Sales - Business Development Manager

North American Stamping•Farmington Hills, MI

6d•Onsite

About The Position

North American Stamping Group is seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to join its Sales Team in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The privately held company, founded in 1978, manufactures stampings and automated assemblies for the automotive industry, serving customers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Its products and markets include seating, ride control, exhaust components, heat shields, noise, vibration and harness (NVH), chassis and structural components, and window regulators. Reporting to the Vice President of Sales, the Business Development Manager is responsible for customer relationships, customer strategy, account growth, and commercial activities. The role coordinates new and production business, program quotations, and activity throughout development and production, working with internal departments. It leads efforts to identify and win profitable business, prepare and negotiate quotations, manage commercial matters for customer accounts and awarded programs, and support program launches and ongoing performance. The position involves visiting customers and NASG plants, with travel of up to 50% throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Customer entertainment outside regular work hours is part of the role. The work environment includes an open office with moderate noise and visits to manufacturing environments, where personal protective equipment may be required. The role entails extended periods of travel, office and computer work, walking, standing, and sitting, along with occasional climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling and lifting items of varying weights.

Requirements

Fluency in English.
At least a bachelor's degree in business or an engineering-related field, a technical degree such as a tool and die certificate, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
At least 10 years of sales and/or project engineering experience in the automotive industry, or relevant experience.
Territory and new-sales development skills.
At least five years of manufacturing experience.
Experience in project cost management and/or associated automotive sales or finance.
Solid working knowledge and demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office and other computer-based applications.
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
Willingness to travel up to 50% throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Ability to meet the described physical demands, with reasonable accommodations available for individuals with disabilities.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience working for a Tier I or Tier II automotive company.
Experience with commodity-based quotations in stampings, including exhaust materials, seat materials, ride control/NVH materials, and related tooling.
Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Automotive stamping manufacturing experience.

Responsibilities

Identify new business opportunities within existing and new accounts, generate sales leads, assess customer needs, and develop business strategies and plans.
Lead internal execution of business acquisition plans and pursue profitable new business awards.
Provide visit reports and gather and share customer, competitor, technology, process, market, and industry information with the organization and management.
Serve as the primary contact to customer purchasing and engineering teams and lead new business opportunities and RFQ information gathering.
Recommend improvements to sales processes and organizational effectiveness.
Coordinate quotations for new and existing programs at all stages, including materials, components, and tooling.
Analyze customer drawings, supplier quotes, engineering changes, and other data; develop accurate quotations; verify pricing against company standards; and compare quotes with cost-planning calculations to assess profitability and identify differences.
Communicate pricing details and negotiate piece prices and tooling with customers; establish intercompany pricing, including changes.
Lead negotiations and finalize sourcing agreements, including tooling orders and blanket purchase orders, in a timely manner.
Serve as the primary contact for multiple customers and liaison between the corporate sales office and customers.
Support program management and manufacturing facilities during quotation, pre-launch, launch, and the full program lifecycle; manage Account Managers on commercial matters when applicable.
Build customer trust by resolving issues and meeting customer needs for quality, content, and timeliness while meeting internal objectives.
Follow up on customer purchase orders and tracking and payment, and resolve escalated accounts payable or receivable disputes.
Manage schedules and ensure clear understanding of cost structure when preparing customer paperwork; provide and explain pricing details to internal management and customers.
Be accountable for profitable account growth, maintaining and improving margins with the Account Manager when applicable.
Prepare estimates and quotations for potential Engineering Change Instructions (ECIs), establish sales recovery, assess financial impact, approve changes once financial responsibility is identified, and submit customer pricing-change forms when changes are implemented.
Calculate and report financial feedback for Value Analysis/Value Engineering ideas and pre-ECI documents.
Work with operations to budget and forecast awarded programs using customer-provided information such as take rates, trim levels, and engine platforms.
Visit NASG plants and customers as required to grow and maintain relationships.
Entertain customers outside regular work hours to nurture business relationships.
Work with customers and plants to provide accurate forecasts for budget and capacity planning.