Customer Support Specialist - Industrial

Summary

In this role, you will collaborate with the sales team to deliver accurate price quotations, assist with troubleshooting, support web sales, and provide stellar customer service. You will help expand product sales and profitability, maintain and strengthen existing customer accounts, and assist with technical product content for catalogs, manuals, and other marketing collateral. You will also be responsible for occasional onsite customer visits, providing solutions in person and building lasting relationships.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Product Specification & Technical Support
  • Work closely with customers to understand application requirements and recommend appropriate heating and control solutions.
  • Troubleshoot product issues, advise on installation and configuration, and follow through on technical inquiries.
• Quotation & Proposal Management
  • Prepare timely and accurate price quotations for customers (including web-based quoting) after researching supplier costs and availability.
  • Follow up on quotes, convert them into orders, and enter customer orders into the system.
• Customer Service & Order Entry
  • Provide professional phone and email support, ensuring inquiries and complaints are resolved efficiently.
  • Process sales orders accurately, maintain updated customer information, and manage the return process (including authorization, inspection, and coordination with accounting and quality departments).
• Web Sales & Marketing Support
  • Support web-based sales efforts by assisting customers online and managing web quotations.
  • Write and edit technical content for marketing collateral, such as flyers, websites, and product catalogs.
• Relationship Building
  • Cultivate professional relationships with customers and sales representatives by understanding their needs and offering tailored solutions.
  • Communicate company policies (pricing, lead times, terms) clearly and professionally.
• Onsite Assistance
  • Occasionally travel to customer sites to assist with application setup, troubleshoot in real time, and strengthen in-person relationships.
• Collaboration & Reporting
  • Coordinate with engineering, operations, and logistics for on-time product delivery.
  • Document interactions in CRM software, generate sales reports, and keep management informed through verbal and written updates.
  • Work cross-functionally with other departments to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction and a consistent company image.

Qualifications

Minimum Education & Experience

• Preferred: A.S. or Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or related field, or equivalent technical training.
• Experience: Minimum of three years in sales, customer service, or account management within a manufacturing or industrial distribution environment is highly desired.
• Technical Competence: Familiarity with electrical applications and industrial heating/control products is highly preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Sales & Customer Service: Strong communication and persuasive skills, comfortable handling price negotiations and resolving customer concerns.
• Technical Aptitude: Able to explain, troubleshoot, and support industrial heating and control solutions effectively. Some training will be provided. Background in heating and control applications is recommended (i.e. sensors, components, heaters, hvac,)
• Computer Proficiency: Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel), CRM systems, and order entry software.
• Detail-Oriented: Capable of creating accurate quotes/proposals and maintaining comprehensive records.
• Mathematical & Analytical: Comfortable with arithmetic, algebra, & geometry concepts. Able to apply mathematical skills to calculate pricing, margins, and product specifications.
• Reasoning & Problem-Solving: Understand customer applications in order to specify appropriate product solutions.
• Team Player: Open to collaboration with cross-functional teams, sharing insights, and supporting teammates.
• Travel Flexibility: Willingness to travel occasionally for onsite customer visits and product application support primarily within Washington State.

In this role, you will collaborate with the sales team to deliver accurate price quotations, assist with troubleshooting, support web sales, and provide stellar customer service. You will help expand product sales and profitability, maintain and strengthen existing customer accounts, and assist with technical product content for catalogs, manuals, and other marketing collateral. You will also be responsible for occasional onsite customer visits, providing solutions in person and building lasting relationships.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Product Specification & Technical Support
  • Work closely with customers to understand application requirements and recommend appropriate heating and control solutions.
  • Troubleshoot product issues, advise on installation and configuration, and follow through on technical inquiries.
• Quotation & Proposal Management
  • Prepare timely and accurate price quotations for customers (including web-based quoting) after researching supplier costs and availability.
  • Follow up on quotes, convert them into orders, and enter customer orders into the system.
• Customer Service & Order Entry
  • Provide professional phone and email support, ensuring inquiries and complaints are resolved efficiently.
  • Process sales orders accurately, maintain updated customer information, and manage the return process (including authorization, inspection, and coordination with accounting and quality departments).
• Web Sales & Marketing Support
  • Support web-based sales efforts by assisting customers online and managing web quotations.
  • Write and edit technical content for marketing collateral, such as flyers, websites, and product catalogs.
• Relationship Building
  • Cultivate professional relationships with customers and sales representatives by understanding their needs and offering tailored solutions.
  • Communicate company policies (pricing, lead times, terms) clearly and professionally.
• Onsite Assistance
  • Occasionally travel to customer sites to assist with application setup, troubleshoot in real time, and strengthen in-person relationships.
• Collaboration & Reporting
  • Coordinate with engineering, operations, and logistics for on-time product delivery.
  • Document interactions in CRM software, generate sales reports, and keep management informed through verbal and written updates.
  • Work cross-functionally with other departments to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction and a consistent company image.

