Location:
Charlotte, NC
Industry:
Building Products
Position Title:
Architectural Sales Representative
Client Testimonial
“Meghan was very patient with us. We had a few things from our parent company that made the search a little more difficult, and she never made a big deal of it. She just listened and delivered.”
Challenge:
A building products manufacturer needed an Architectural Sales Representative based in Charlotte to develop specification business across North Carolina and five surrounding states.
The company manufactured windows, skylights, and related products used in residential and commercial construction. The representative would spend significant time traveling throughout the territory, developing relationships primarily with architects along with designers, developers, builders, and other professionals involved early in the design process.
The position offered strong benefits and competitive earning potential, although the long construction sales cycle meant it would take time for commissions to fully develop.
Success depended heavily on getting the company’s products specified into architectural plans. Education was also an important part of the sales process. Architects regularly participate in continuing-education programs, giving the representative opportunities to build relationships through product demonstrations, educational presentations, lunch-and-learns, and other sessions.
Solution:
We focused on candidates with experience in specification-driven building product sales.
The search included professionals from windows, doors, glass, roofing, building envelope products, lighting, flooring, and other construction categories where relationships with architects and designers influence product selection.
Interviews focused on how candidates developed relationships with architectural firms, delivered educational and technical presentations, supported design decisions, tracked projects, and stayed engaged as projects progressed from initial design through construction.
We also evaluated candidates on their willingness to travel extensively across a multi-state territory and their ability to remain patient and organized through long sales cycles.
Outcome
- ▸ We were able to interview only six professionals who we believed could realistically do the job, and we presented five of them to the client.
- ▸ The client ultimately hired one of those candidates.
