As a Professional Development Manager, you’ll be part of our Field Sales Team working as a virtual employee. The Professional Development Manager (PDM) will be the lead person in the field for all Professional (Pro) related business. The PDM will be the point person responsible for growing the Pro business within a specific region by assisting but not limited to pull through of retail. The PDM will assist in key learning of the market through our Professional Test Drive (PTD) process as well as end user and dealer relationships. The PDM will assist a cross functional group of product management, marketing, channel, etc. with key learnings from the field and directly from our end customers. You’ll get to: Develop detailed annual strategic plans for maximizing Pro business in their territory along with concise and measurable objectives that support that strategy. These plans will be presented to the Pro team prior to the season and reported on at the close of the season. Facilitate end user demos with landscapers and municipalities. These demos can be setup with dealers or on your own but are critical to the growth of the brand. Develop relationships with landscapers and municipalities. These relationships will be used to show and demo new products and to assist in key learnings for future product development. Spend 50% plus of time with end customers. Involvement with state landscaper, municipal, grounds management associations. Execution of all parts of the PTD process from finding the proper end users to paperwork to the use of the product. These events are essential to the expansion of the product base. Provide accurate and timely information about field issues to product management and engineering teams. Lead training efforts with field team as well as dealers at large training events or at large Pro dealers in Pro business categories. Dealers that know and are confident in our product have a better chance for growth and success. Input all required data into Salesforce. This will be an ongoing effort but is vital to capturing and using proper data. Assist field team and dealers in service, parts and product availability issues. PDM’s must be the point person for anything having to do with the Pro business. Identify and communicate marketing needs to Professional Marketing Manager. Understand the competitive landscape within your region. PDM should be the expert for everything Pro for that region knowing the major competitive brands and programs to assist in closing business and training our product.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent education and experience Minimum of 5 years’ selling experience within a Consumer Goods organization, preferably in OPE Previous experience with Pro Channel end users such as landscapers, municipalities, etc. strongly preferred. Understanding of independent retailer markets helpful Proven leadership ability to influence, develop and empower employees to achieve objectives with a team approach. Excellent written and oral communication skills