Hydraulic Sales Specialist

Summary

Join Continental, a leading technology company, and contribute to the future of sustainable and connected mobility. As a Sales Representative, you will be responsible for developing new business opportunities within the industrial distribution market, focusing on the Southeastern US region. This remote position requires 50% travel and involves managing customer relationships, negotiating contracts, and achieving sales targets. You will play a key role in executing the distribution strategy, driving customer centricity, and providing technical support. The ideal candidate possesses a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, along with 5+ years of hydraulic hose sales experience and a proven track record of success in customer acquisition and business development. This role offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including immediate benefits, paid time off, tuition assistance, and a robust total rewards package.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher, preferably in a technical discipline or minimum 10 years or more if no relevant bachelor’s degree
• 5 years of hydraulic hose sales experience
• Experience converting a major customer's business from a competitor and developing, presenting, gaining approval, and executing on major business cases
• Sales and Customer Relationship management and development
• Presentation skills including working knowledge of PowerPoint
• Strong negotiation skills
• Financial acumen including the ability to manage sales, margin, cost and working capital and to read and prepare business cases
• Strong communication skills
• Emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity
• Market and knowledge of diverse industrial markets
• Experience with business planning and forecasting
• Experience executing along the sales cycle to hunt and close new customers and new business
• Ability to translate applications and opportunities into business cases for evaluation
• Ability to travel at least 50% of the time
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas now or in the future for this job posting
• No relocation assistance is offered for this position

Responsibilities

• Develop new business opportunities thru our distribution channel to drive future growth to directly pay into exceed in the following targets: Sales growth at a minimum of 3% above the industry, margin, accounts receivables and cost management
• To be a key part of the segment team to develop and then execute our distribution strategy to maximize the BA Industrial Solutions Americas profitable growth and market share
• To drive customer centricity though the entire BA organization to establish a preference and premium for our products and solutions, establishing ContiTech as the preferred partner of choice in the industrial distribution market
• Segment strategy development and execution with their area of responsibility including deployment to and through their teams
• Responsibility for customer acquisition; managing contracts/ business proposals incl. Commercial negotiation
• Develop and maintain strategic and cooperative relationship with customers
• Leads the business to achieve budget (Volume, Sales, Growth, MOS, EBIT) and other planned targets and KPI´s
• Ensures regular customer feedback on forecast and adjusts input to operations and SCM
• Provides critical customer, competitor, and market trends to benchmark our performance
• Ensures feedback on customer satisfaction and escalation throughout CT BA and segment for improvements
• Plays an active leadership role in the segment to promote and drive customer centricity
• Technical application design and recommendations for improvement
• Troubleshoot application and performance issues
• Technical training to customers and internally
• Compile technical needs, customer pain points and make recommendations to drive innovation

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong hydraulics product knowledge
• Business development experience
• Minimum of 1 year of R&D, applications engineering and/or sales engineering experience
• Basic industrial rubber products knowledge (industrial hose, conveyor and power transmission systems, air springs)

Benefits

• Immediate Benefits
• Robust Total Rewards Package
• Paid Time Off
• Volunteer Time Off
• Tuition Assistance
• Employee Discounts, including tire discounts
• Competitive Bonus Programs
• Employee 401k Match
• Diverse & Inclusive Work Environment with 20+ Employee Resource groups
• Hybrid Work
• Employee Assistance Program
• Future Growth Opportunities, including personal and professional