Director – Trade Sales

Lifeway Christian Resources

Director leading Lifeway’s domestic trade sales across Christian retail, mass-market distribution, and specialty partners. Driving revenue growth, channel strategy, and sales-team development for biblical resources.

Posted 8/18/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in trade sales strategy, revenue growth, and account management within the publishing industry, while effectively leading and developing sales teams. Strong financial acumen and experience in budget management are essential for driving profitability and market share across diverse channel partners.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Trade Sales StrategySales ManagementBudget ManagementChannel ForecastingSalesforce CRM

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Sales ExperienceRevenue GrowthP&L AcumenAccount NegotiationDemand PlanningCustom Publishing SolutionsMarket Share GrowthStrategic Account GrowthPerformance ManagementMulti-Brand Product Portfolio

Soft Skills

CoachingMentoringCommunicationRelationship BuildingLeadership

Certifications & Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree

Industry Keywords

Christian RetailTrade RetailDistribution ChannelsPublishing IndustryEvangelical Christian Church

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Live out Lifeway’s mission and values, showing deep commitment to Kingdom work
Lead and grow trade retail channel partnerships across Christian retail, general market, mass market distribution, and ministry and specialty accounts
Hire, coach, mentor, and develop the Trade Retail and Distribution Sales team
Set performance expectations and support career growth and succession planning
Build and execute strategic account growth plans for new releases, backlist catalog, and custom publishing solutions
Partner with Publishing, Marketing, Finance, Creative, and IT on go-to-market strategies
Develop and manage annual revenue budgets
Forecast channel performance and oversee expense management
Oversee account negotiations, discount structures, and co-op agreements
Build relationships with account buying, marketing, and merchandising teams
Drive annual growth across domestic trade channels with full top- and bottom-line accountability
Travel moderately, typically overnight and sometimes seasonally heavy

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Communication, or a related field, required
10+ years of progressive sales experience across multiple retail and distribution channels
7+ years of sales management experience leading and developing sales teams
5+ years of experience in the publishing industry with strong knowledge of the market
Expertise in trade sales strategy and driving revenue and market share growth across diverse channel partners
Strong financial and P&L acumen, including budget management and profitable revenue accountability
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Moderate domestic travel, typically overnight
Actively involved in an evangelical Christian church
Experience with channel forecasting, demand planning, and managing a multi-brand product portfolio preferred
Existing relationships with key trade retail and distribution accounts preferred
Experience using Salesforce CRM preferred
Experience supporting or managing custom publishing programs preferred

Benefits

Comp & perks

Strong Work from Anywhere (WFA) culture with autonomy and flexibility with work hours
Equipment and resources for a productive and ergonomic workspace
Travel provided for key team gatherings for remote-based team members
Healthcare
Vacation and sick time
Holiday pay
Care days
401(k) plan
Maternity and parental leave
Adoption assistance
Mission trip time
All-team meetings several times per year
Occasional in-person team gatherings in Nashville