Position Summary
The Distributor Account Manager is a field-based sales professional responsible for supporting HAWE Hydraulik USA distributors within a defined geographic territory. This role focuses on business development, strategic distributor engagement, and driving sales growth through training, joint sales efforts, and CRM-based opportunity management. The Distributor Account Manager is expected to travel up to 50% of the time and maintain a strong presence with distributor teams and customers.
Key Responsibilities
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Act as the primary field sales contact for HAWE distributors within the assigned territory.
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Travel up to 50% of the time to support distributor sales efforts and customer engagement.
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Effective sales management of a multi-state territory.
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Provide product and application training on HAWE products, customer portal, web shop.
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Support distributors with special pricing requests and strategic sales initiatives.
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Conduct joint sales calls with distributor sales teams to drive business development.
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Collaborate with distributors on quarterly business plans and territory growth strategies.
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Manage travel and expense budgets effectively and responsibly.
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Complete a minimum of 50 customer visits per quarter, either face-to-face or virtually.
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Educate distributors on effective collaboration with HAWE inside sales and engineering teams.
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Successful in converting distribution network into “Market Making” partners with local inventory, factory authorized HAWE Service Centers, building a culture of local HAWE Champions at each partner.
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Provide quarterly updates to the Distributor Sales Manager on territory performance and initiative progress.
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Utilize Salesforce CRM daily to log visit reports, create and update opportunities, and manage Game-Changer opportunities.
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Ensure accurate and timely updates to Salesforce accounts, contacts, and opportunity pipelines.
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Focus on business development while delegating customer service tasks to the inside sales team.
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Participate actively in factory training sessions held at HAWE facilities.
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Play a key role in planning and executing National Partner Meetings held semi-annually.
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Support marketing efforts targeting key customers within the distributor's authorized territory.
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Responsible for quarterly and bi-annual sales forecasting duties for their respective customer base.
Customer Communication & Support
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Respond promptly and professionally to customer inquiries via email and phone, delegating to the correct inside team member according to the request.
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Maintain strong relationships with distributor contacts through consistent and clear communication.
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Following up to make sure appropriate execution.
Salesforce CRM Utilization
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Log all visits, PROs quotes, pertinent email communications, drawings, and customer interactions directly to the appropriate account in Salesforce.
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Create and update opportunities, ensuring accurate pipeline progression through defined sales stages.
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Accurate updates on pipeline and opportunity closing dates.
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Help with maintaining accurate contact database, ensuring all distributor contacts are properly categorized and accessible.
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Documenting OEM customers, belonging to distribution, within Salesforce.
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Use Salesforce reporting tools to monitor account activity and identify follow-up actions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
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Work closely with inside sales daily for the support of the customers within the region.
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Facilitate communication between distributors and HAWE team for engineering related technical projects, issues, or applications.
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Provide guidance and support to purchasing for distribution related inventory agreements.
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Liaise with S-Line team on projects involving distribution.
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Cooperate with marketing to build target accounts within a region, develop sales campaigns, and marketing collateral that supports these efforts.
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Support accounting with delinquent accounts or past due situations.
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Coordinate on-site support functions for distributors requiring training, troubleshooting, engineering, or service.
Qualifications
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Proven experience in field sales within the fluid power industry.
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Strong understanding of hydraulic systems and HAWE product offerings.
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Excellent presentation and training skills for both technical and commercial topics.
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Willingness and ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
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Proficiency in Salesforce CRM for opportunity management and reporting.
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Ability to develop and execute strategic business plans with distributor partners.
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Strong interpersonal and communication skills for working with distributor teams and customers.
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Self-motivated and goal-oriented with a focus on business development.
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Experience managing travel and expense budgets effectively.
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Comfortable using digital tools for virtual meetings, training, and CRM updates.
Preferred Skills:
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Fluid power experience with application knowledge for mobile and industrial systems and components.
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Experience using HAWE’s customer portal and web shop.
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MS Office family of software with primary focus on Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Teams.
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Basic understanding of HAWE workflows.
