B2B Outside Sales Representative

Outside Sales Representative

Location: United States — Open to Candidates Nationwide
Employment Type: Full-time
Industry: Hand Tools, Power Tools, Industrial Supplies & Distribution
Travel Requirement: Minimum 75%

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced, highly motivated, results-driven Outside Sales Representative to drive new business development, expand market share, and build customer relationships throughout the United States.

Candidates must have a minimum of five years of successful sales experience, with a proven track record of generating new business, acquiring customers, and achieving sales targets.

Preference will be given to candidates with existing experience selling hand tools, power tools, or industrial products through industrial distribution channels.

This position is open to qualified candidates residing anywhere in the United States. However, the majority of outside sales activity will be concentrated in the greater Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan areas.

The position requires a minimum of 75% travel, extensive cold calling, frequent unannounced visits to distributor branches, mandatory attendance at designated trade shows and industry events, and full responsibility for maintaining and managing the company's CRM software.

The successful candidate will be a proven sales professional who enjoys prospecting, approaching prospective customers without appointments, developing relationships from scratch, and converting cold prospects into long-term, profitable accounts.

Key Responsibilities

1. New Business Development and Prospecting

• Conduct extensive outbound cold calling and proactive business development.
• Make frequent, unannounced in-person visits to industrial distributor branches, wholesalers, hardware stores, and other prospective customer locations.
• Walk into branches without appointments to introduce the company, present products, meet branch managers, and identify purchasing opportunities.
• Proactively acquire new accounts through consistent prospecting rather than relying solely on existing customers or inbound leads.
• Build relationships with branch managers, purchasing managers, sales representatives, business owners, and key decision-makers.
• Follow up consistently on cold calls, branch visits, referrals, and newly generated leads.
• Identify opportunities to introduce new products, expand product assortments, and increase purchasing volume.
• Maintain a disciplined prospecting schedule and a strong pipeline of qualified sales opportunities.

2. Territory Sales and Account Management

• Develop and execute a territory sales plan to achieve revenue, profitability, and new-account objectives.
• Spend a minimum of 75% of working time travelling and conducting field sales activities.
• Focus the majority of field sales efforts on the greater Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Boston à DC metro corridor areas.
• Build and maintain relationships with existing customers through regular in-person visits.
• Conduct product presentations, demonstrations, and sales meetings at customer locations.
• Identify new markets, prospective customers, and opportunities to increase market share.
• Prepare quotations, negotiate pricing, and close sales in accordance with company guidelines.
• Monitor competitor activity, market trends, customer needs, and product opportunities.

3. CRM Software Management — Mandatory

• Take full responsibility for maintaining and managing the company's CRM software and assigned sales records.
• Accurately record cold calls, unannounced branch visits, customer meetings, trade show contacts, and follow-up activities.
• Maintain complete customer and prospect profiles, including contact information, decision-makers, and account details.
• Keep sales opportunities, pipeline stages, next steps, follow-up dates, and expected closing dates current.
• Enter new leads and customer information promptly and ensure records remain accurate and organized.
• Track customer interactions, sales progress, quotations, and business development activities within the CRM.
• Maintain reliable sales forecasts and provide management with accurate pipeline and territory activity reports.
• Use the CRM consistently as the primary system for tracking prospecting activity, managing customer relationships, and reporting sales performance.

CRM proficiency and disciplined recordkeeping are essential requirements of this position.

4. Trade Shows and Industry Events

• Attend designated trade shows, industry exhibitions, distributor events, and company sales events as required.
• Represent the company professionally and actively promote its products.
• Generate leads, establish industry relationships, and identify new business opportunities.
• Record new contacts and leads in the CRM and follow up promptly to convert them into sales.
• Travel to events as required, including events involving overnight stays or occasional weekend work.

5. Internal Collaboration

• Work closely with inside sales, marketing, and customer service teams to support customer needs.
• Communicate customer feedback, competitive intelligence, and market opportunities to management.
• Provide regular updates on territory activity, pipeline development, and sales performance.
• Meet or exceed established sales targets, prospecting expectations, and new-account acquisition goals.

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum five years of successful sales experience, preferably in outside sales, territory sales, or business development.
• Demonstrated history of meeting or exceeding sales targets and generating measurable revenue growth.
• Proven success acquiring new customers through cold calling, direct prospecting, and face-to-face sales.
• Preference for candidates with experience selling hand tools, power tools, or industrial products through industrial distributors.
• Experience working with industrial supply distributors, tool distributors, hardware wholesalers, or similar distribution networks is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with distributor branch operations, product line expansion, and building relationships with branch managers and purchasing decision-makers is an asset.
• Comfortable making frequent unannounced visits to businesses and approaching unfamiliar decision-makers.
• Proven ability to manage and maintain CRM software consistently and accurately.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail in managing sales records and follow-ups.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Persistent, self-motivated, and able to handle rejection professionally.
• Willingness and ability to travel a minimum of 75% of working time.
• Willingness to travel regularly to the primary sales markets, regardless of home location.
• Availability to attend required trade shows and industry events.
• Ability to manage a territory independently and prioritize activities that produce measurable results.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and sales reporting tools.
• Valid driver's licence and authorization to work in the United States.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base Salary: US$120,000 per year
• Medical Benefits: Medical benefits package
• Company Vehicle: Provided
• Business Expenses: Eligible business travel and customer-related expenses covered in accordance with company policy
• Commission and Bonus: To be determined, with performance-based earning opportunities

Performance Expectations

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Maintain consistent cold-calling and in-person prospecting activity.
• Regularly visit prospective distributor branches, including unannounced visits.
• Demonstrate measurable success acquiring new customers and developing profitable accounts.
• Increase sales and product penetration within the assigned territory.
• Attend required trade shows and follow up on resulting opportunities.
• Keep CRM records, customer information, sales activities, and pipeline data accurate and current.
• Maintain an active sales pipeline and provide reliable forecasts.
• Achieve agreed-upon sales, revenue growth, and new-account acquisition targets.

The Ideal Candidate

You are an experienced sales hunter with at least five years of successful sales experience who knows how to open doors, make cold calls, walk into distributor branches, and win new business.

You will be particularly well suited to this role if you already have relationships within the hand tool, power tool, or industrial distribution markets and understand how to develop business through distributor branch networks.

You take ownership of your territory, are comfortable with extensive travel, and understand that success requires consistent prospecting, disciplined CRM management, and measurable sales results.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume along with a summary of your sales experience, measurable sales achievements, cold-calling success, new-account acquisition results, CRM experience, and relevant experience in hand tools, power tools, or industrial distribution.

Pay: $150,000.00 - $300,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Cell phone reimbursement
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Expense account
• Health insurance
• Mileage reimbursement
• Paid time off
• Travel reimbursement

Application Question(s):

• Do you have minimum 5 years experience in outside B2B tool sales or industrial distribution sales?

Language:

• English (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Chicago, IL (Required)

Work Location: In person