Inside Sales Manager - Advanced Manufacturing & Wear ProductsReporting: Director of Sales & Marketing
Location: Houston, TX
Job Type: Full-Time
Level: Manager / Individual Contributor Leader
Job SummaryOur organization sells steel products and services to steel fabricators, original equipment manufacturers, mines, quarries, and other end users nationwide. We have very sophisticated steel processing capabilities, including CNC coping, plate cutting and beveling, plate rolling, plate forming, and welding. We also have proprietary wear product grades and strategic market locations.
The Inside Sales Manager is accountable for the performance, growth, development, and execution of the Advanced Manufacturing & Wear Products business. This includes turnkey manufacturing solutions, proprietary wear products, fabrication, machining, welding, and other technically sophisticated value-added offerings.
This role owns revenue growth, margin performance, quoting discipline, and team development for inside sales functions in this product category. The Inside Sales Manager ensures that customer commitments, capacity planning, pricing decisions, and quoted turnkey solutions are commercially competitive and operationally executable.
This role serves as a technical-commercial leader responsible for application development, solution selling, and the profitable execution of complex manufacturing opportunities. The position also serves as the primary integration point between Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, and Product Management for advanced value-added processing and wear products.
Key AccountabilitiesRevenue, Margin & Performance Ownership- Develop and execute commercial plans to grow advanced manufacturing and wear products revenue, gross margin, customer retention, and market share.
- Establish and enforce pricing discipline consistent with company margin objectives.
- Balancecompetitive market pricing with operational capability and risk.
- Monitor pipeline health, quote conversion, and sales performance trends.
Strategic Product & Market Development- Drive growth of proprietary wear products and differentiated manufacturing solutions.
- Support development and launch of new product and service offerings.
- Partner with Business Development Management to establish commercial strategies for strategic product categories.
Team Leadership & Development- Lead, coach, and develop Technical Sales Specialists, Senior Inside Sales, and Technical Sales Support.
- Set clear expectations, priorities, and performance standards for each role.
- Develop Senior Inside Sales personnel as commercial leaders and mentors for the broader sales organization.
- Build technical, commercial, and application expertise across the team.
- Serve as escalation point for customer, pricing, or execution issues.
Commercial Execution- Ensure timely response to RFQs and customer inquiries.
- Drive quote turnaround performance consistent with company service standards.
- Remove bottlenecks that delay customer response or order conversion.
Technical Sales & Solution Development- Lead development of commercially viable turnkey manufacturing and wear solutions.
- Ensure appropriate technical review, manufacturability assessment, and risk evaluation for complex opportunities.
- Guide development of solutions involving fabrication, machining, welding, assembly, and proprietary wear products.
- Ensure quotes accurately reflect scope, technical requirements, assumptions, lead times, and execution risk.
- Support application engineering discussions with customers and internal stakeholders.
Capacity Planning & Commercial Alignment- Collaborate with Operations, Control Tower, and Project Management to align sales opportunities with available manufacturing capacity and capability.
- Support prioritization of high-value opportunities based on profitability, strategic fit, and resource availability.
- Evaluate capacity constraints and recommend commercial actions to maximize throughput and profitability.
- Assist in long-range planning related to staffing, equipment utilization, and market demand.
- Recommend make-versus buy, outsourcing, and resource allocation decisions to support profitable growth.
Customer Strategy & Relationship Oversight- Lead commercial strategy for key technical accounts, engineered solutions customers, and strategic wear product opportunities.
- Identify growth opportunities aligned with company strategy.
- Partner with sales leadership on account strategy and market development.
- Participate in customer-facing technical reviews, application discussions, and solution-development opportunities as needed.
Cross-Functional Integration- Partner closely with Operations, Project Management, Supply Chain, and Quality.
- Ensure alignment between quoted work and actual shop capabilities.
- Resolve conflicts between commercial objectives and operational constraints.
- Support continuous improvement efforts tied to quoting accuracy and order execution performance.
Market & Supply Chain Alignment- Provide market intelligence regarding customer demand and pricing trends.
- Collaborate with Supply Chain on inventory strategy and stocking recommendations, including recommendations for Strategic Locations.
- Identify opportunities to improve inventory turns and reduce aged inventory through commercial action.
Forecasting, Reporting & Continuous Improvement- Maintain accurate forecasts and sales activity reporting.
- Track key performance indicators related to margin, quote conversion, capacity utilization, proprietary product growth, new application development, customer retention, order entry accuracy, and on-time delivery.
- Identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities in sales workflows.
Qualifications & ExperienceRequired- Proven experience leading inside sales, estimating, or technical sales teams in a manufacturing, fabrication, or processing environment.
- Strong understanding of fabrication, machining, welding, engineered products, wear solutions, technical drawings, and complex manufacturing processes.
- Experience leading technical sales, estimating, application engineering or solution-selling teams.
- Ability to interpret technical drawings, customer specifications, and manufacturing requirements.
- Experience balancing commercial objectives with manufacturing constraints.
- Demonstrated ability to coach and develop sales talent.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and decision-making skills.
- Experience working with ERP/MRP systems.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred- Background in steel processing, fabrication, or heavy manufacturing.
- Experience managing technical quoting or estimating functions.
- Exposure to structural steel, plate, and wear product markets.
Physical Requirements:• Ability to sit for extended periods while working at a computer and performing job duties.
• Ability to perform repetitive hand and arm movements for typing, phone use, and operating standard office equipment.
• Ability to independently move through office and warehouse environments, including walking on concrete floors and around operational areas.
• Ability to stand and walk between work areas, meeting spaces, and production environments as required.
• Ability to lift and carry office materials up to 25 lbs.
• Ability to maintain sufficient visual and auditory acuity to read screens, review documents, observe surroundings, and respond to verbal instructions and safety alerts.
• Ability to drive a standard company vehicle when required by the position.
Pre-Employment Requirements: All candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment must complete the company's pre-employment screening process. This includes:
- Criminal background check: reviewed in accordance with job duties, the nature and gravity of any convictions, and the time elapsed since the offense or sentence completion.
- Pre-hire drug screening: candidates must pass a drug screen to be eligible for hire.
- Physical assessment: required for all Production and Distribution positions, conducted by a company-designated physician at no cost to the candidate.
Participation in each step of the pre-employment process is required. Candidates who choose not to participate or who do not meet the screening criteria will not be eligible for employment.
Benefits: At North Shore Steel, we invest in the well-being of our team. Full-time employees receive a robust benefits package that includes multiple Major Medical plan options, Dental, Vision, Voluntary Life, Short-Term Disability, Flexible Spending Accounts, and HSA options for qualifying plans.
We also provide Long-Term Disability, Basic Life, and AD&D coverage at no cost to you. You'll also enjoy a generous holiday schedule, a competitive PTO program, and a Safe Harbor 401(k) with company contributions to support your long-term financial goals.
