Title                        Team Sales Specialist

Reports to              Sales Director - Dave Visser

GENERAL INFORMATION

Location:                 6658 East Paris Ave, Caledonia MI 49316

Hours:                     Full time - 8 AM to 5 PM EST

Schedule:                On-site, Monday through Friday

COMPANY INFORMATION – WHO WE ARE

Howies Hockey Tape is a locally owned and fast-growing business that has been around the Grand Rapids area since 2002. Our focus is selling the world’s highest quality hockey tape, accessories, apparel, and other hockey equipment. Over the years we have become a staple in the hockey community, servicing customers ranging from local pro shops all the way up to the NHL – and everyone else in between.

Our sister company, Howies Athletic Tape, was launched in 2015. This brand allows us to expand our reach into new markets and other sports including teams in the MLB, NFL, MLS, and NBA. With the introduction of our sports medicine product line, we are able to also support hundreds of top tier division 1 athletic programs such as the University of Michigan and Michigan State as well as thousands of high school programs all across North America. 

All in all, we pride ourselves on providing the world’s highest quality products to anyone in the world of sports. We are also highly focused on expanding our internet sales for business directly to consumers, so everyone can use Howies. Our team-oriented culture, industry-leading customer service, top notch product portfolio, and ability to fulfill orders quickly and error free across all sales channels sets us apart from the competition.

POSITION INFORMATION

The “One Thing”: Establish world class rapport with teams, organizations, and hockey connections all over the country to build brand image and push custom teamwear.

We are looking for a passionate and driven individual to join our team at Howies for the role of Team Sales Specialist. Custom products and team performance gear has become one of Howies fastest growing business segments. With new high quality products coming out yearly and our existing teamwear catalog, we are confident that there is growth opportunities in this market and believe every organization should be representing Howies. If you are interested in working within the world of sports for an internationally recognized brand, this is a great opportunity to thrive in a fast-paced and culture-focused company!

VENDOR & INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

• Develop strong relationships with new and existing vendors to ensure that outsourced teamwear lives up to the standard of World’s Highest Quality products

• Have a firm grasp on the available inventory of all custom products by working closely with supply chain and procurement team

• Ability to use data and available resources to forecast demand on high volume products

• Must be diligent in communicating with vendors to guarantee quick turnaround / lead times and establish competitive pricing

CUSTOM PRODUCT WHOLESALE REPRESENTATION

• Understand industry trends, stay up to date on new and revamped Howies products, and communicate with team to develop tactics that lead to larger books of business

• Work closely with graphic designer and marketing team to make sure the customer’s artwork is acceptable and determine if it is something we can work with for products

• Customer advocated business development – Develop referrals and generate new customers through rapport with existing customers

• Review customer history to increase volume, margin, and revenue year over year

• Work with customers to determine their needs, create rapport, and build a genuine relationship to sell them on our custom products

• When appropriate, use knowledge of our existing catalog and new product lineup to upsell on items customer has never purchased before

• With assistance from Custom Product Specialist and Sales Director, formulate effective strategies to hunt down new opportunities and push our products

• Maintain a firm pulse on monthly sales goals and communicate with the leadership team to ensure goals are being met and we are doing everything we can to succeed

• Thoroughly maintain customer cards in our CRM software by logging detailed interactions, updating billing / shipping addresses, discussing and implementing payment terms, and maintaining a well-documented pricing history

GENERAL – As a small business there are many other tasks that will be required

• Represent Howies Hockey / Athletic Tape at tournaments and tradeshows as needed

• Order fulfillment – know how to process and pack all orders that come into Howies  

• Work closely with other departments to improve overall company performance

• Handle misc. administrative, IT, data entry, or clerical duties as needed

• Communication and positive relationships with the entire team – top to bottom

• Engage both the operations and sales sides of the business daily

• Anything else required from Howies to be a best-in-class business

POSITION REQUIREMENTS & CORE COMPETENCIES

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in business administration, communications, sports management, or related field of study not required but preferred

• Proven skill and experience with Excel, ERP/CRM software, and computer programs

• Strong entrepreneurial and growth mindset to go out and hunt down new opportunities

• Outgoing personality and social skills to interact with customers and approach each point of contact with a servant’s heart mentality

• Ability to multitask in a fast paced environment and prioritize objectives

• Extreme aptitude for learning, cultivating, and adopting the Howies sales strategies

• Top notch communication with existing custom product team to grow this segment of the business and ability to facilitate vendor management

OUR COMPANY MANTRA

Here at Howies, our entire team takes the phrase “work hard, play hard” very seriously. When we are not busy assisting our customers, packing orders, or coming up with our newest product, we are busy having a good time. Whether it be playing in the Tuesday morning intercompany hockey game, or hitting the links when the season allows it, we always find something fun to do as a team. In the wintertime, we will crack open a couple of cold ones and watch the Red Wings or even pop downtown and catch a Griffins game at the Van. All in all, we are always up for a good time, both in the office and out. We strive to make the office an awesome environment that everyone is excited to come to on a daily basis and put in a hard day’s work.

APPLY HERE