sales representative

account representative

outside sales representative

recruiter

manager in training

Kimball Midwest

My typical day at work is, driving around in my personal car, trying to sell maintenance supplies for 15 to 20% more than my competition. This wouldn't be too bad if we were selling different or better products, but in most cases we are selling the exact same thing. So it's very difficult to do in some places, but in others it's not.
One thing I have learned working for this company is how to demo products. If you can't demo products effectively you can't survive working for this company. I will always be the highest guy in the room, when it boils down to price. Demos, showing up about the same time every week, and building re-pore are my keys to making money. 
The management of running my routes comes down to me. I don't have an office, store to work out of, or a boss looking over my shoulder, so I mostly management myself. I have upper management to fall back on, but it's pretty much me out-there in the field.
The hardest part of my job is getting around to see everyone I want to. It's sometimes hard to sell the same product for more money, but that can be done with the right re-pour skills and knowing how to demo the product.
The most enjoyable part of the job is, the people I get to meet and build relationships with. I enjoy talking to my customers, and interacting in their lives. Just basically getting to know them, and helping them with what ever I can. Even if it's not business related. I would do anything, I possibly can for them, and I would go out-of-my way to make it happen.

My experience with Kimball Midwest as an outside sales rep was extremely disappointing. The first few weeks felt like hazing — you're expected to hit target numbers and open new accounts immediately. The sales approach relies heavily on gimmicky and borderline deceptive tactics, leaving no room for genuine customer relationship building. No clear borders on territories, you will have other reps in your territory. Competing against others in your organization for sales. When hired I was told 8-5 Monday-Friday, Friday being an office day. Aggressive early-stage account acquisition targets necessitate extended work hours, exceeding ten hours daily and including weekends, a condition the area manager indicated would persist for my initial two years.

You're brought on as a 1099 contractor but expected to invest heavily out of pocket — including purchasing your own tools to perform odd, ineffective demos.  No company vehicles. Expectations are not clearly communicated during onboarding, and when you try to raise concerns or ask for clarification, you're met with evasiveness from management.

Leadership seems disconnected from the realities of modern sales, and it's obvious the stress runs top-down. I left shortly after starting, despite years of success in sales — I simply couldn't align myself with the tactics and culture being pushed.


Kimball Midwest is a great place to work if you want to be a name and not a number.  The owners are actively involved in day-to-day operations and make it known that they are thankful for the work you do no matter your position within the company. 

There are frequent corporate lunches to celebrate company records or show employee appreciation. 

My department is very flexible with schedules and very accommodating to work/life balance.

The company is supportive of personal development and allows people to grow and evolve. There are several internal programs for continuous development and external development opportunities such as conferences, professional organizations, certifications, etc. are also available generally. The company is growing and believes in promoting from within and even allowing people to shift careers entirely.

The people that you work with both corporate staff and the sales force are awesome, everyone is friendly -- it really does feel like an extended family.

My work is enjoyable, there are new challenges every day.  I feel empowered to give feedback that actually makes a difference. It is a very unique opportunity that most often does not happen in larger publicly-traded companies.

I was apprehensive going to a potential 100% commission job. What I found after starting is that the company (especially my immediate manager) will provide the training and support that I needed to succeed. Not every area is the same, not every manager is the same but I can tell you that my experience has been fantastic. My manager cares and the managers above them care. The trainers that I have worked with are supportive and a positive influence. 

If you cannot manage your time or treat your customers great by giving excellent customer service, it will be an issue. But if you want to build a lasting career with great training, great family/work life balance, this is the company to work for. I get to do the best part of a sales persons’ job and that is to talk to my customers, guide and help them, make their life easier and go home each night to my family knowing that I get to get up tomorrow and go out with a smile on my face and do it again. 

I have read other reviews and if you do not have dedication, do not care about the business people that trust you to help them or want to make a quick buck and not build a future, then this is not the job/employer for you. They will set you up for success but at the end of the day, it will be your success or failure depending on the effort you put into it. 

When I started I thought this was a great place to work and I was on 2nd shift. However you start realize there really isn't enough work for everyone to do on 2nd shift so you start seeing people just go home early. If you need help with projects or anything they won't make them help you and be a team, they will let them go home early and you get to stay until 11pm and work on them yourself. Stockers get paid a lower rate and they will have you help in other depts that actually get paid more than you and you won't get the difference paid to you. They will just expect you to help since you are 2nd shift and 1st shift needs help to finish their work for the day. Also don't let anyone know if you plan on looking for another a job, no matter how close you feel to them because they will then discharge you and claim that you quit. It's not worth the hassle working here. At first I was impressed and then I realized they are very biased on who they have do what. I was also told I was training to take over someone's position because they were leaving but when the managers "relative" decided he wanted to come back to work there, they decided he could have the position and I could be stuck where I was.

