Channel Manager

This position pays $110,000.00 plus and requires up to 50% travel Potters Industries is the leading U.S. manufacturer of glass beads for retroreflective pavement markings, sold mainly to state departments of transportation (DOTs), striping contractors, and airports. Through Franklin Paint, Potters also makes traffic paint, including the EverFast durable line. The Transportation Solutions sales team is putting in place a selling system built on seller roles defined by state and local market, state plans tied to budget and contribution margin, quarterly product campaigns, weekly performance management, a new CRM, and a formal distributor program covering beads and paint.

What we offer:

• Competitive pay
• Full benefits package
• 401k matching

Position Summary:

The Channel Manager builds and runs the Potters distributor channel for Franklin Paint and glass beads, under a program distributors can join for paint, for beads, or for both. The role helps set channel strategy, completes and launches a formal distributor program, recruits new distributors in states without coverage, and manages distributor performance against agreed plans. It calls for an experienced channel leader who knows distributor economics, program design, and partner recruitment, and who is credible with both distributor owners and Potters leadership. The role is national and covers beads and paint. The first priorities are adding stocking paint distributors in uncovered states, including paint and coatings dealers new to traffic paint, and moving existing distributors from drop shipment to stocking. With bead distributors, the focus is program compliance and adding Franklin Paint to their lines.

What we are looking for:

Channel Strategy and Program Design: The ability to design coverage models, tiers, terms, and incentives that change distributor behavior and stay simple to administer. Distributor Economics: A working understanding of how distributors make money (inventory turns, freight, margin, and rebates) and the ability to structure terms both sides can sustain. Partner Recruitment: The ability to find, qualify, and sign distributors, including ones new to the product category. The ability to reach agreement on commitments, terms, and conflicts without giving away margin. Partner Performance Management: The ability to run scorecards, joint business plans, and quarterly reviews that hold distributors to agreed commitments. Technical Product Credibility, The ability to learn products and applications well enough to train distributor staff and answer contractors’ basic questions.

Leadership Profile:

• Strong sales leadership, set with customers and segments that are served directly and through distributors, by state, and how many distributors Potters needs and where.
• Complete the design of the distributor program, design distributor incentives that reward stocking, growth, and bead and paint bundles. Plan and lead a phased launch.
• Track channel risks, such as private-label requests, imported beads in markets outside Buy America requirements, and distributors seeking to buy direct, and recommend responses to leadership.

Channel Strategy and Program Design:

• Coverage Strategy - With sales leadership, set which customers and segments are served directly and which through distributors, by state, and how many distributors Potters needs and where.
• Program Design- Complete the design of the distributor program, with three ways to participate (Franklin Paint only, Potters beads only, or both combined): rules of engagement, non-exclusive tiers and their requirements (starting from the proposed Authorized and Premier tiers), commercial terms and freight thresholds, incentives, selection and onboarding criteria, enablement, and performance management.
• Incentive
• Design- Design distributor incentives that reward stocking, growth, and bead and paint bundles, that a distributor can explain to its salespeople in a minute, and that can be calculated from data Potters already has.
• Rollout-Plan and lead a phased launch: baseline the current network, validate tiers and terms, pilot in one geography, then expand, sequencing geographies to account for paint companies that resell Potters beads.
• Channel Risk- Track channel risks, such as private-label requests, imported beads in markets outside Buy America requirements, and distributors seeking to buy direct, and recommend responses.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required; business or engineering preferred.
• Eight or more years in B2B sales, including at least five managing distributor or dealer channels, in some combination of paint and coatings, building products, construction materials, traffic safety, or industrial supplies. Regional or branch management experience at a distributor is also relevant.
• Demonstrated record of recruiting and onboarding new distributors and growing revenue through them; designing or substantially improving a distributor program, including tiers, terms, rebates, and scorecards; running joint business plans and quarterly reviews; and negotiating with distributor owners and senior management.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement Potters is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.