Sales Associate - Western Great Lakes

About the role

The Sales Associate role offers hands-on experience across distributor branches, industrial accounts, and regional sales, building the skills to manage a territory, channel, or industrial segment. Success comes from ownership, field execution, and collaboration with sales and internal teams to drive product adoption and solve customer problems using hands-on skills, while preparing for a future role as a Channel or Industrial Sales Manager.

Responsibilities

• Support top distributor branches by managing merchandising programs, expediting orders, resolving issues, quoting, and onboarding new reps
• Deliver and co-lead product and program training (consumables, equipment, and new product introductions), reinforcing ITW’s value proposition to inside and outside sellers
• Conduct onsite demonstrations, support new product introductions, and assist sales managers with troubleshooting and identifying equipment and consumable opportunities
• Partner with Channel and Industrial Sales Managers to execute strategic initiatives, grow underdeveloped accounts, and generate new business through prospecting and industry engagement
• Generate and qualify leads while maintaining disciplined pipeline management, CRM documentation, and activity reporting to drive opportunity progression and closed/won results
• Build critical professional skills including executive presence, storytelling, negotiation, and conflict resolution

Qualifications

Demonstrated readiness to contribute to managing a territory, distributor channel, or industrial segment in partnership with the broader team; strong engagement and positive feedback from distributors, end users, and regional teammates; consistent generation and progression of qualified sales opportunities; successful execution of sales programs and initiatives, including new product introductions and merchandising adoption; growth in technical knowledge, selling capability, and professional presence; accurate, disciplined CRM tracking and pipeline management.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; technical, sales, or industrial background preferred
• Experience in sales, customer-facing roles, or technical support in industrial/manufacturing environments preferred
• Willingness and ability to travel overnight up to 50% of the time

Skills

• Strong communication, relationship-building, and collaboration skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a field-based, developmental role
• Comfortable presenting technical and commercial content to distributor teams and end users
• Eagerness to learn, develop professionally, and progress into a full sales leadership or specialized industrial role