Onshore Line Pipe Sales Manager

Vallourec - North America•Houston, TX

17h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Line Pipe/Process Pipe Sales Manager owns the commercial performance of an assigned portfolio of pipe distributors and is expected to aggressively grow Vallourec's share of business within those accounts. This is a sales role first. Relationships go beyond procurement departments and, in some instances, extend to Sr. management/Ownership, operations, engineering, and the distributors' own sales organizations, with the expectation that those relationships convert into bookings. Safety comes before all of it: Vallourec's first commitment is providing a safe and healthy working environment, and the Sales Manager is expected to carry that safety culture into every mill visit, customer site, and interaction across the industry. Primary accountability resides on booking, revenue, and profitability targets, with full commercial ownership of each account from quotation through cash collection, including management of receivables, payment terms, and account financial health as a standard part of the customer relationship. The Sales Manager is also responsible for disciplined execution of internal sales processes, adherence to company policies and pricing governance, and maintaining excellent relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

Must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university; any discipline
A minimum of 6 years of professional sales experience is required, with business-to-business (B2B) sales strongly preferred
A minimum of 5 years of oil-field experience combined with oil-field market knowledge, direct oil and gas products and/or services sales preferred
Experience in answering tender, building offers and meeting customers’ deadlines
Experience in negotiating clauses during contract negotiations
Must be able to handle multiple tasks efficiently and effectively
Able to work with people with any background and multicultural awareness
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, verbal, written, and analytical, with the presence to build credibility quickly at all levels of a customer organization
Advanced negotiation and influencing skills, with the ability to guide customers toward outcomes they had not initially considered while strengthening, not straining, the relationship
Strong problem solving and decision making skills
Ability to organize and prioritize work load and meet deadlines
Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications and disciplined daily use of the Dynamics CRM tool
Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues and clients
Exhibits tact and consideration in relations with others
Ability to work cooperatively in group situations and takes responsibility to help resolve conflicts
Well-developed, professional selling skills of the kind built over a sustained sales career: prospecting within accounts, presentation, negotiation, objection handling, and closing, with persistence in pursuing share growth
Working knowledge of line pipe/process pipe tubular applications in upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, applied as a selling tool in front of customers rather than as engineering depth
Working knowledge of applicable API and ASTM industry standards, sufficient to speak credibly with distributors and end users.
Demonstrated track record of developing alternative solutions and building packaged offers that increase the value perceived by customers and win business from the competition
Proven ability to successfully collaborate in a cross-functional organization in problem solving situations with stakeholders located not only in the US but also in overseas Vallourec locations in Europe and Brazil
Observation of safety and security procedures; Determine appropriate action beyond guidelines; Report potentially unsafe conditions; Use equipment and materials properly
Forecasting discipline and competitive market intelligence gathering, honed through prior quota-carrying sales roles

Nice To Haves

Preferably a master’s degree in business development
Ideally an experience with a steel and tube rolling manufacturing company, a tubular distributor, an operator/end-user, or with an oil-field service company

Responsibilities

Maintain a defined in-person visit cadence with primary contacts, with documented outcomes, to uncover commercial, technical, and operational needs and convert them into sales opportunities
Own the customer relationship end to end, acting as the customer focal point and internal coordinator, driving day-to-day commercial, administrative, and operational issues to closure and following through on every commitment made to the customer
Pursue and win requests for quotations, tenders, and contractual queries, actively managing each opportunity through the pipeline to a close
Negotiate prices, terms and conditions for Line Pipe / Process Pipe contracts, adhering to pricing governance and approval processes and protecting margin in every negotiation
Develop and execute account strategies aimed at growing Vallourec's share within assigned accounts and displacing competition to meet long term sales objectives and profitability
Execute the sales road map and ensure Vallourec products and facilities are qualified as needed to compete for every available opportunity.
Build added-value propositions with the support of the technical-sales managers, R&D and inside sales, using technical differentiation as a selling tool to separate the Vallourec offer from the competition
Open doors for the technical-sales team and organize technical workshops on Vallourec products and programs as a means of deepening account penetration
Identify buying influences at decision making levels, map competitor positions and marketing drivers, and act on openings to take share
Gather market intelligence and deliver forecasts management can rely on for planning, with clear feedback on wins, losses, and pipeline movement
Represent Vallourec at professional exhibitions in country when needed (Oil & Gas Shows and Conferences)
Promote and support Vallourec' safety focus to all aspects of the industry
Maintain accurate, current opportunity and activity records in the customer relationship management tool daily as a core requirement of managing the accounts, and use it to run the business