Retail Development Specialist

Responsibilities

• Proactively engage Home Depot and Lowe’s ProDesk associates through outbound outreach and relationship development.
• Build trusted relationships with ProDesk associates, store leadership, and district leadership.
• Use active listening and effective questioning to understand store needs, identify opportunities, and tailor conversations appropriately.
• Schedule and independently conduct virtual Product Knowledge (PK) sessions for retail associates.
• Educate associates on James Hardie products, applications, differentiators, and selling opportunities.
• Help associates confidently discuss and recommend James Hardie products to homeowners and contractors.
• Maintain professional persistence when working with difficult-to-reach or initially resistant stores and associates.
• Follow up after training and store interactions to reinforce product knowledge, strengthen relationships, and identify additional opportunities.
• Partner closely with Outside Sales representatives to coordinate store outreach, opportunities, and follow-up.
• Gather and communicate store-level feedback, competitive insights, and opportunities to internal partners.
• Utilize CRM, communication, and productivity platforms to document activity, manage relationships, and maintain organized follow-up.
• Support targeted campaigns and initiatives designed to increase James Hardie engagement and sales within retail locations.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in retail sales, account development, customer experience, relationship development, or a related field preferred.
• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and positively influence others.
• Comfortable initiating outbound conversations and developing relationships with new contacts.
• Confident presenting virtually to individuals and groups.
• Strong active-listening and problem-solving skills.
• Tech savvy with the ability to quickly learn and efficiently navigate multiple systems and software platforms.
• Highly organized with strong follow-through and time-management skills.
• Self-motivated and comfortable working independently while collaborating with a broader team.
• Resilient and able to adapt communication strategies when faced with resistance.
• Experience within home improvement retail, building products, decking, railing, or a related industry is a plus.

Skills

• Positive attitude with customer-focused