Sales Representative - Sports

Role Snapshot

A privately held global leader in sports and large-area lighting solutions is hiring a Sales Representative to own the New Mexico territory. The company has been in business since 1976, operates in 135 countries, and employs more than 1,800 team members worldwide out of its Midwest headquarters.

This person reports to the Regional Sales Coordinator and works alongside a lead generation and inside sales support team that keeps the pipeline fed. Ideally based in Albuquerque or a centrally located county such as Santa Fe, close enough to reach the Four Corners region without excessive drive time.

The seat is open because the previous rep, who built years of relationships across the state, transferred internally to a closer territory. The book of business is real and established. It needs someone to pick it back up without dropping it.

Why This Role Matters

"There's an established book of business, so there's not gonna be a ton of true cold calling where nobody has any idea who we are. Where you run into cold calling-ish is: the athletic director this rep has been talking to for years gets fired, goes to a different school, and now there's a new athletic director who doesn't know him. They probably already have our product installed and just don't know it."

That is the real shape of this territory. It is not a blank map. It is a state full of schools, parks, and facilities that already have a relationship with this company, until the person on the other end of that relationship changes jobs. When that happens, the trust resets to zero and someone has to rebuild it before the project moves again. New Mexico currently has an estimated 70 active projects in some stage of the pipeline, with the expectation that 30 to 40 close in a rolling 12 months. That pipeline does not move itself. It needs someone in the market three to four days a week, in the room with the people making the call.

The Mission

In the first 12 months, this person needs to become the trusted point of contact for a territory that already has relationships in motion, some warm, some in need of rebuilding after a personnel change on the client side. The job is not to introduce the company to New Mexico. It is to keep 70 relationships moving toward a close, know which 30 to 40 are ready to convert this year, and be the person schools, contractors, and architects in this state call when they think about lighting.

Performance Objectives

Close 30 to 40 of the approximately 70 active projects in the New Mexico territory within a rolling 12 months.

Rebuild direct relationships with athletic directors, facility managers, and parks and recreation directors across the state, prioritizing accounts where a leadership change severed the prior connection.

Establish working relationships with electrical contractors operating in the territory, since a meaningful share of projects close as a materials sale through a contractor rather than a direct install.

Build credibility with architecture and specifier firms in the state so future projects are specified in the company's favor before they reach competitive bid.

Sustain a field travel cadence of three to four days per week across New Mexico, including periodic overnight trips, while remaining centrally based for efficient reach into the Four Corners region.

Keep project and pipeline documentation current and accurate in the sales database so inside sales can hand off rolling-12-month projects without gaps in continuity.

Fit Traits

Patience for a Long Sales Cycle: This is not a role for someone who needs a fast win. Signal from the intake: "Our sales cycles are longer, so they're like 18 months to 2 years on the short side. You're rarely going to go in and get money your first meeting. That will probably never happen."

Self-Directed Territory Ownership: Nobody is building this person's schedule for them. Signal: "They're setting their schedule, so whomever they need to meet with that week or the next two weeks, they're setting that. As the sales representative, you're controlling them."

Comfort Operating Without Constant Urgency: There is no built-in structure forcing daily action. Signal: "There's not very many fires that are like, oh my gosh, you have to get there tomorrow or else. Those are pretty few and far between." This person has to generate their own pace.

Fluency Across Different Audiences: Success means talking credibly to three disparate groups in the same week. Signal: "You don't have to speak fully their language, but learn enough to be dangerous to do it," referring to end users, electrical contractors, and architects or specifiers.

Who You'll Work For

The territory is overseen by a Regional Sales Coordinator who stays close to project allocation and territory needs, and by leadership who care more about where this person is based than exactly where they live: centrally located enough to reach the whole state efficiently matters more than a specific zip code. The org places real weight on communication discipline. Regular check-ins with the Regional Sales Coordinator on territory needs, resource concerns, and project status are expected, not optional.

What is known clearly from the intake: this leadership team is comfortable giving a sales rep real autonomy over their calendar and their territory, and they are not looking for someone who needs to be told what to do next.

Why Veterans Succeed Here

If you managed a contracting, acquisitions, or logistics process that ran on a long timeline with real bureaucracy attached, you have already lived this sales cycle. An 18-month to 2-year close is not a foreign concept to someone who has run a program through procurement, funding approval, and execution. The intake call specifically flagged procurement officers and anyone who has worked on the public bid or cooperative purchasing side as a strong fit, because that cycle mirrors this one closely.

This territory also rewards someone who does not need daily direction. There is no supervisor building your calendar, and there are limited genuine emergencies. That is a mismatch for someone who thrived on constant operational tempo, but it is a strong fit for someone who has run independent missions, managed a facility, or coordinated with outside contractors and vendors without someone standing over their shoulder.

Veterans who have worked across different stakeholder groups with different priorities, coalition partners, host nation contacts, contractors, command staff, translate well here. This role means being credible with an athletic director, an electrical contractor, and an architect in the same week, without pretending to be an expert in any of their worlds.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Sports Management, Business, Sales, Entrepreneurship, or related field preferred | Military equivalent: Completion of relevant military leadership or logistics training, or equivalent field experience in lieu of degree | Maps to: General role readiness
  

• Minimum 3 years of previous sales experience | Military equivalent: Experience managing vendor, contractor, or inter-agency relationships, or leading a unit through a sustained, multi-stage acquisition or logistics process | Maps to: Territory relationship-building objectives
  

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, comfortable presenting to groups | Military equivalent: Briefing experience up and down the chain of command, or leading training sessions and after-action reviews | Maps to: Fluency across different audiences
  

• Exceptional organizational and time-management skills managing a mixed workload of meetings, travel, and deadlines | Military equivalent: Independent scheduling and mission planning in a role with minimal direct oversight | Maps to: Self-directed territory ownership
  

• Strong technical aptitude with motivation to learn and teach others | Military equivalent: Technical MOS or rating background, or experience training junior personnel on equipment or systems | Maps to: General role readiness
  

• Electrical experience and comfort working with contractors preferred | Military equivalent: Facilities, engineer, or electrical specialty background; experience coordinating with civilian contractors on base or in theater | Maps to: Electrical contractor relationship objective
  

• Comfortable with significant travel, including evenings and overnights, using a personal vehicle | Military equivalent: Deployment or field exercise experience requiring extended time away from a fixed location | Maps to: Field travel cadence objective
  
  

• *Must have served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Reserves, or U.S. National Guard.
  

Benefits

• Base salary: $85,000 to $105,000
  
• Bonus: Structured, non-commission bonus tied in part to product revenue. 
  
• Profit sharing: All team members are eligible. The formula applies a percentage, based on the company's prior year profitability, to the employee's prior year earnings. The resulting amount splits 60 percent as a cash bonus and 40 percent into the 401(k).
  
• Vehicle: No company vehicle. Personal vehicle required, reimbursed at the federal mileage rate for wear, tear, and fuel.
  
• Travel expenses: Corporate credit card covers meals, hotels, and flights back to company headquarters for training.
  
• Equipment: Company-issued cell phone, laptop, and home office setup.
  
• Health benefits: HMO and PPO options from single coverage up to full family, designed to be low out-of-pocket.
  
• PTO and 401(k): Included; standard structure not itemized in intake.
  
• Relocation: Not discussed in intake. Confirm before extending an offer to a candidate outside the region.