You’re told upfront how great things are, and how within a couple years,  you’ll easily be making over $100,000 a year! Trust me, it’s all lies!! They get you in, want you to go to everyone you know that runs either a garage, body shop etc… After a couple months, sales goals are completely unrealistic in trying to get. I could go on for pages and pages, but let me also mention, you’re forced to raise your auto insurance coverage, you wear your own vehicle out, you pay your own gas, you pay for your phone, you pay for all “samples” they send you, you pay for every customer’s catalog ($23.00), if a customer doesn’t pay their bill, guess whose check that comes out of? You guessed right, yours!! You’re supposed to be assigned a specific territory, but certain reps can come into your territory and make sales, but you’re told to not go into another reps territory, and if you do, apologize to the customer and immediately notify the rep of that territory that you stopped by one of his “customers”! This place is a total joke. I unfortunately still work with Kimball, but as soon as I find something different, I’m gone! It’s really a shame, because we do have a lot of good products, but they are hard to sell because they are extremely expensive. I should’ve known something was up when so many of my customers would say, man, another sales rep! 

I was a sales rep for 4.5 years. It was good when the economy was good, if the economy goes down, you hurt.  I tried to advance to become a trainer, they kept hearing me and didn’t take steps needed. My manager was a waste of my time with his poor product knowledge. He was awkward, customers of mine told me to never bring him around. Upper management only take care and helps those in the bigger metropolitan areas. We were left on our own outside of the city. Inadequate support but they would still demand you to get those bigger accounts that you needed help from management on obtaining. Very old school style of approach that doesn’t work very well. When I did obtain larger accounts by myself, my key accounts manager would take credit for it. When he did absolutely nothing to help let alone show up to the account until I took it. Was promised no more reps would be added into my sales area if I hit X amount in sales, I hit X amount and they still were hiring for another rep. 

The only reason I was successful was because I had accounts from prior sales jobs to bring with me. If you have 0 account base for the market area  it’s going to be really hard to make decent money for yourself.

I was an outside sales person.  With a goal to increase customers, and close at the end of each sale.  Supplemental mileage was offered as well as bonuses for hitting certain new customer opening goals.  This is a total sham. I was encouraged to sell to my personal friends and return the product after getting commissions.  Very dishonest. The pay profile didn't pay you out unless you achieved certain sales goals, which was not clearly explained.  Promised territory never came to fruition.  I was the third new rep the customers I called on had seen in three months.  Also there is no protected territory.  Again, told I would have a limited amount of people selling in my market.  When in fact there was more than one manager in that market and had additional people on their team.  6 people from 8 of my training class were gone in 6 months time.  This is across the US.  I tried to quit in month 4, my manager pleaded with me to give it another try. I quit shortly after.  I am a very honest, hard working, tenured sales person.  I can not work for some where so off of my moral compass. Beware, if you are being recruited!!!

If you have sales experience, stay away from this company at all costs. You are a glorified door to door vacuum salesperson. They will tell you that you will get all the training needed. False, you get a week of watching half wits talk to you on zoom and maybe a week with the manager that interviewed you. You are told that you get a salary for the first year, technically. As long as you hit your sales number, which at the 6 or 7 week the number is to high to hit because they limit where you can sell. They bring a nice looking binder with your offer, but what they avoid to tell you is that they include all the POSSIBLE bonus money you could get, as well as the fuel reimbursement. So technically you're not making that total at the end of the page. You are told you dont pay for supplies, another lie, I still receive invoices from these clowns. Unless you have a years worth of money to rely on, do not waste your time. They have been around 100 years but yet most places dont know who they are. I could type pages of why to avoid this place. 

KM is truly a great place to work.  You have the freedom to do things as you see fit, from customer pricing to taking a day off if you need to.  You are in control of your destiny.  You do have to understand that you are essentially running your own business.  KM will and does give you all the tools to be successful.  I have not met one person including the President that I didn’t like.  The typical work day includes lots of cold calling, seeing customers on a regular schedule, setting up storage equipment, puttinf away orders and occasionally taking care of problems.  You cannot beat the culture, it is based around the sales rep and their success, but also about treating everyone the way the should be treated whether it’s customers, support staff(customer service, product line, etc.) or sales reps.  I’ve worked for some awful companies, managers in the past.  I know a good place from bad.  KM is a great place to work.  If you follow their process and remain open minded you will be successful.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales representative 1 salary reported	$70,000 per year
Account representative 8 salaries reported	$48,250 per year
Outside sales representative 12 salaries reported	$73,333 per year
Recruiter 5 salaries reported	$62,660 per year
Manager in training 3 salaries reported	$48,700 per year

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