Technical Sales Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Sales Manager – Automation & Controls

Rodgers Automation, Inc. is hiring a sales leader to build a small sales team, establish a disciplined opportunity-management process, and generate profitable growth in industrial automation, controls, and UL 508A panel shop services. Rodgers Automation currently offers UL 508A electrical panel building, robotics integration, and related automation services, with growth goals that include faster quote turnaround and expanded order volume.

Position Summary

This role is designed for a working sales manager who can personally sell, build the foundational sales systems, and gradually develop a small team. The position combines technical sales, process ownership, and leadership, with responsibility for creating repeatable methods for handling leads, RFQs, proposals, pipeline review, account follow-up, and forecasting.

The target candidate can operate effectively in a smaller, entrepreneurial industrial business where structure is still being built. Rather than stepping into a fully staffed corporate sales organization, this person will help create the playbook, define expectations, and raise the company’s commercial capacity over time.

Key Responsibilities

• Generate new business for industrial control panels, panel modifications, automation projects, and robotics integration through direct prospecting, account development, referrals, and inbound lead follow-up.
• Build and manage the company sales process, including lead qualification, opportunity stages, CRM discipline, quote follow-up, proposal review, and sales forecasting.
• Help establish standards for how incoming RFQs are handled so that opportunities move quickly from request to estimate to proposal.
• Personally own a quota and close profitable work while also coaching future sales hires and helping define sales roles as the team grows.
• Work closely with internal estimating and engineering resources to shape solutions, clarify customer scope, and improve speed and accuracy of quoting.
• Develop and maintain target account lists across OEMs, manufacturers, end users, and plant engineering contacts that fit Rodgers Automation’s services.
• Track key performance indicators such as quote turnaround time, hit rate, pipeline coverage, gross margin, and booked revenue.
• Create accountability through weekly pipeline reviews, opportunity updates, and clear next-step management.
• Represent the company at customer sites, industry events, and supplier-facing business development opportunities.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technical sales, automation sales, controls sales, or industrial business development.
• Demonstrated ability to sell technical solutions rather than commodity products.
• Working knowledge of industrial controls, UL 508A panel work, automation systems, PLC-based solutions, or related manufacturing technologies.
• Experience building sales structure in a smaller company, regional business unit, or entrepreneurial environment is strongly preferred.
• Comfort working with CRM tools, proposal follow-up, and pipeline reporting.
• Strong communication skills with plant managers, engineers, maintenance leaders, purchasing, and business owners.