Driver’s License: Must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license

Qualifications we prefer but don’t require:

• Work Experience: 10 years’ previous selling, preferably with a related product line, or with end users in an industrial or technical environment; experience interfacing or supporting a direct sales force; 2 years’ experience in a people management role

The Kendall Group is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, military status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.