Sales Executive Owensboro/Harrodsburg, KY

Location: Owensboro/Harrodsburg, KY. Travel up to 60%. Buckman is a privately held, global specialty chemical company delivering exceptional service and innovative solutions in the pulp and paper, leather, and water treatment sectors.

About the role

The Sales Executive drives profitable growth, ensures customer retention, and strengthens relationships within assigned accounts. This role serves as the primary point of contact for strategic guidance and account growth, aligning operational and financial performance with company objectives.

Responsibilities

• Revenue Growth & Account Expansion
  • Drive year-over-year revenue growth through cross-selling and upselling.
  • Handle orders and customer requirements by communicating effectively with customers or distributors.
  • Identify and commercialize new applications within existing and new customers.
  • Prevent attrition and actively maintain relationships to support long-term retention.
  • Report sales forecasts using Connected Planning (Ackumen) and manage opportunities in Dynamics.
  • Monitor and manage pipeline health, including tracking opportunities, conversion rates, and time spent at each stage.
  • Drive acquisition of new applications by identifying and securing wins.
  • Increase share of wallet across accounts through strategic account development and relationship management.
• Profitability Optimization
  • Optimize product mix aligned with customer needs and profitability goals.
  • Identify profitability improvement opportunities.
  • Execute timely and strategic price adjustments as required by the operating company pricing plan.
  • Coordinate with functional teams to substitute or rationalize products for cost-efficiency and profitability.
• Account Retention and Relationship Management
  • Develop and maintain relationships with key decision makers to enable account penetration.
  • Maintain retention rate across assigned accounts, addressing potential attrition risks proactively.
  • Conduct regular strategic reviews with key stakeholders to ensure alignment and satisfaction.
  • Lead business reviews with customers to assess value delivered and identify opportunities.
• Strategic Account Ownership
  • Implement the 8 Business Management Standards (8BMSs) where applicable.
  • Act as the key point of contact for customer accounts.
  • Build multi-level relationships across customer functions (operations, purchasing, etc.).
  • Resolve issues promptly and proactively manage account satisfaction.
• Financial & Operational Accountability (P&L, MPC, AR)
  • Meet or exceed sales, GP, and MPC budgets for the assigned area.
  • Suggest and manage customer credit limits and oversee receivables.
  • Ensure overdue receivables are below the target defined by OpCo management year over year.
  • Manage costs in line with account profitability and resource allocation plans.
  • Support inventory turnover by promoting and selling aged inventory through targeted outreach.
  • Ensure alignment with contractual obligations.
• Internal Collaboration
  • Partner with customer service, planning, lab, R&D, and supply chain to align on goals.
  • Collaborate with field service teams to ensure high service standards.
  • Align internally to support commercial strategies and customer needs.
  • Implement and adopt digital enabling tools (Ackumen and Dynamics).
• Application Reliability & Service Oversight
  • Monitor application results and conduct tests for optimal performance.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve process issues quickly.
  • Write and maintain accurate service reports.
  • Maintain and manage customer equipment to ensure uptime and reliability.
• Safety & Risk Mitigation
  • Adhere to Buckman and customer safety policies, including HCAS and stewardship standards.
  • Complete Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) to encourage a culture of safety awareness.
  • Promote and facilitate Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) programs.
  • Conduct Job Safety Analysis (JSA) to proactively identify and mitigate workplace hazards.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, Engineering, or Business Administration.
• 1 year or less of job experience.
• Knowledge of industrial processes related to the segment.
• Experience in sales or application of chemical products in industry.

Skills

• Drives Engagement – Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best.
• Plans and Aligns – Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments.
• Collaborates – Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others.
• Customer Focus – Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Nimble Learning – Actively learning through experimentation when tackling new problems.