Vice President of North America Sales (Chicago)

Summary of Position:

Thirty-Five Capital’s mission is to help start-up, early stage, and family businesses grow through the strategic infusion of capital and hands-on leadership. The firm’s focus is on sports and technology, with brands such as Paddletek Pickleball, Chicago Slice Pickleball, Homewood Bat, JAW Bats, and ProXR being part of the ever-growing portfolio. 35 Services, LLC provides Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Distribution, and back-office support to Thirty-Five Capital’s operating companies.

The Vice President of North America Sales will be a highly motivated sales leader with a passion for sports and a proven track record of driving revenue growth across North American markets. This individual will be responsible for developing and executing sales strategies across B2B, retail, wholesale, corporate accounts, distributors, dealers, and other sales channels. The leader will excel at account management, sales strategy, negotiation, relationship building, independent sales representative management, and closing new business. The ideal candidate is an experienced sales leader with a proven history of growing consumer brands and expanding market share within North America. This individual will build and strengthen relationships with key accounts, retail partners, distributors, dealers, and wholesale customers while identifying new business opportunities and developing strategies to increase revenue and profitability. This position will also oversee relationships with outside e-commerce vendors and marketplace partners. The Vice President will manage external e-commerce vendors to ensure sales performance, brand standards, pricing, promotions, reporting, and strategic objectives are aligned with company goals. The ideal candidate will also be a dedicated and customer-focused leader with a passion for delivering exceptional experiences and a proven track record in managing customer-facing teams and external business partners. Travel up to 25%.

The position is located in our headquarters in Chicago, IL and will report to the President.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

As the firm continues to grow quickly, the ideal candidate will possess a tremendous amount of flexibility and resourcefulness regarding traditional duties and responsibilities. The work will continue to change; however, the following functions will form the foundation of the position. 

Sales Leadership & Revenue Growth

• Develop and execute an integrated North American sales strategy across B2B, B2C, retail, wholesale, corporate, dealer, and distributor channels focused on expanding market share and driving revenue and profit growth.
• Represent the company’s brands with a comprehensive understanding of our products, services, and value proposition across all sales channels.
• Achieve and exceed revenue and profit targets through effective planning, execution, and management of sales channels.
• Identify new business opportunities, prospective customers, retail partners, distributors, dealers, and wholesale accounts to support continued growth.
• Build and strengthen long-term customer relationships by understanding customer needs and aligning the company’s solutions to drive customer success.
• Manage and develop key relationships with major corporate accounts, wholesale partners, distributors, dealers, retail partners, and outside e-commerce vendors by establishing account strategies, growth targets, and business plans.
• Foster a high-performance sales culture by directing and motivating independent sales representatives, ambassadors, influencers, and inside sales professionals while establishing incentive programs, sales targets, and performance reporting.
• Build a world-class Sales team by mentoring, developing, and growing the team they lead, fostering a high-performance culture and driving individual and team success.
• Participate in the development and execution of customer and influencer loyalty programs.
• Represent the company at trade shows, sporting events, and industry events.

Outside E-Commerce Vendor Management

• Manage relationships with outside e-commerce vendors and marketplace partners responsible for selling the company’s products through online channels.
• Establish sales expectations, performance targets, and business objectives for external e-commerce partners.
• Monitor vendor performance, sales results, pricing, promotions, product representation, and customer experience to ensure alignment with company objectives.
• Partner with marketing and internal teams to ensure outside e-commerce vendors are aligned with brand strategy, promotional initiatives, product launches, and company priorities.
• Review e-commerce vendor reporting and performance data to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.
• Hold external vendors accountable to agreed-upon sales targets, service expectations, and brand standards.

Customer Service Leadership

• Lead customer service to ensure a high-quality, consistent customer experience.
• Oversee development of customer service standards, workflows, KPIs, and policies that elevate service quality, response times, and overall customer satisfaction.
• Utilize service data and customer feedback to identify opportunities for improvement and implement solutions that enhance retention and brand loyalty.
• Continuously refine AI models using customer feedback, ensuring accuracy, brand alignment, and improved self-service success rates.
• Coach and develop the inside sales and customer service team.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with marketing, product development, and operations to ensure alignment across sales, service, and brand initiatives.
• Manage resources, budgets, and operational plans to support growth initiatives and profitability.
• Analyze sales performance, develop forecasts, monitor KPIs, identify trends, and provide actionable recommendations that drive revenue growth and strategic decision-making.
• Collaborate with marketing and external e-commerce vendors to support sales growth, promotions, product launches, and customer engagement initiatives.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 12–15 years of progressive sales leadership experience.
• Strong business sense and commercial acumen.
• Experience leading North American sales organizations and developing domestic sales strategies.
• Strong experience managing retail, wholesale, corporate, dealer, and distributor relationships.
• Experience managing independent sales representatives and external sales partners.
• Experience managing outside e-commerce vendors or marketplace partners.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, sales reporting tools, and customer relationship management best practices.
• Proven track record of success in planning and implementing winning sales strategies.
• Strong leadership skills and the proven ability to lead, develop, and coach employees.
• Proven success leading high-performing sales teams.
• Excellent negotiation, executive presentation, interpersonal, organizational, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical and forecasting abilities.
• Experience selling Sports Equipment is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to influence credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization and with external stakeholders.
• Experience within sporting goods, consumer products, or related industries preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 25%.

What We’ll Provide:

• Competitive compensation of $200,000 with a target bonus
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan with company match
• Professional development opportunities
• Smart casual dress environment