Ashland Water Group
Channel Sales Manager – Hardware Channel
Department: Sales
Reports To: Director Of Sales
Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: Hybrid [Ashland, Ohio]
Travel: Up to 40-60%, primarily to partner and distributor locations and trade shows
About the Role
Ashland Water Group is looking for a Channel Sales Manager to help grow our hardware channel — the network of distributors, resellers, and equipment partners that bring our hardware products to market. This role owns the partner relationship end to end: recruiting and onboarding new partners, driving joint sales pipeline, and ensuring partners are equipped and motivated to sell. The ideal candidate has experience with managing indirect/channel sales for physical hardware or farm and ranch) and is comfortable owning a revenue number that runs primarily through third parties.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and grow revenue delivered through hardware channel partners (distributors, dealers, and farm and ranch resellers) against a quarterly and annual quota.
- Recruit, onboard, and enable new channel partners; build and maintain a scorecard to evaluate partner performance and health.
- Develop joint business plans with key partners, including sales targets, marketing support, and training programs.
- Coordinate with product and operations teams to ensure partners have accurate hardware specs, pricing, lead times, and inventory visibility.
- Run regular business reviews (QBRs) with top partners to track pipeline, resolve issues, and identify growth opportunities.
- Manage channel conflict and pricing/margin structures to protect both partner profitability and company margin.
- Train partner sales teams on product positioning, competitive differentiation, and support requirements.
- Collaborate with marketing on co-op marketing funds, channel promotions, and lead-sharing programs.
- Track and report on channel KPIs: sell-through, partner-sourced pipeline, deal registration, and forecast accuracy.
- Represent Ashland Water Group at industry trade shows, partner events, and distributor conferences as needed.
Required Qualifications
- 1-3+ years of experience in channel sales, partner management, or distribution sales, ideally with physical hardware or industrial/water treatment equipment.
- Track record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets through indirect sales channels.
- Experience building and managing partner enablement programs (training, deal registration, co-op marketing).
- Strong negotiation skills, particularly around partner agreements, pricing tiers, and margin structures.
- Comfortable reading basic technical/hardware specifications and translating them for a sales audience.
- Willingness to travel up to 60% to partner sites, distributor facilities, and trade events.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in water pumps, filtration, industrial equipment, or related B2B hardware industries.
- Existing relationships with hardware distributors or dealer networks
- Experience launching a channel program from the ground up, not just managing an established one.
- Familiarity with deal registration and channel conflict resolution processes.
What We Offer
- Competitive base salary plus bonus tied to channel revenue performance.
- Health, dental, and vision insurance.
- Simple IRA with company match.
- Paid time off and company holidays.
- Opportunity to join a fast-growing manufacturer in the hardware channel
Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Ashland, OH 44805
