Outside Sales Representative

Outside Sales Representative

Power Engineering & Manufacturing Ltd. (PEM) is a Waterloo, Iowa based engineering and manufacturing company specializing in heavy-duty gearbox design, manufacturing, rebuilds, and reconditioning. PEM partners with OEMs and industrial accounts to deliver engineered solutions where performance, durability, and reliability are critical. The company's long-term growth strategy is centered on building repeatable OEM business by developing a deep understanding of account applications, aligning technical capabilities with real-world use, and delivering measurable value over time.

PEM is seeking a highly motivated outside sales representative to help drive company growth by developing new business and expanding targeted account relationships. This is not a reactive order-taking sales role or a transactional quote-follow-up position. It is a strategic, account-facing position focused on identifying, developing, and winning the right opportunities - particularly repeatable OEM heavy-duty gearbox business - by understanding account applications, identifying decision-makers, asking effective discovery questions, coordinating internally, and managing opportunities with discipline in Salesforce CRM.

The person in this role will work under PEM's AFI (account focus initiative) model and will serve as a primary lead for assigned priority accounts, providing intentional account development and solution-driven commercial execution.

PEM's growth depends on winning new business and building a strong pipeline of opportunities that fit the company's capabilities and long-term goals. This role exists to develop qualified new-business opportunities, deepen account and market understanding, generate new business orders, advance PEM's front-end opportunity execution, and protect the company's long-term workload by winning business that is both strategically valuable and repeatable.

Proactively identify, develop, and pursue new business opportunities with OEMs and other target accounts that fit PEM's heavy-duty gearbox capabilities, strategic priorities, and long-term growth objectives, including key markets where gearbox performance and reliability are critical (e.g., heavy industrial equipment, mining & aggregate equipment, oil & gas equipment, and demanding, high-torque applications in various other industries and markets).

Build deep understanding of assigned or targeted accounts, including the equipment they manufacture, where gearboxes fit, how decisions are made, what business, operational, engineering, reliability, or performance needs exist, and where PEM can create differentiated value.

Identify and engage the right account contacts, including true decision-makers, buying influences, technical leaders, engineering contacts, operations personnel, management, and other stakeholders relevant to winning new business.

Serve as primary lead for assigned priority accounts, helping drive focused account development and intentional opportunity progression under AFI.

Prepare for and travel to account and prospect sites within the United States as needed to advance defined objectives, strengthen relationships, improve account understanding, and conduct professional, organized, value-oriented account interactions. PEM expects travel to be purposeful and tied to real opportunity advancement.

Work with internal teams to shape and advance opportunities by connecting account insight, account need, technical understanding, competitive considerations, and PEM capabilities into a compelling commercial path.

Follow-up on active opportunities and quotes with urgency, professionalism, persistence, and discipline, using clear next steps and timely communication to maintain momentum and improve win rates.

Help PEM avoid low-fit, low-value, low-repeatability, and/or low-probability pursuits by prioritizing opportunities based on fit, timing, repeatability, win potential, and strategic value.

This role is expected to focus on proactive new business development, including purposeful outreach, account visits, referrals, research, networking, industry awareness, and coordinated business development efforts - not simply responding to incoming quote requests. The outside sales representative should identify and develop opportunities where PEM can become part of an account's equipment, product platform, or long-term gearbox strategy - especially where the opportunity can become repeatable OEM business over time.

Success in this role requires more than activity volume. The right candidate will know how to move beyond surface-level relationship-building and into deeper discovery: understanding the account's equipment, application demands, design environment, competitive pressures, and business drivers - then using that understanding to help PEM pursue opportunities that are real, valuable, and winnable.

This role also includes strategic development of existing accounts with growth potential. The outside sales representative should not treat existing accounts as only quote sources or order channels. Instead, the role is expected to help PEM better understand existing accounts, uncover overlooked opportunity paths, strengthen productive relationships with the right contacts, identify adjacent targets or repeatable opportunity types, and determine where PEM can expand beyond its current position.

PEM uses Salesforce as the CRM system of record, and this role is expected to use it with discipline. The outside sales representative must document account contacts, meetings, calls, emails, opportunity strategy, next steps, and key account knowledge in Salesforce, so opportunities remain visible, current, and actionable.

This role is expected to:

• Create or help create opportunities promptly when real pursuits exist.
• Keep opportunity records current, including contact information, meeting notes, projected close timing, qualification risks, next steps, and strategy-to-win content for new-business opportunities.
• Log meaningful sales activity and follow-up communication at the correct record level in Salesforce.
• Maintain pipeline visibility that clearly distinguishes active work from delayed, stale, or no-longer-viable pursuits.

This role must work effectively across inside sales, engineering, and leadership. The outside sales representative will be expected to communicate clearly about what is being pursued, why it matters, what support is needed, what changed, and what the next step is, so PEM can move faster and make better decisions.

The role must also coordinate effectively with internal quoting, order-processing, and technical resources without drifting into internal support. PEM's growth model depends on keeping outside sales focused on account development and opportunity advancement while leveraging internal teams appropriately.

Minimum 5 years of outside sales, external sales, account management, sales engineering, or comparable account-facing business development experience.

Strong ability to develop relationships, ask effective discovery questions, uncover account needs, understand account applications and decision processes, and advance opportunities through disciplined follow-up.

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and maintain momentum across multiple opportunities.

Ability and willingness to travel domestically within the United States as needed.

Current valid driver's license.

Ability to use CRM tools and maintain accurate, current records.

Experience in a manufacturing-related field.

Experience in outside sales or external sales within a manufacturing company or organization.

Experience working with OEMs, industrial products, engineered products, repeatable industrial business models, or technically oriented account applications.

Experience working alongside engineering, manufacturing, or technical teams in an account-facing role.

Familiarity with Salesforce or comparable CRM systems.

Account focus and relationship-building ability.

High motivation, energy, urgency, and persistence in advancing real opportunities rather than passively waiting for activity to come in.

Strong follow-up discipline.

Technical curiosity and willingness to understand account equipment, applications, requirements, constraints, performance needs, and business drivers.

Ability to communicate credibly in technically oriented sales conversations.

Good judgment in deciding what to pursue, what to prioritize, and what to stop chasing.

Familiarity with modern AI tools (e.g., Microsoft 365 Copilot or generative AI assistants such as ChatGPT/Claude) to augment sales productivity is a plus.

Comfort working in a process-disciplined sales environment where CRM usage, opportunity management, and visibility matter.

Adaptability, self-direction, accountability, and willingness to help PEM build new, effective processes to win new business.

This role includes domestic U.S. travel. There is no fixed travel cadence; travel will vary based on account need, account priority, and opportunity stage. The key expectation is that travel be intentional, strategically justified, and tied to defined objectives.

Success in this role will be measured by contribution to PEM's growth and new business execution, including areas such as:

• Creation and advancement of qualified new-business opportunities.
• New-business wins and contribution to incoming order volume.
• Growth and development of targeted accounts and priority accounts.
• Quality and visibility of pipeline management in Salesforce.
• Discipline in follow-up, opportunity progression, and communication.
• Effective collaboration with internal teams while staying focused on growth-driving work.

Competitive base salary (starting range from $70K to $80K annually) plus commissions.

Company