Sales Manager (eCommerce Agency)

Blue Wheel Media • Chicago, IL

2d

About The Position

Blue Wheel is seeking an experienced agency sales leader to drive new business growth. This hands-on role owns the sales process from prospecting and initial outreach through discovery, solution development, negotiation, and close. The Sales Manager builds a qualified pipeline, develops relationships with senior brand and marketing executives, leads complex sales opportunities, and converts prospects into clients. The successful candidate brings an established network, generates opportunities independently, and has experience selling sophisticated digital marketing, media, ecommerce, or agency services.

The role requires a strong understanding of the marketing and commerce landscape, the ability to connect client needs to Blue Wheel’s capabilities, and credibility with senior decision-makers. The Sales Manager partners with agency subject matter experts to develop compelling solutions while maintaining ownership and momentum throughout the sales process. The position also supports growth within existing client relationships and represents Blue Wheel in the broader industry.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in agency sales, business development, client leadership, digital marketing, ecommerce, or related professional services, with significant direct responsibility for generating and closing new business.
• A proven track record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets and closing significant agency or professional-services engagements.
• Demonstrated ability to self-source opportunities and build pipeline rather than relying primarily on inbound leads or dedicated lead-generation teams.
• An established network of senior relationships across brands, marketing, ecommerce, retail, or related industries.
• Experience selling complex digital marketing, media, ecommerce, technology, or agency solutions.
• Strong understanding of modern digital marketing and commerce, with working knowledge across performance media, Amazon and marketplaces, retail media, creative, lifecycle marketing, social commerce, and analytics.
• Ability to build credibility and relationships with CMOs, VPs of Marketing, ecommerce executives, founders, and other senior decision-makers.
• Experience leading complex sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders, significant budgets, and multiple agency capabilities.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, relationship-building, and negotiation skills.
• Commercial experience negotiating scopes of work, pricing, contracts, and service agreements.
• Highly self-motivated and comfortable operating independently while collaborating with cross-functional agency teams.
• Strong organizational and pipeline-management discipline, with the ability to manage multiple opportunities simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

• Agency experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a pipeline of qualified prospects aligned with Blue Wheel’s target client profile.
• Generate self-sourced opportunities through an established network, direct outreach, referrals, industry relationships, and other prospecting activities.
• Manage inbound opportunities and convert qualified leads into active sales opportunities.
• Develop relationships with senior marketing, ecommerce, and business decision-makers.
• Create and execute account-based prospecting strategies for high-value target brands.
• Meet or exceed established new business and revenue targets.
• Own the sales process from prospecting and discovery through proposal, negotiation, and close.
• Lead discovery conversations to understand prospective clients’ business objectives, marketing challenges, current agency relationships, and growth opportunities.
• Navigate complex sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders, capabilities, and significant scopes of work.
• Lead executive pitches, presentations, RFP responses, and other major new business opportunities.
• Maintain sales-cycle urgency and momentum, proactively identifying and addressing barriers to close.
• Build trust and strong relationships with senior decision-makers throughout the sales process.
• Develop knowledge of Blue Wheel’s capabilities across DTC Advertising, Amazon, Marketplace, Creative, Lifecycle Marketing, Social Commerce, Retail Media, and Business Intelligence.
• Translate prospect needs into relevant solutions and clearly articulate Blue Wheel’s value proposition.
• Partner with practice leaders and subject matter experts to develop strategies, proposals, scopes, and presentations.
• Coordinate internal teams and resources as needed to close business.
• Lead the sales narrative and ensure pitches connect Blue Wheel’s capabilities to prospects’ business objectives.
• Develop proposals, scopes of work, pricing, and commercial structures with Finance, Operations, and agency leadership.
• Negotiate pricing, scopes, contracts, and service agreements with prospective clients.
• Maintain accurate pipeline, opportunity, and activity information in the agency CRM.
• Provide reliable sales forecasts and communicate pipeline health, opportunities, risks, and expected closes.
• Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities within existing client relationships.
• Partner with client leadership teams to introduce additional capabilities where Blue Wheel can create value.
• Build relationships with additional decision-makers, brands, divisions, and business units within existing client organizations.
• Participate in executive client meetings, annual planning sessions, QBRs, and other strategic conversations when they support relationship or revenue growth.
• Coordinate new business efforts with agency leadership, practice leaders, marketing, and client teams.
• Represent Blue Wheel at conferences, industry events, networking opportunities, and prospective client meetings.
• Build and maintain relationships across the brand, marketing, ecommerce, and agency community to generate future opportunities.
• Share prospect feedback and competitive intelligence with agency leadership to strengthen Blue Wheel’s sales approach and positioning.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, accident, critical illness, life, and disability coverage; FSA/HSA options.
• Company-sponsored 401(k) option with company match.
• Generous paid time off, sick time, floating holidays, volunteer day, and bereavement time.
• Paid parental leave: 12 weeks for the primary parent and 2 weeks for the secondary parent.
• 10 paid holidays and a light week between Christmas and New Year’s.
• Mental health days, health and wellness reimbursement, employee assistance program, and employer-paid coaching sessions.

What This Job Offers

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