Area Sales Trainer

Gardner-White Furniture•Bloomfield Hills, MI

About The Position

The Area Sales Trainer serves as the face of sales training in stores and translates training programs into consistent selling behaviors and measurable results. The role partners with store leaders to strengthen coaching effectiveness, improve associate performance, and provide actionable insights on training adoption, operational execution, and improvement opportunities across an assigned territory of 11–12 stores. It requires extensive daily travel between stores and a flexible schedule based on business needs. The trainer delivers pre-opening training, coaches associates on the sales floor, develops selling skills, and guides new associates through onboarding, certification, and their first 180 days. The role also enables store leaders to coach effectively, reports performance and development trends to leadership, and supports adoption of new products, promotions, financing programs, and operational changes. This position has no direct supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in commissioned retail sales, sales leadership, or training.
At least 3 years of training experience.
A consistent record as a top performer in commissioned sales.
Strong facilitation skills and presence in front of groups with varied tenure.
Ability to interpret sales data and turn scorecards into coaching plans.
A direct, constructive feedback style and ability to raise issues with store leadership without undermining them.
Flexible availability, including early starts, evenings, and weekends tied to store traffic.
Valid driver's license and reliable transportation.
Ability to travel daily between stores across the assigned territory.

Nice To Haves

Experience in home furnishings, mattress, or other high-ticket retail.

Responsibilities

Execute a structured store visitation schedule and maintain consistent field coverage across assigned locations.
Arrive before store opening and use time on the sales floor to observe performance, coach associates, and support business objectives.
Lead pre-opening training sessions on sales skills, product knowledge, promotions, and daily performance objectives.
Support the development and distribution of standardized meeting content and facilitation tools for store leaders.
Observe live customer interactions and give actionable feedback to improve sales effectiveness, customer engagement, and sales-process execution.
Model best-practice selling behaviors through live customer interactions when appropriate.
Reinforce customer greeting, needs discovery, T.O. execution, financing discussions, and protection plan presentations.
Deliver individual and group training based on performance data, observed skill gaps, and business needs.
Facilitate role-plays, product knowledge training, workshops, and other development activities.
Guide new associates through onboarding milestones, conduct skill certifications and readiness assessments, and support associates through their first 180 days with follow-up, coaching, check-ins, and developmental guidance.
Identify and communicate potential performance or retention risks to store leadership and recommend interventions.
Partner with store and sales managers to strengthen coaching effectiveness and support a culture of continuous improvement and associate growth.
Report store performance trends, skill gaps, coaching outcomes, and development opportunities to leadership.
Communicate observations on sales processes, product knowledge, customer experience, and operational execution; recognize top performers and share best practices and improvement opportunities.
Gather and communicate field feedback on training programs, products, promotions, and organizational initiatives.
Lead training and readiness efforts for new product collections, promotions, financing programs, and operational process changes.
Partner with business stakeholders to support adoption and implementation of organizational changes across the territory.