Commercial Sales Manager

About the Role

The Commercial Sales Manager owns all operational sales for Thogus—including the account management team, quoting and pricing process, sales forecast, and commercial terms for existing programs. This position reports to the President and is not a hunting role; prospecting is handled by the Director of Business Development. The manager will run the commercial side of an established book of business with discipline, growing it by farming the existing customer base (additional programs, transferred tooling, adjacent SKUs, and volume currently placed elsewhere). Thogus is rebuilding its costing and quoting methodology, and the Commercial Sales Manager is a primary owner of that discipline. Commercial processes must be documented, followed, and reviewed on a defined cadence, rather than being managed transactionally or held in one person’s head.

Why This Role

Thogus, a family‑owned company operating since 1950, offers a short decision‑to‑execution path by reporting directly to the President. The role sits within a group of manufacturing and technical services companies under common family ownership. Strong performance can lead to expanded commercial oversight across multiple plants.

Company Benefits

• 401k with employer match
• Comprehensive benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, STD/LTD, Life)
• 12 paid holidays (including your birthday)
• Temperature‑controlled (air‑conditioned) work environment
• Office hours: Monday‑Friday 8:00 am‑5:00 pm (company operates 24 hours/day, 5 days/week)

Department Leadership

• Directly manage the Account Management team—priorities, workload allocation, and day‑to‑day direction.
• Maintain a current account assignment matrix with a named owner and backup for every active account.
• Conduct documented one‑on‑ones and performance reviews on a defined cadence.
• Establish and hold a standing weekly department meeting with a published agenda and tracked action items.
• Participate in the company management cadence, including the weekly written leadership update.
• Develop the team’s commercial capability—costing literacy, negotiation, and customer communication.

Pricing and Quoting Discipline

• Own the quoting process end‑to‑end—intake, cross‑functional review, costing input, submission, and follow‑up—against a documented turnaround standard.
• Develop and approve pricing on new and existing programs (subject to Finance approval) consistent with standard cost and gross‑margin requirements.
• Maintain a documented price file for every active SKU, with an annual full price review.
• Execute price changes end‑to‑end—customer notification, effective dates, and verification that ERP pricing matches communicated prices.
• Administer material pass‑through and resin surcharge mechanisms, including baseline documentation and periodic reconciliation.
• Apply a consistent quoting methodology that reflects program complexity and actual cost to serve.

Forecast and Reporting

• Own the monthly sales projection and the in‑month push report; distribute on a fixed cadence and reconcile projection to actual each month.
• Report quoting volume and conversion against production revenue on a defined cadence.
• Maintain the CRM and ERP as the systems of record for pipeline, pricing, and customer data—no personal spreadsheets as the primary source.
• Present commercial results, risks, and forward outlook to the President and Executive Team.

Key Account Management

• Serve as the primary relationship holder for assigned key accounts (determined annually by customer concentration).
• Maintain a documented contact cadence for every key account—relationship contact driven by schedule, not by escalation.
• Own the customer scorecard process; ensure corrective‑action responses are complete, documented, and submitted on time.
• Identify and pursue additional volume within existing accounts—new programs, transferred tooling, and adjacent parts.
• Escalate commercial and program risk promptly and in writing.

Commercial Terms and Documentation

• Prepare and administer stocking agreements, supply agreements, forecast commitments, minimum order quantities, and lead‑time terms; route legal review through the President.
• Take ownership of commercial requests originating from customers—define the process, assign the work, and drive it to closure.
• Maintain complete documentation of pricing, commercial terms, and customer commitments in the designated company directory, accessible to others.
• Ensure commercial commitments are communicated to Operations, Purchasing, Quality, and Finance before they are made to the customer.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Working knowledge of custom manufacturing, preferably plastic injection molding, including tooling, secondary operations, and the quote‑to‑launch process.
• Demonstrated ability to build and hold a process—documentation, cadence, and follow‑through—across a team.
• Practical command of standard costing and gross‑margin analysis; able to defend a price to a customer using cost data.
• Proven success managing established programs and accounts over multi‑year horizons.
• Direct experience leading price increase or cost‑recovery efforts with sophisticated customers.
• Ability to manage a small team and hold it accountable without losing the relationship.
• Sound judgment under pressure, especially when customer expectations and plant capability conflict.
• Ability to travel to customer sites periodically, occasionally on short notice.

Education, Training and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Progressive experience in sales management, account management, or commercial management within a manufacturing environment.
• Prior supervisory responsibility for an inside sales, account management, or customer service team.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.

Communication Skills

• Ability to write clear business correspondence, customer notifications, and internal process documentation.
• Ability to present information and respond to questions from managers, customers, and cross‑functional teams.
• Ability to deliver unwelcome commercial news directly, with supporting data, while preserving the relationship.

Analytical Skills

• Standard costing, gross‑margin, and contribution analysis.
• Cost justification and return‑on‑investment analysis.
• Application of percentages, ratios, and proportions to pricing and volume scenarios.
• Ability to interpret operational data—cycle time, scrap, utilized hours—and translate it into commercial terms.

Systems Experience

• ERP experience required; DELMIAWorks (IQMS) preferred.
• CRM experience required; Pipedrive preferred.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel; proficient in the balance of Microsoft Office.

Physical Demands

• Regularly required to stand, walk, and sit.
• Reach with hands and use hands to finger, handle, or feel.
• May be required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Occasionally required to climb or balance.
• May be required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.

Core Values

• Passion — Desire to make a positive impact and inspire others to do the same.
• Honesty and Integrity — Doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
• Dedication — Team‑focused execution with a positive attitude, sense of significance, and enthusiasm.
• Mutual Respect — Considerate of others' ideas, feelings, beliefs, or property; giving it even if you don’t get it.
• The Edge — Commitment to adaptation, breaking tradition, and accepting change.