Outside Sales Representative - Industrial

Cogent Talent Solutions • Peoria, IL

3d

About The Position

Our client is seeking a driven, consultative B2B salesperson to open doors, build a qualified pipeline, win new industrial business, and grow strategic customer relationships. This is an active sales role focused on disciplined prospecting, solution selling, and strategic account development. The representative will help customers improve reliability, reduce downtime, address maintenance challenges, and make better industrial-fluid decisions.

The role combines new-business development with strategic account growth and retention. The representative will lead consultative customer conversations, coordinate internal technical and operational resources, and manage opportunities through the full sales process. Accurate CRM records, consistent follow-up, professional proposals, and visibility into pipeline activity are expected.

Requirements

• Five or more years of successful B2B sales, business development, or strategic account experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to prospect, create opportunities, and convert cold or dormant relationships into signed customers.
• Consultative selling skills, including asking strong questions, diagnosing needs, communicating value, and earning credibility with operational and executive stakeholders.
• Strong follow-through, organization, time management, and personal accountability.
• Comfort with CRM systems and disciplined CRM use.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work independently in the field while collaborating with leadership, operations, inside sales, and technical resources.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regularly to customer and prospect locations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in industrial, manufacturing, MRO, distribution, lubricants, chemicals, or technical sales.
• HubSpot experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Sales, Marketing, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience is also acceptable.

Responsibilities

• Research and target industrial, manufacturing, fleet, municipal, construction, metalworking, and other qualified B2B prospects.
• Initiate conversations with maintenance, operations, purchasing, plant leadership, and executive decision makers.
• Build and manage a qualified pipeline from first contact through discovery, proposal, follow-up, negotiation, and close.
• Generate opportunities through phone, email, LinkedIn, referrals, networking, field visits, and industry events.
• Develop trusted-advisor relationships with key customer stakeholders and decision makers.
• Identify cross-sell, upsell, reactivation, and multi-location growth opportunities within existing accounts.
• Conduct structured account reviews and proactively identify customer risks, needs, and expansion opportunities.
• Coordinate technical support, product trials, conversions, inventory programs, and custom solutions with internal resources.
• Protect customer retention, margin, service quality, and long-term relationship value.
• Lead discovery conversations about equipment reliability, downtime, maintenance costs, application challenges, inventory, and total cost of ownership.
• Communicate the value of Comet Supply’s technical expertise, responsiveness, local support, custom blending, and industrial-fluid capabilities.
• Bring in internal technical expertise when appropriate and coordinate resources to advance opportunities.
• Maintain accurate contacts, notes, opportunities, next steps, and pipeline stages in HubSpot.
• Follow up consistently on quotes, proposals, trials, and customer commitments.
• Prepare professional proposals and support pricing, contract, and margin discussions with leadership.
• Provide weekly pipeline and activity visibility and participate in sales and KPI reviews.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed