Full Job Description
Job Purpose
Location: Minnesota (Minneapolis preferred; candidates located anywhere within Minnesota will be considered)
At AkzoNobel, we supply the sustainable and innovative paints and coatings that customers trust worldwide. We're seeking a highly motivated Sales Representative to grow our Industrial Wood Coatings business throughout Minnesota and surrounding territories.
About the Role
This is a field-based sales position responsible for driving sales growth, supporting distributor partners, developing new business opportunities, and providing technical coatings support within the Industrial Wood Coatings market. The territory primarily covers Minnesota, portions of South Dakota and Iowa, with occasional support for key distributors in neighboring markets.
This role combines both commercial sales and technical customer support. The ideal candidate will be comfortable building relationships, solving customer challenges, and serving as a trusted coatings advisor.
Key Accountabilities
Manage and grow an established distributor network and customer portfolio
Develop new business opportunities and identify additional distribution channels
Build strong relationships with key distributor partners and end users
Provide technical support, troubleshooting, and product recommendations for wood coating applications
Generate leads, maintain a healthy sales pipeline, and convert opportunities into revenue growth
Conduct customer visits and product demonstrations
Monitor sales performance against territory targets and implement growth strategies
Gather market intelligence and customer feedback to support business development initiatives
Represent AkzoNobel professionally while promoting long-term customer partnerships
Key Activities
Territory Highlights
Primary focus on Minnesota
Coverage includes portions of South Dakota and Iowa
Support for key distributor accounts including Hirschfield's and other regional partners
Approximately 70-75% travel within the assigned territory
Level of Autonomy
Independently prepare sales presentations, contracts and proposals to ensure successful outcome of transactions.
Manage claims negotiation to minimize liability.
Job requirements
Bachelor's degree preferred
Knowledge & Work Experience - Paints and coatings industry, any B2B industry environment.
3-5 years of work experience in Industrial wood coatings, commercial roles, sales and key account management or sales to strategic accounts required
Fluent in English
Skills - Stakeholder management, project management, decision making, creating value propositions, drive, results orientation, customer service orientation, problem solving, communication and presentation, commercial and business acumen, basic understanding of cross functional processes and financial concepts related to sales and cost to serve
Must be able to participate and complete a qualitative and quantitative respirator fit test, and use respirator as required.
We're looking for someone who is:
Outgoing, energetic, and customer-focused
Self-motivated and comfortable working independently
Skilled at building long-term customer relationships
Capable of balancing technical problem-solving with sales growth objectives
Comfortable spending significant time in the field visiting distributors and customers
Benefits/Rewards
The salary range for these skills is: $106,000 to $118,000 based on evaluated experience level. This is the range that we in good faith anticipate relying on when setting wages for this position. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This salary range may also be modified in the future.
This role eligible for an annual bonus target of 35%, based on individual and company performance."
• Medical insurance with HSA
• Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D benefits
• Annual bonus
• 401K retirement savings with 6% company match
• Generous vacation, personal and holiday pay
• Paid Parental leave
• Hybrid work for most exempt roles
• Active Diversity & Inclusion Networks
• Career growth opportunities on a regional and global scale
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee referral bonus
In your first year, you'll have the opportunity to learn the product portfolio, partner with experienced team members, build relationships across the territory, and play a key role in expanding our presence within the wood coatings market.
