Strategic Sales Associate

States Manufacturing Corporation; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 55,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Forgent Power in Columbus, OH is seeking a Sales Support Associate to act as a front-end force multiplier within our Strategic Account Fighting Units. You will help move opportunities from discovery to order, ensure front-end documentation is complete, and keep pursuit activity visible and auditable.

The role does not own customer relationships or pricing but focuses on facilitating process flow, surfacing gaps, and delivering timely information to the right owner.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or related experience preferred.
• 1–3 years of experience in sales support, inside sales, sales administration, customer service, or similar role preferred.
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial products, electrical products, construction, or engineered/project-based environments strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with CRM systems (Salesforce.com, Dynamics) required.

Responsibilities

• Monitor assigned Opportunities, Cases, Tasks, quote requests, and open items for Strategic Account Fighting Units.
• Follow up with sellers, Solution Engineers, Application Engineers, Commercial Operations, Legal, Accounting, and Order Fulfillment to keep work moving.
• Help initiate and track customer onboarding, credit review, payment terms, legal / Ironclad routing, and DOA approvals.
• Support quote-to-order readiness by helping confirm required customer, quote, terms, approval, PO, and Salesforce documentation is present.
• Maintain working trackers, dashboards, and status views that make blockers, aging items, and handoff gaps visible.
• Escalate unclear ownership, missing documentation, delayed approvals, or incomplete order packages before they create downstream failure.

Skills

Sales support

CRM systems

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or related field

Tools

Salesforce.com

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Job description

Description

The Sales Support Associate is a front-end commercial force multiplier embedded around Forgent's Strategic Account Fighting Units. The role helps the commercial organization scale by facilitating the opportunity-creation-to-order-entry process, keeping pursuit activity moving, and making sure front-end documentation is complete, visible, auditable, and useful for downstream stakeholders.

This role does not own the customer relationship, pricing decisions, legal decisions, credit decisions, order entry, or the commercial process itself. It is accountable for facilitating process flow, closing follow-up loops, surfacing gaps, and helping the right information reach the right owner at the right time. Forgent is still building connective tissue across legacy teams, systems, approval paths, and handoff routines. The right candidate must be comfortable operating in ambiguity, improvising responsibly, asking sharp questions, and creating practical clarity without waiting for a perfect process.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor assigned Opportunities, Cases, Tasks, quote requests, and open items for Strategic Account Fighting Units.
• Follow up with sellers, Solution Engineers, Application Engineers, Commercial Operations, Legal, Accounting, and Order Fulfillment to keep work moving.
• Help initiate and track customer onboarding, credit review, payment terms, legal / Ironclad routing, and DOA approvals.
• Support quote-to-order readiness by helping confirm required customer, quote, terms, approval, PO, and Salesforce documentation is present.
• Maintain working trackers, dashboards, and status views that make blockers, aging items, and handoff gaps visible.
• Escalate unclear ownership, missing documentation, delayed approvals, or incomplete order packages before they create downstream failure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Communications, or related field preferred or related experience
• 1-3 years of experience in sales support, inside sales, sales administration, customer service, commercial operations, order management, or similar role preferred.
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial products, electrical products, construction, or engineered/project-based environments strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar CRM systems required.
• Experience operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments where process maturity is still being built.

Disclaimer

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required. Forgent Power reserves the right to modify, interpret, or apply this job description as needed.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Forgent Power is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected class.