Client Growth Manager, Brand Merchandise

About EVOKE 

EVOKE is a Houston Texas-based, experience-driven marketing agency built at the intersection of branded merchandise, experiential events, and brand strategy. We do not approach branded merchandise as standalone products. We use it as a tool to create moments, shape perception, and extend brand experiences beyond a single touchpoint. From campaign kits to large-scale activations, our work is designed to make brands felt, not just seen. Our approach is rooted in hospitality. Every item, interaction, and detail is considered part of a larger guest journey. 

We are not a traditional promotional products distributor. We are building programs, environments, and experiences that happen to include merchandise. If you are looking for a role where you create Merch, Moments, and Memories, keep reading, EVOKE could be the place for you! 

Role Overview 

EVOKE is hiring a revenue-driven sales leader who can both win business and shape it. 

This is not a pass-through sales role. This role owns the full front-end of the sale and stays involved through execution. You are responsible for both closing the business and ensuring it comes to life correctly. 

In this role, you are responsible for driving opportunities from first conversation through concept development and client presentation. You will proactively seek out new business opportunities, lead discovery, define the brief, and bring forward ideas that elevate the opportunity beyond traditional transactional promo. You will be supported by EVOKE’s creative team, but you are expected to lead the thinking, own the client relationships, and push it further. 

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES 

New Business Development 

• Prospect, pursue, and close new clients  
• Build and maintain an active pipeline  
• Bring and grow an existing book of business  

Client Discovery & Strategy 

• Lead structured discovery conversations  
• Extract clear objectives, budgets, and decision drivers  
• Translate conversations into actionable briefs  

Concept Development & Presentation 

• Develop initial ideas, concepts, and program directions and branded merchandise solutions  
• Think beyond traditional merchandise into kits, campaigns, and how branded merchandise supports experiential marketing efforts and makes lasting impressions 
• Collaborate with EVOKE team to refine and elevate ideation 
• Present solutions and pricing directly to clients with confidence  

Expectation: You bring a point of view. You challenge the brief. You push beyond “they want promo.” 

Creative & Strategic Expectation 

This role requires someone who can move past catalogs and commodity thinking. 

• You see merchandise as part of a larger brand experience  
• You challenge clients to think bigger than one-off items  
• You are comfortable proposing ideas that are new, unexpected, or unconventional  
• You push the work forward, not just fulfill the ask  
• You work in the proactive, not the passive or reactive 

If your instinct is to quote what was requested without expanding it, this is not the role. 

THIS ROLE REQUIRES SOMEONE WHO 

• 5 years in promotional products or branded merchandise 
• Strong user of SAGE/ESP  or similar platform 
• Proven ability to close and grow business  
• Experience leading client conversations and presentations  
• Ability to bring over existing book of business 
• Tech-savvy, fast-adopter of constantly emerging tools and technologies 
• Highly proficient in Microsoft 365 Suite, Canva, Hubspot or similar CRM, project management tools, AI tools 
• Brings a high level of energy, urgency, and follow-through 
• Holds a personal standard of excellence and is motivated to be the best in their craft 

You are: 

• A builder of ideas, not just a seller of products 
• Comfortable pushing clients beyond their initial ask  
• Confident presenting early-stage concepts and refining them with a team  
• Motivated by growth, ownership, and earning potential  

You are not: 

• You are not an order-taker  
• You are not a pass-through salesperson  
• You are not dependent on others to define the solution  

What Success Looks Like 

• You generate and close new business consistently  
• You elevate opportunities into programs, kits, experiences, not just one-off orders  
• Your clients view you as a strategic partner  
• You push work that stands out from traditional promo  

HOW THIS ROLE IS STRUCTURED 

We will tailor backend support based on your strengths: 

• Sales-focused → EVOKE handles order finalization, production management and distribution/shipping/fulfillment/delivery  
• Hybrid → Shared responsibility for sales through execution  

Regardless of structure, you remain accountable for: 

• Strength of the opportunity  
• Quality of the concept(s)  
• Closing the deal 

COMPENSATION STRUCTURE 

Aligned to reward ownership and performance: 

• Base uncapped commission  
• Higher commission on self-sourced and self-developed opportunities  
• Accelerators tied to new business and margin growth  
• Flex based on execution ownership (TBD) 

LOCATION – WHERE YOU CAN BE BASED 

This role may be based in Houston or in another major U.S. market. For candidates outside of Houston, location must provide strong access to corporate decision-makers and a high concentration of target clients. 

Preferred markets include major corporate and brand hubs such as New York City, Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. 

Candidates must be: 

• Based in a market with a strong concentration of corporate offices and brand decision-makers  
• Comfortable building relationships in person through meetings, events, and local networking  
• Within close proximity to a major airport to support regular client travel 

NEXT STEPS 

If interested in this role, please submit your application and resume through LinkedIn. For questions, please email hiring@evokeexperiences.com.