The Requirements
To be a good fit for the Assistant District Sales Manager opportunity, you should have:- A bachelor's degree preferred
- 5+ years of proven business-to-business sales/account management experience, preferably in the power tool, construction, and/or building materials industries.
- Solid sales management experience is highly preferred.
- A strong understanding of the pull-through strategy in distribution channels. Quick question for you - click here
- A drive for results and competitive spirit.
- Solid general PC skills and proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite of products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); ability to gather data and complete forecasting, reporting and other documentation.
- Comfort on construction sites and with end users and decision makers.
- A valid driver's license and insurable driving record.
- Willingness to travel 75% - 80%. You will be home most nights. (We provide a company vehicle). Quick question for you - click here
- The skill to train, coach, develop and motivate sales professionals to improve performance. Quick question for you - click here
- A solution-oriented approach to sales AND the ability to teach this approach to others.
- Engaging interpersonal and relationship-building skills to work with top clients; customer service oriented.
- Strong analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
- Organizational, planning and scheduling ability.
- Excellent written, verbal, and spelling skills.
- A competitive spirit, passion, and the drive to win.
The Role
Reporting to the District Sales Manager (DSM), as Assistant District Sales Manager, you will provide leadership to a team of four Territory Sales Representatives -- three covering the Commercial and Residential Construction channels and one supporting the Lumber and Hardware channel. All are based in the extended Bay Area (San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland), where the majority of business is located, and travel beyond the Bay Area, primarily north to Santa Rosa and south to Salinas.Your two-fold mission will be to maximize the sales, market share, and profitability of Makita U.S.A.'s product lines through coaching and developing the sales team, and through your own sales efforts with several key dealer and end-user accounts.
You will motivate your team and help them maintain focus in their individual markets. They work with distributors, dealers, suppliers, such as lumberyards, and end-users, and you will often go on sales calls with them. While your supervisor, the DSM, will primarily drive strategy, you will be on the ground, ensuring your team has the tools and training needed for success. You will continually challenge the team to search out growth opportunities using a pull-through sales strategy. More specifically, you'll be responsible for:
- Communicating corporate sales objectives and motivating the district sales team to effectively achieve these goals.
- Effectively communicating progress toward targeted corporate sales objectives.
- Ensuring the district sales team executes the following at a high level: sales promotions, marketing events, training opportunities, and end-user targeting.
- The direct support of certain key target accounts warranting professional sales management.
- A high level of personal involvement with key end-user accounts.
- Attaining district sales goals in relation to overall sales, target account sales, key product sales and sales support of key marketing initiatives.
- Motivating the selling efforts of the district sales team while providing guidance and encouragement as needed.
- Ensuring all district sales team members go through the necessary training to enable them to execute at a high level.
- Conducting joint sales calls with district team members to evaluate their competency, as well as to help them improve their skills.
- Obtaining, and reporting to the DSM, as well as the appropriate marketing team members, any relevant information concerning the competition.
- Assisting the marketing team with obtaining marketing information for existing product life cycles and new product development.
- Reviewing sales employee performance opportunities and working with those team members to put together plans to correct the opportunity.
What's in It for You
Professional & career developmentThis district is one of our largest and fastest growing. It's an ideal training ground and will provide you ample opportunities to further develop your skills and demonstrate your runway for career growth with Makita U.S.A. Prove yourself and in time, you can step up to a District Sales Manager opportunity.
Stability and growth
Makita has a strong financial profile and we remained profitable even through the recession. One reason for this stability is a strong brand: Visit any construction site, and you're sure to encounter a variety of Makita tools. Our quality and performance has earned us a strongly respected reputation within the contractor community, which has persistently grown throughout our history and is certain to endure for many years to come as we continue to lead the industry with the introduction of high quality, innovative tools.
Great people
Our employees are the cornerstone of our success; in fact, if you ask any of our long-tenured staff as to why they've stayed on the team for 20+ years, more often than not they'll say it's their peers. The Makita team, they say, is made up of some of the most appreciative and supportive -- not to mention talented -- professionals they've ever worked with.
Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary and bonus incentive program, we offer one of the most generous benefits packages in our industry, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; 401(k) and profit sharing plans; paid time off; tuition reimbursement, and more. We'll also provide a company vehicle, laptop and expense reimbursement.
Pictured: Makita offers the world's largest 18V Lithium-ion line-up, offering corded power and performance in more than 160 tools, from drivers to portable band saws to sanders . . . and more. These tools are jobsite proven and feature industry-leading charge times.
Keys to Success
There are a couple of ways you can make a significant impact in this role, and both involve coaching the team. One is to ensure they employ a solution-based approach, understanding each customer's pain points and tailoring the offering accordingly.The second will be to help the team leverage the full Makita story in the sales process. We have the best products in the market, but there is more to engaging long-term customers than simply offering great products and great deals. This approach will help the team achieve the ultimate goal: winning distributor mindshare so that they continue to promote Makita when you're not there. Coaching in both areas will require constant reinforcement.
To excel in this role, you will have an inherent drive for results and a passion for training and mentoring others. You should understand the value of stepping back and letting team members practice the training, even when you accompany them on sales calls. You'll also need to have the ability to build relationships throughout all levels of the sales cycle -- from end users to executives at the distributor level. We're looking for a professional eager to launch a long-term career with Makita.
Additionally, you will model for the team, the characteristics needed to be successful, including:
- Maintaining a highly professional image and positioning yourself as a consulting expert regarding Makita products.
- Acting as a coach and mentor, incorporating training, performance management and motivation.
- Advocating our brand through the energy and confidence you present.
- Building solid relationships with clients and internal colleagues based on trust and integrity.
- Bringing a creative approach to understanding the market.
- Channeling your assertiveness and dedication to persist in the face of setbacks and doing what it takes to get the job done.
About Us
100 years ago, it all started with the motor. Makita Corporation was founded in 1915 as an electric motor sales and repair company. Today, as a global brand in over 40 countries, Makita is an innovation leader, manufacturing best-in-class products at 10 plants operating in 8 countries. The unmatched quality and durability of Makita products is driven by the company's strong R&D capabilities, and have earned the trust of professional users worldwide. Every day, on job sites around the world, Makita delivers the power, performance and durability that professional users demand with products that are more compact, have less vibration and feel better.Believing that the motor is the heart of any power tool, we take great pride in our motor expertise. We spare no expense in producing the most powerful, efficient and best performing motors available for each tool, carefully selecting only the best quality raw materials, employing the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the world, and using the most stringent manufacturing processes and quality control in the industry. To make certain that our quality standards are upheld, constant testing is performed during machining and assembly processes, including a final run-test under power before leaving the factory to ensure optimum performance.
Our success comes not only from producing top quality tools, but also from our unparalleled customer service. From our customer service representatives to our extensive sales team to our R&D group, we are dedicated to delivering complete customer satisfaction. Makita USA is headquartered in La Mirada, California.
Makita unveiled the world's first cordless rear-handle circular saw, the XSR01 line, at the 2017 World of Concrete expo in Las Vegas. The XSR01 uses two 18v lithium-ion batteries to supply maximum power, speed and run time without a cord. With it a construction pro can cut 3x lumber in a single pass and make up to 558 cuts in 2x4 lumber per charge.