Qualifications

Minimum Education & Experience

• Preferred: A.S. or Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or related field, or equivalent technical training.
• Experience: Minimum of three years in sales, customer service, or account management within a manufacturing or industrial distribution environment is highly desired.
• Technical Competence: Familiarity with electrical applications and industrial heating/control products is highly preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Sales & Customer Service: Strong communication and persuasive skills, comfortable handling price negotiations and resolving customer concerns.
• Technical Aptitude: Able to explain, troubleshoot, and support industrial heating and control solutions effectively. Some training will be provided. Background in heating and control applications is recommended (i.e. sensors, components, heaters, hvac,)
• Computer Proficiency: Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel), CRM systems, and order entry software.
• Detail-Oriented: Capable of creating accurate quotes/proposals and maintaining comprehensive records.
• Mathematical & Analytical: Comfortable with arithmetic, algebra, & geometry concepts. Able to apply mathematical skills to calculate pricing, margins, and product specifications.
• Reasoning & Problem-Solving: Understand customer applications in order to specify appropriate product solutions.
• Team Player: Open to collaboration with cross-functional teams, sharing insights, and supporting teammates.
• Travel Flexibility: Willingness to travel occasionally for onsite customer visits and product application support primarily within Washington State.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Purchasing duties to include: negotiating lowest prices and highest product quality, ordering parts, and maintaining a positive relationship with outside vendors.
• Accurately and efficiently manage the return process: obtain and review product warranty information, provide customer with return authorization correspondence, inspect product upon return, follow the outlined internal procedures for accepting and processing the return, process and track product returns to vendors and follow up as needed, work with accounting to issue debit memos (credits) for returned product, and consult with the quality department as needed.
• Provide customers with timely and accurate price quotations; research and contact suppliers, as appropriate; review and follow-up on customer quotes; and enter quotes won as customer orders.
• Support web sales efforts including online quoting.
• Support efforts including writing and editing content and images for technical marketing such as advertisements, flyers, website, and product catalog.
• Develop professional working relationships and rapport with customer contacts and sales representatives while effectively functioning as the Company’s representative to firmly, professionally, and accurately communicate Company policies and guidelines including product information and availability, customer solutions based upon type of company, pricing, lead times, terms and conditions, ship dates, etc.
• Proactively communicate with customers and vendors; provide efficient assistance to telephone inquiries and timely responses to customer e-mails while working within the policies and guidelines established by the Company.
• Perform accurate order entry for Heatcon, Inc.
• Develop and maintain professional knowledge of Company products, services, marketing collateral, and catalogs and familiarity with competitors’ products to assist in identifying concepts, processes, products, and services that can be implemented to add to the value of the business relationship.
• Effectively interface and cooperate with other departments to attain a high level of customer satisfaction and effective professional working relationships within the team.
• Inform management of results through verbal and written updates and territory analyses, as requested.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies.
• Identify concepts, processes, products, and services that can be implemented to add to the value of the business relationship.
• Interface as first point of contact for customer complaints and utilize effective judgment to refer appropriate complaints to Sales Manager and, if necessary, the quality department and actively assist with resolution by investigating problems, identifying possible solutions, and making recommendations to management.
• Receive, screen, and route phone calls in an expedient, efficient, and professional manner.
• Provide support to other sales personnel on all pre-sale and post-sale activities including order processing, vendor relations, shipping and receiving, follow-up, and training, as necessary.
• Understand and comply with the sales system, process, and maintenance of the contact database.
• Assist in establishing and maintaining excellent customer service and consistent Company image throughout product lines, promotional materials, and events to maintain differentiation from our competitors.
• Maintain expected productivity and quality standards that make financial returns possible for the Company to continue to provide excellent service to our customers and job opportunities and career growth for our staff.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• A.S. or other technical training and a minimum of three years of sales or customer service experience in manufacturing, or industrial distribution environment; or equivalent combination of education and experience highly desired.
• Technical competence in electrical applications highly desired.

Computer Skills

Language Skills

Physical Demands

Safety Rules

Work Environment