Business Development Specialist

Business Development Specialist

Sauder Manufacturing was founded in 1945 as a Church furniture Company. We have a rich history in crafting solid wood into beautiful, enduring, quality furniture and today that is blended with modern technology and a strong customer focus. Sauder Manufacturing Co. sells in four strategic markets:
Healthcare Furniture for Acute Care Hospitals, Education Furniture for colleges and universities, Worship furniture for churches, synagogues, courthouses and furniture for human services markets which is a diverse network of agencies providing residential housing to many individuals. At Sauder Manufacturing, how do we do our work----new technology, new products and new ideas----changes constantly---but our values----how we treat our customers, suppliers and each other----never change.

The Business Development Specialist supports sales leadership, customer service, and Territory Managers in driving market growth across assigned territories. This role is responsible for coordinating business development initiatives, supporting sales rep development and ensuring consistency in sales tools, processes and territory transitions:
Key responsibilities include; delivering product and sales training (new hires and in-field), supporting adoption of sales tools, managing open territory contracts and projects to support a seamless territory transition.

• Facilitate sales and product training for internal staff and new reps
• Field visits to reps for training or account development assistance
• Perform in-field product evals for existing and potential customers
• Update and maintain sales tools and resources
• Account database management for transitioning territories; such as contacts, open quotes and order and deliveries and installs
• Cover open territories opportunistically by quoting opportunities, traveling as needed for sales calls, product evals, inside deliveries, and ensuring smooth transitioning to the new Territory Manager

• Support Quoting questions as needed
• Review key quotes against competition
• Collect and disseminate competitive information
• Provide training and support for new quoting tools
• Quote opportunities for open territories

Field and Event Support:

• Execute delivery and setup of mock-ups and shows (5-8 events per year)
• Support the warranty team as needed with in-field repairs and evaluation

Sales Operations and Support:

• Assist in execution of sales meetings
• Collect and summarize feedback from surveys or forms
• Assist with product selection for RFPs and bids
• Assist reps and customer service with technical phone support on product questions
• Be the go-to for Infor CRM Sales Support
• Work with customer service to collect incomplete order information
• Support customer service as needed to facilitate order placement and fulfillment

Product and Marketing Support:

• Support product managers during product launches
• Assist in research for new product development
• Assist Marketing with lead generation and execution
• Partner with Customer Service, Marketing and Logistics to execute the in-stock sample program
• Update spec sheets for mock-ups and bids, per engineering and marketing's direction

• Bachelor's degree in business or related field, or equivalent experience
• 2–4 years of experience, preferably in field sales or a sales support role with exposure to customer buying processes and competitive landscape
• Knowledge of Sauder Education product and the higher education market preferred
• Aptitude for understanding and effectively communicating furniture construction techniques
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office; experience with CRM systems
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills
• Analytical mindset with solid business and math skills
• Ability to travel up to 35% (3–4 days at a time)
• Ability to obtain forklift certification

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables
• Ability to solve problems in stressful situations
• Strong attention to details
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
• Self-starting,…