Search Outcome: Filling a Director of Sales Position for a Contract Manufacturing Company
Location:
Portland, OR
Industry:
Manufacturing
Position Title:
Director of Sales
Client Testimonial
“Adam, I know you said you could find this person, and I believed you. But I’ll admit, I was surprised we actually had options. We'll know more in a year from now, but I already think Garrett is going to free me up in ways I haven't been able to imagine for a long time.”
Challenge:
A contract manufacturing company in Portland needed a Director of Sales to help transition the business from founder-led sales into a more scalable growth model.
For years, the founder had been the company's primary business development engine. He generated opportunities, managed customer relationships, reviewed estimates, built proposals, participated in pricing decisions, and stayed heavily involved throughout the sales process.
The company had a team of salespeople, but turnover was a recurring issue. New hires often struggled to gain traction because the founder remained closely involved in most customer-facing activities. The business needed a leader who could earn trust, assume responsibility, and gradually take ownership of key sales functions.
However, the challenge extended well beyond sales leadership.
The company needed someone who could understand the realities of contract manufacturing. Every opportunity had implications for estimating, engineering, production scheduling, lead times, margins, and operational capacity.
The owner needed confidence that the next sales leader would pursue the right business, not simply more business.
Because of the strategic importance of the role, the client engaged SalesFirst through our Strategic Search process.
Solution:
The search began with a series of discovery sessions involving the founder and key stakeholders.
We spent time understanding how opportunities moved through the business, where previous hires struggled, how quoting decisions were made, and what level of autonomy the founder was realistically prepared to delegate.
Together, we developed a detailed success profile that focused on leadership capability, manufacturing knowledge, operational judgment, and long-term fit.
Because this was a Strategic Search, SalesFirst offered a 6-month guarantee instead of the standard 90-day guarantee.
That longer guarantee changes the level of responsibility. SalesFirst was taking on additional risk by standing behind the hire for a longer period of time, so the search required deeper vetting, more careful alignment, and stronger confidence in long-term success.
The client provided an upfront down payment to launch the search. That commitment allowed our recruiting team to invest significant time into market mapping, candidate evaluation, stakeholder alignment, and executive-level outreach. We also expanded the size of the search considerably.
This role required a rare combination of skills. A strong sales leader could improve revenue, manage a team, and create accountability, but the owner needed someone who could understand the nuances of production and consistently sell business that fit the company's capabilities.
Candidates were evaluated on:
Contract manufacturing experience
Leadership and team development
Estimating and quoting familiarity
Forecasting discipline
Operational awareness
Customer selection and qualification
Margin management
Executive communication
Experience working alongside ownership teams
We mapped leaders from contract manufacturing, precision machining, fabrication, packaging, industrial products, and other custom production environments throughout the Pacific Northwest and West Coast.
The interview process focused heavily on business judgment. We wanted to understand how candidates balanced growth with operational realities, how they partnered with production teams, and how they approached customer opportunities that looked attractive on paper but created challenges inside the facility.
The strongest candidates demonstrated an understanding that profitable growth begins long before production starts.
Outcome
- ▸ We uncovered 52 potential sales leaders, interviewed 14 of them, and sent six finalists to the customer. Two of them advanced into the final-stage evaluation, and we hired one.
- ▸ The selected Director of Sales brought experience leading growth within a complex manufacturing environment and had a strong reputation for collaborating with operations, engineering, and executive leadership.
- ▸ Within the first year, the company created more structure around forecasting, quoting, customer qualification, and account planning. The founder remained involved in key strategic relationships while gaining confidence that day-to-day sales leadership could operate independently.
