Territory Manager

SKF•Whitpain Township, PA

69d•$111,000 - $139,000•Remote

About The Position

The Aftermarket Territory Manager role is accountable for delivering consistent, sustainable, and profitable sales growth by actively creating incremental demand through new business development and competitive share gain. This role requires a strong hunter mentality, with a clear expectation to proactively identify, pursue, and win new opportunities across the territory. The position engages SKF Authorized Distributors, Channel Partners, and End Users with a primary focus on winning new applications, and converting competitive positions to SKF solutions, while also expanding wallet share within existing accounts through strategic relationship development Reporting to a regional Sales Director, this highly technical role is responsible for identifying, qualifying, and converting growth opportunities within targeted end users and channel partners. The Territory Manager secures SKF’s position on new products and applications by building a pipeline of new business, executing competitive take-away strategies, and delivering a flawless customer experience. This position serves as the primary technical and commercial resource for distributors and end users in a defined sales territory, partnering cross-functionally to win, implement, and retain business. Sales territory geography includes Wisconsin. Subject to future adjustments based on business needs. Candidate must be located within the territory.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent industry experience
Strong commercial and technical/mechanical aptitude
General industry knowledge with strong ability to communicate technical details
Eagerness to look for new opportunities and expand the business – hunter mentality with a bias toward competitive take-away
Ability to answer technical questions utilizing published information catalogs for bearings, seals and maintenance products related, but not limited to: Nomenclature and design features, Shaft and Housing Fits, Basic maintenance recommendations
Proficient knowledge in sales plan development/execution, funnel management, prospecting, and rigorous customer follow-up to win new business and convert competitive positions
Strong technical acumen and ability to learn is a requirement
Perform competitor product interchanges for catalog item
Provide training and hands-on demonstrations of bearings, seals, and maintenance products
Knowledge of lubrication methods and practices including performing assessments and providing recommendations
Knowledge of bearing failures and causes; providing hands-on failure analysis and recommendations
Ability to troubleshoot applications and articulate advanced problems to Application Engineers as needed
Ability to inspect bearings and conclude to scrap, reuse or rework
Strong situational awareness; adept at managing complex organizations and situations
Effectively utilize SKF technology/tools – Illuminate, Microsoft Suite, PTPlace, DeliveryData.net, SKFiOS, Android Applications and Croesus
Strong knowledge of distributor management – profit and loss statements, margin and mark ups, competitive rebates, returns, shipping and logistics, terms and conditions, digital transactions (EDI, PTPlace, portals, etc.)
Exceptional organizational, time management and sales planning skills
Purposeful action taker with strong ability to make sound judgements and good business sense
Entrepreneurial spirit; self-motivated and driven to win
Eagerness to constantly learn new products, applications and business models
Willingness and ability to travel 60-75% of the time within the sales territory including overnight stays
Ability to communicate effectively (verbal, written, presentation)
Demonstrate self-management, time management, and process management skills
Demonstrate strong technical aptitude, problem solving and analytical skills
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of bearings, seals and corresponding applications
Demonstrate strong understanding of rotating equipment and related applications
Ability to influence others (negotiating skills, persuasiveness, and tenacity to follow up)
Demonstrate project management skills; adept to working with all levels of an organization
Ability to develop positive and lasting relationships with internal and external customers
Demonstrate understanding and ability to communicate technical information
Demonstrate sales skills (effective questioning, active listening, consultation)
Ability to prioritize technical support resources based on retention and/or customer growth value
Proficient knowledge of full SKF enterprise product offering;
Ability to identify opportunity; develop and execute winning strategy
Demonstrate ability to use tools/resources to improve efficiency, handle customer needs, reduce costs
Ability to present technical training and hold discussions in front of groups of people
Self-starter mindset
Strong drive for results
Competitive mindset

Responsibilities

Deliver consistent year-over-year sustainable profit growth within the assigned portfolio of business
Short- and long-term strategic goals are achieved by actively managing daily engagement with SKF Authorized Distributors, Channel Partners and end users; driving incremental sales growth through new account penetration, new application wins, competitive conversions, and expansion within existing accounts—supported by relationship building and a flawless customer experience.
Build, deepen and sustain customer relationships
Enhance, broaden, and deepen key customer relationships that translate into measurable growth by uncovering unmet needs, qualifying new opportunities, and positioning SKF to take share from incumbent competitors through proactive, consistent customer connection.
Consultative and collaborative approach with customers, their sales teams and engineers to clearly understand customer requirements, assess equipment needs and determine system requements to provide sales support while enhancing the customer experience
Recommend improved materials or machinery emphasizing the benefits of lower cost or increased production
Recognized by customers as trusted advisor; helping them to achieve their KPI‘s
Provide strong technical support to distributor and end-user accounts
Recognized and motivated as the preferred technical partner for distributors and end-user customers in a defined sales area
Fully proficient in providing technical support surrounding basic/intermediate level questions; relying on Application Engineers for higher-level, SME support
Proactively perform application reviews for new opportunities to discover and recommend the optimum SKF solution
Troubleshoot exisitng applications, perform visual analysis as part of an RCFA and define upgrade options
Assess competitive share-shift opportunities and define/promote an SKF alternative
Effective and strong business management practices:
Proactively identify, qualify, and document new business and share-shift opportunities in the sales funnel aligned to SKF growth strategies (new applications, competitive conversions, and product expansion).
Actively manage the funnel with disciplined cadence (next steps, close plans, and stakeholder maps) to convert targeted prospects and competitive positions into won business while protecting and expanding existing share.
Maintain and establish technical contacts to generate opportunities in the defined sales area
Develops and execute cross-functional go-to-market (GTM) strategy with internal and external stakeholders
Strong customer account management practices
Successfully manage end customers with an opportunity-based sales plan designed to protect existing business, win new applications, and execute competitor take-away plans that expand SKF product penetration and wallet share.
Employ Sales Excellence process in offer development and insight presentations to move opportunities through the sales funnel
Plan and modify products to meet customer needs
Secure growth and retention orders; ensure timely delivery