What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sales Representative position at Depatie Fluid Power Co.?
Description
About the Role
Depatie is looking for a driven, technically sharp Outside Sales Representative to own and grow our Detroit territory. This is a high-impact, field-based role for a sales professional with deep roots in fluid power, hydraulics, and/or pneumatics — someone who can walk a shop floor, speak an engineer's language, and close meaningful deals.
You will be responsible for the full development and performance of your territory — from prospecting and pipeline management to proposal delivery and long-term account growth. If you thrive on autonomy, love solving complex application challenges, and are motivated by building lasting customer relationships, this role was made for you.
Requirements
What You'll Do
Territory Development & Sales Growth
About the Role
Depatie is looking for a driven, technically sharp Outside Sales Representative to own and grow our Detroit territory. This is a high-impact, field-based role for a sales professional with deep roots in fluid power, hydraulics, and/or pneumatics — someone who can walk a shop floor, speak an engineer's language, and close meaningful deals.
You will be responsible for the full development and performance of your territory — from prospecting and pipeline management to proposal delivery and long-term account growth. If you thrive on autonomy, love solving complex application challenges, and are motivated by building lasting customer relationships, this role was made for you.
Requirements
What You'll Do
Territory Development & Sales Growth
- Own your territory's revenue performance — drive profitable sales growth through a consultative, solutions-based selling approach.
- Research and identify prospective customers within your geography, evaluate sales potential against Depatie's capabilities, and build strategic account plans to win new business.
- Identify, initiate, and close high-value, high-margin opportunities across new and existing accounts.
- Maintain a consistent call schedule and manage a healthy opportunity funnel from first contact through close.
- Follow up on inbound sales leads and advance them to closed-won status.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with engineers, procurement managers, and key decision-makers at target accounts.
- Serve as a trusted technical resource — create and deliver proposal presentations, RFQ responses, and customer training sessions.
- Promote, establish, and maintain bin/stocking programs with applicable accounts.
- Review and recommend adjustments to reserved inventory to ensure customer satisfaction and minimize stockouts.
- Create and maintain sales forecasts and revenue goals for all assigned accounts.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date customer and opportunity data within the Depatie CRM system (NetSuite).
- Collaborate regularly with manufacturers' representatives, product specialists, and sales management to deepen product knowledge and sharpen your technical edge.
- When applicable, participate in Depatie's Subject Matter Expert (SME) program to further develop and share expertise across the team.
- Actively pursue personal and professional development opportunities.
- Travel within the Detroit territory and beyond for customer visits, training sessions, and industry events, including occasional overnights.
- 3–7 years of technical sales or industry experience, preferably in hydraulics, pneumatics, or fluid power systems
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Proven ability to work independently, manage a territory, and self-direct daily activity
- Strong consultative selling skills with a customer-first work ethic
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills — comfortable presenting to technical and executive audiences alike
- Solid problem-solving ability and high degree of business acumen
- Proficiency with computer-based business systems and CRM platforms
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
- Willingness to travel regularly throughout the Detroit metro area and surrounding region
- Technical certification or associate's/bachelor's degree in a related field (Fluid Power, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Industrial Distribution, or similar)
- Hands-on experience with hydraulic system design, component selection, or application engineering
- Familiarity with NetSuite or similar ERP/CRM systems
- Existing relationships within the Detroit-area industrial, manufacturing, or OEM markets