Sales Development Associate

REPORTS TO CEO

Elmhurst, Illinois Office-based 10-20% Travel The Opportunity UICO is an industrial touchscreen design and manufacturing company whose customers demand durability, usability and visibility of their user interface. Selling into the marine, oil and gas, heavy industrial, and military space, UICO is known for its strong engineering and white glove service. UICO is seeking an experienced technical salesperson to help drive the next stage of our growth. This is a hunter-oriented role focused primarily on winning new OEM customers while also expanding business within existing accounts. The successful candidate will work closely with UICO's sales, engineering, FAE and operations teams to identify customer problems, develop solutions, win design-ins and convert opportunities into long-term revenue. This position is based out of UICO's Chicago-area office in Elmhurst, with travel to customers, prospects and industry events as needed. Travel will typically be 10-20% of the time, including overnight travel. You will have a large territory, full FAE and engineering support, manage the process from lead to MP and report directly to the CEO. We are looking for someone that has been in a BDR role, excelled and is looking to move into a sales role. Role Profile New business first. Approximately 70% of the role is focused on developing new accounts and 30% on expanding existing accounts. Consultative technical selling. UICO solutions often involve custom designs, engineering teams and long sales cycles. Success requires qualifying client opportunities, understanding the business and technical requirements of their offering, and asking good questions to understand customer pain points and desired outcomes. It requires putting together the solution, sourcing the correct supply chain, pricing the opportunity and seeing it through MP. In-person relationship building. Large opportunities require customer visits, site meetings, trade shows and face-to-face engagement with engineering, sourcing, supply chain, marketing and executive stakeholders. Ownership mentality. The salesperson owns the opportunity from initial prospecting through qualification, scoping, quoting, follow-up, design acceptance, closing, client adoption and success. Growth comes from finding new customers and bringing on new projects within existing customers.

Key Responsibilities:

Build and maintain a disciplined target-account list by territory and/or vertical, with a strong focus on new OEM opportunities. Prospect proactively, through email and LinkedIn posts and calls to prospect office and mobile lines to identify customer pain points and qualify opportunities quickly so UICO can focus resources where there is a strong fit. Qualify opportunities for technical fit, realistic volume, target pricing, timing, decision process and commercial potential before committing significant UICO engineering, FAE or supplier resources. Follow-up on opportunities that come from the company's website. Work with our Field Application Engineer that interfaces with the customer and reports directly to the sales team and the full engineering team to develop scoping documents, define requirements and support accurate quotations. Present UICO's one-stop touch solution in a consultative manner to C-level decision makers and key influencers in engineering, marketing, supply chain, sourcing and operations. Lead customer meetings, site visits and trade-show follow-up; travel as needed to move opportunities forward and build durable relationships. Manage long and often complex sales cycles with consistent, professional follow-up until the business is won and delivered or clearly disqualified. Develop relationships across multiple functions within target accounts rather than relying on a single contact. Maintain accurate opportunity notes, next steps, pipeline stages and forecasts in UICO's CRM. Coordinate internally before committing customer pricing, samples, development schedules, qualification timing or production dates. Coordinate internally with engineering, operations and sales to ensure a smooth transition from design-in through production. Expand existing accounts by identifying additional programs, product lines, facilities and applications where UICO can add value. How Success Will Be Measured Exceeding the annual bookings quota of $500,000. Success is measured by driving scheduled video calls and face-to-face meetings. This includes meetings for introduction, qualification, outcome verification, competitive assessment, scoping, executive engagement, proposal presentation, objective handling, closing and building partnerships. Qualified new opportunities and pipeline value created. NDAs signed. Customer meetings, site visits and meaningful prospect engagement New OEM design-ins and new customer wins Conversion of qualified opportunities to quotes and orders New-customer revenue and gross margin contribution Expansion revenue within existing accounts Forecast accuracy, CRM discipline and consistent follow-up First-Year Priorities Timeframe Expected Progress First 90 days Learn UICO's products, applications, sales process and value proposition; build a prioritized target-account plan; begin customer and prospect visits. By 6 months Establish a healthy pipeline of qualified opportunities and active design-ins; demonstrate consistent prospecting, follow-up and CRM discipline. Meet or exceed $150,000 in bookings per quarter. By 12 months Convert a meaningful portion of the pipeline into design wins, orders and new customer relationships; expand selected existing accounts. Meet or exceed $200,000 in bookings per quarter. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant business experience. 2+ years of successful B2B sales experience, preferably involving a complex sale. History of success in your previous roles. Demonstrated experience selling to larger accounts and managing long, multi-stage sales cycles. Proven ability to hunt for new business rather than relying primarily on inbound leads or an inherited account base.

Consultative selling skills:

strong listener, problem solver and question-asker who can uncover the real customer need. Comfort working with engineers and technical teams. An engineering degree is not required, but technical curiosity is essential. Experience working effectively in a smaller, entrepreneurial company where people are expected to take ownership and work across functions. Excellent presentation, written communication and interpersonal skills. Ability and willingness to travel overnight approximately 10-20% of the time. Ability to work from UICO's Chicago-area office on days when not traveling. The Person We Are Looking For Drive for success and appreciates recognition Intellectually curious and eager to learn technical products Understands the importance of winning as a team Willing to be coached and learn from others Persistent without being pushy Competitive and comfortable asking for the order Disciplined about follow-up, details and next steps Comfortable with ambiguity and motivated by building something You do not have to be the engineer — but you must be comfortable selling to engineers, asking great questions and staying engaged until the business is won.

Pay:

From $85,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) matching Dental insurance Health insurance Vision insurance Application Question(s): Please fill out the following survey https://go.cultureindex.com/p/2euhdXQeRhm9

UKkIGKK Work Location:

In person