Essency – Inside Sales Manager
Location: Oak Ridge North (Houston), TX 27351 Spectrum Way Oak Ridge North, TX 77385 -2101
Company: Essency Water Heaters
Primary Function
To serve as the critical communication hub bridging the gap between marketing demand, outside field sales, customer service, and wholesale distribution partners. As Essency enters a rapid growth phase with aggressive targets, this role will drive revenue by building a repeatable inside sales engine. The primary goal is to stop lead leakage, coordinate field training, and manage the CRM pipeline to ensure no contractor or wholesaler opportunity falls through the cracks. This role acts as the first point of contact for inbound pre-sales, freeing up the technical support team's capacity while directly supporting the outside sales team.
Responsibilities
- Develop and launch an official inside sales playbook that includes strict lead capture processes, enforcing a 100% response rate to all leads within one business day.
- Key point of contact for developing and revising Training Materials, in collaboration with Support & Marketing Teams.
- Act as the first line of defense for inbound sales calls, fielding product inquiries, resolving sales issues quickly, and routing complex technical questions appropriately.
- Manage the complete "plumber journey" from first contact to elite Pro League status. Proactively reach out to contractors stalled in the application pipeline, collect missing documentation, and drive warranty registrations.
- Develop and execute outbound call campaigns focused on contractor recruitment, distributor activation, dormant customer reactivation, and new market launches.
- Coordinate virtual and in-person product training programs, webinars, and demonstrations to educate contractors and support field sales.
- Support wholesale partners by coordinating branch trainings, supporting counter days, and assisting with local promotions.
- Act as the operational backbone for outside Business Development Managers (BDMs) across all regions, assisting with account planning and customer development.
- Own the Sales usage of HubSpot CRM (in contrast to Marketing usage) as the single source of truth. Build executive dashboards, maintain accurate pipelines, manage automated follow-up sequences, and track campaign ROI.
- Monitor and drive improvement on primary KPIs: Revenue/Sales Growth, Lead Response Time, Pro League Enrollments, Warranty Registrations, and Training Attendance.
- Additional as needed and defined in collaboration with National Sales Director
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in Inside Sales, Sales Management, Customer Success, or Business Development.
- 2+ years of leadership or team management experience.
- B2B manufacturing experience preferred; Plumbing, HVAC, construction, or wholesale distribution experience is highly desirable.
- Expertise in CRM platforms (specifically HubSpot) and building sales dashboards/reports.
- Experience coordinating training, events, or educational programs.
- Proficiency in Excel (Power BI experience preferred).
- Requires exceptional organizational and written/verbal communications skills.
- Must be able to type a minimum of 40 words per minute.
- Up to 5% travel required, mainly for key tradeshows and events, typically infrequent.
- Willing to work a 40-hour schedule within open hours of operation, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday; open to flexible schedules to support company & customer needs.
Education
- Bachelor's Degree (2- or 4-yr) in Business, Marketing, Engineering, Communications, or related field.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $70,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
Work Location: In person
