Sales Manager - EMERGING BLUE

Our client is a high-end home furnishings retailer located in Charleston, South Carolina. Our client is growing, and we are looking for an experienced manager to run the day-to-day operations of the store.

This position reports directly to the company’s General Manager and has bottom-line responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Develop a sales force that focuses on repeat clients and referrals, and lessens the dependence on advertising and location.
• Manage a sales team that meets its goals in all areas. Measure and record the results of the team's efforts and report historical and anticipated results.
• Recruit and hire all sales staff in conjunction with the store manager both as needed and in an ongoing process with the goal of having candidates available on short notice.
• The goal setting and goal accountability process may be the most important task in the sales manager's job description. Sales associates set their goals appropriately, their combined goals exceed the store's goal, and associates are held accountable for goal achievement.
• Project sales performance to owners and senior management. Communicate weekly and forecast based on combined individual performance and staffing levels.
• Develop and properly utilize contests and bonuses. Maintain performance information appropriately, and celebrate success timely and publicly.
• Help sales associates with individual customers as needed.
• Collect Customer GPS Logs daily.
• Hold associates accountable for proper administrative, customer service and operational procedure performance.
• Monitor the Customer Distribution system to ensure that proper procedures are being used and that traffic counts are accurate. When the Customer Distribution system breaks down due to there being more customers in the store than sales associates, the sales manager will greet customers both comimg into the store and before they leave.
• Private coaching sessions occur monthly or as needed with associates that are in intensive or critical care.
• Coaching the floor through formal and informal observation occurs as needed. Use the Coaching Observation Checklist or Stick Figure Observation Checklist during your observations. All associates receive at least one formal observation per month. Associates in intensive or critical care are observed with greater intensity. Feedback is given immediately and in private.
• Development training for existing associates is facilitated in the areas of sales training, customer service, administrative tasks, operational tasks, computer knowledge and product knowledge.
• New hire training for associates is facilitated
• Walk the floor regularly looking for customers not being properly assisted, floor display problems, product damage problems, tagging or signage problems, and any sales associate related issues.
• Place associates performing below standard in critical or intensive care as needed. Develop plans for performance improvement.
• Manage cancellations and price adjustments of sales, issuing refunds as necessary.
• Ensure that the sales department processes approved sales. Notify customer and sales associate as needed.
• Review outstanding Purchase Orders for excessive delays, backorders and not shipped items, resolve items over 30 days.
• Answer and direct phone calls.
• Ensure that traffic is counted accurately
• Distribute upcoming advertising to each of the sales personnel prior to the weekly sales meeting
• Respond to inquiries made regarding customer payment history as authorized in writing by the customer
• Take calls from drivers that are requiring assistance.
• Accept calls from drivers from customers homes confirming successful delivery. Contact customer service when appropriate to resolve problems. Note on manifest customer's comments and time stamp delivery.
• Be responsible for opening and closing the store. By doing so yourself or by scheduling others to do so and monitoring their performance.
• Ensure that merchandise presentation meets customer expectations as established by the marketing and sales department.
• Maintain display with the original plan
• Oversee the tagging of merchandise. To ensure that tags are accurate, all items are tagged and all items are bar-coded.
• Train sales associates on accessories.
• Train employees on system usage
• Ensure customer satisfaction through professional consulting to customers as you help them achieve the home environment that they desire. Listen to them closely; assist them in turning their expressed needs to wants and then to create clients from customers.
• Generate a Follow-Through card on sold and unsold customers and maintain this card in your card file. Cross-reference card to sketchbook notes. Follow through with customers that gave you permission to contact them. Your card file is organized and well maintained, and it always remains in the store.
• Attend company on-sight and off-sight training sessions on product, policies and skills.
• Complete all paperwork neatly, completely and accurately.
• Comply with Customer Distribution system rules. Utilize Customer to Client selling skills, and complete the Customer Opportunity Logs and Worksheets accurately.
• Walk your assigned area of the floor daily. Correct or report any problems with tagging, holes in displays, and damaged or soiled products.
• Set goals for sales volume, follow-through process, rough room renderings, house call activity, warranties, kits, mattress pad/protection, etc.
• Become proficient about Customer to Client Sales, merchandise, coordinating and room setting, delivery, customer service, computer systems, administrative functions and credit terms. Develop plans for improvement in areas lacking proficiency.
• Review your written sales reports daily
• Review your Open Orders Report at least twice a month to ensure that merchandise is being scheduled for delivery as soon as possible. Add notes as required.
• Request 5 Star Google reviews from customers
• Always carry your sketchbook on the floor. Use your sketchbook to take notes and develop rough room renderings with your customers. Cross-reference sketchbook pages to the Follow-Through file. Never tear a rough room rendering or note page out of your sketchbook.
• Exceed company house call standards of performance.
• Perform accessory house calls as requested
• Post payments on-account from walk-in customers. Answer any questions concerning their account.
• Wrap accessories carefully
• Enter (or write up) customer service requests. Customers calling the store or coming into the store, where appropriate, put them in immediate contact with customer service.
• Handling incoming phone calls. Page the appropriate associate or manager. Take full responsibility for any incoming call.
• Review all sales orders before processing. Serve as a checkpoint for processed sale.
• The store is cleaned properly in order to show off merchandise in the best possible way
• Clean the store. Including furniture, accessories, offices, lunchroom and restrooms, Solve problems as they arise.
• Report problems on the floor that require special attention.
• Clean up spills or accidents during the day.
• Assist customer in filling out credit applications, check the application for correctness and fax to outside credit source.
• Respond to customer inquires concerning balances, problems with account or cash on delivery.
• Refund contracts after cancellation of sale
• Respond to inquiries from sales department and customers, regarding credit approval and terms from their sales
• Communicate with senior management concerning service resolution problems outside of company parameters.
• Assist and direct customers inquiring about protection warranties. Limit involvement to issues not being resolved by the resource. Direct customers to the appropriate resource for fabric protection warranties.

Human Resource Related

• Handle all First Reports of Injury for both customers and employees alike. The company's liability is limited, reports are collected immediately and the insurance company is notified within 24 hours.
• Oversee the safety committee. Ensure that all appropriate safety measures are taken, and that insurance benefits are realized. The safety committee meets quarterly, and all concerns are presented to senior management.
• Handle the new employee orientation process. Including explaining policies, insuring that all required forms are signed, and arranging for benefits.
• Maintain a job evaluation schedule. Send two copies of the job description to the appropriate manager, 1 week prior to evaluation. Report failure to comply with evaluation schedule to the appropriate manager.
• Oversee our drug free workplace program. All drug related procedures are followed throughout the company and there is strong evidence that the company meets its drug free criteria.

General For All Personnel

• Perform other tasks as requested by management. Volunteer as time allows
• Participate in evaluations as required. Work as a team with management to develop your own performance.
• Develop professional working relationships with all company employees and all teams. Conflicts get resolved quickly, permanently and with management's assistance as needed.
• Assist in the training of other employees
• Participate in the taking of physical inventories
• Report any and all injuries incurred during the day to the warehouse/delivery manager as soon as possible, but before leaving for the day unless there are extenuating circumstances
• See something say
• Acquire necessary education. Attend training sessions, etc., for new products or to improve abilities, as required.