Inside Sales Representative

This person reports administratively and functionally to the Inside Sales Manager.

Inside Sales personnel are the front-line support system for our customers, and in many ways, the face of the company. They are responsible for actively driving and managing the sales cycle, processing orders and quotes. Working in conjunction with the sales team as the technical advisors and product advocates, Inside Sales must be able to identify and provide reliable solutions to meet our customers’ needs and ensure customer satisfaction through all stages of the sales process. Inside Sales is expected establish and maintain strong relationships with our customers, internal and external. Improving brand awareness by exemplifying dependability, impeccable customer responses, and offering solutions through technical expertise in a fast paced, dynamic environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND JOB DUTIES

Responsibilities:

• Maintain expert level of product knowledge and applications.
• Articulate technology and product advantages.
• Listen, understand, and offer solutions to customer requirements.
• Perform technical/ product training for salespeople, estimators, and engineers at targeted accounts.
• Process orders and quotes per CFI standards
• Understand how to effectively use stocked inventory to meet customer needs, including conversions and or alternatives.
• Field customer issues and process for resolution
• Follow-up on orders, quotes, projects, and pending PO’s.
• Identify leads for outside sales and marketing.

Duties:

• Assess customer needs: Compile information from the customer. Evaluate and determine what the customer wants and ultimately needs. Assess system performance and identify areas for improvement/enhancement. Present products to customers in conjunction with the Outside Salesman.
• Specify products/Design solutions: Work towards a solution to customer issue(s). Make product selections, suggestions, and recommendations. Evaluate the design parameters for the component or system and offer suggestions that fit within customer’s guidelines.
• Service customers via telephone: Resolve customer issues. Work with sales representatives to resolve customer service or technical issues.
• Promote technical sales: Encourage the sale of power units, systems and technical applications by capitalizing on opportunities as they present themselves interacting with customers.
• Manage products and supplier relationships: Support specific product lines for given areas of primary responsibility.
• Protect the company’s Intellectual Property (IP): All external correspondence must be truthful in nature but must also protect the company’s IP and profit from be poached by others.

Additional Duties:

• Work for and assist the Engineering Department with work overload as a back-up sourcing or pricing for BOM’s
• Resolve customer issues or difficulties in a manner that is consistent with the company mission, values, and financial objectives.
• Maintain professional business relationships within target accounts.
• Provide status of ongoing projects and future projects.
• Identify customer's needs and sales opportunities to help future growth.

Administrative/General:

• Assist in development, review, and maintenance of processes, procedures, and guidelines.
• Report and communicate with Outside and Inside Sales Managers/Supervisors pertinent information regarding Customer information and status.
• Create and archive BOM’s and project documents in accordance with ISO and CFI standards.

REQUIREMENTS & CONDITIONS

• Education: H.S. Diploma required, 3 years fluid power sales or distribution, Mechanical or Fluid Power certification preferred.
• Experience: Knowledge of mechanical and electrical design concepts.
• Skills, Knowledge, Abilities: Knowledge of our core product lines, able to organize and execute multiple customer workloads concurrently and will utilize and manage outside resources to aid serving our customers, proficient in Office and our ERP.

o Hydraulic Certification is a plus.

• Character Traits:

o Team oriented and spirited.

o Dependable

o Integrity

o Flexible

o “can-do” attitude

• Physical Requirements: Long hours sitting and using office equipment and computers. Some light lifting of supplies and materials from time to time may be required.
• Working Conditions/Environment: A busy office environment. Several projects may be managed at one time with frequent interruptions to meet the needs and requests of internal personnel and customers.