Sales Manager

Position Overview

Kolar, located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, is an award-winning team that specializes in bridging best-in-class interiors, brand experience, and spatial design—built on measurable insights that spark positive change. 

In this role, you are expected to embody our core values

• Be Transformative. We are innovators driving meaningful change in the way people build relationships with space and with one another. We lead with an open mind.
• Make Quality Personal. We are humans who create beautiful experiences for other humans. We engage with empathy.
• Be Curious and Dig Deeper. We are opportunity finders, bringing diverse perspectives to the table to learn together. We stay curious.
• Succeed as a Team. We are collectively inspired and individually motivated to bring results to life. We deliver on our commitments.
• Make a Positive Impact. We are connectors of ideas, influencers of our industry and contributors to our community. We drive positive change.

Role: Sales Manager

The Sales Manager at Kolar Design and KXI owns the top of the sales funnel for both companies. This is an early-stage seller role: building pipeline, qualifying opportunities before they reach studio teams, and serving as the first-impression face of our work to prospective clients across healthcare, financial, workplace, and specialty sectors. The right person brings real depth in brand environments, experiential design, immersive technology, or themed environments - paired with the curiosity, humility, and business acumen to translate ambitious creative ideas into clear client value.

This is a builder's role. We're not looking for someone to manage an existing pipeline; we're looking for someone to create one - using their network, their instincts, and their ability to articulate why brand environments matter to people who haven't yet realized they do.

Objective & Responsibilities of the Role:

Top-of-Funnel Ownership

• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified opportunities for both Kolar Design and KXI.
• Develop and execute outbound prospecting strategies tied to our target sectors.
• Identify and pursue strategic accounts where the firms' work would create the most meaningful client value.

Early-Stage Selling

• Lead first-meeting and discovery conversations with prospects, articulating our point of view on brand environments, experiential design, immersive technology, and workplace experience.
• Develop initial scopes, timelines, and budget frames in partnership with studio leadership.
• Translate ambitious creative concepts into clear, client-business-relevant value - the bridge between studio thinking and client decision-making.

Qualification & Studio Handoff

• Qualify opportunities thoroughly before they reach studio teams: confirm fit, scope clarity, budget alignment, decision-maker access, and timeline.
• Hand off qualified opportunities with clear context, expectations, and momentum so studio teams can run.
• Serve as the connective tissue between studios and prospects through proposal and contract phases.

Pipeline & Forecasting

• Maintain accurate, current pipeline data in NetSuite - every account, opportunity, stage, deal value, and close date current.
• Provide weekly pipeline updates and quarterly forecasts to leadership, with honest read on momentum and risk.
• Track win/loss patterns and surface insights to inform sector strategy, positioning, and offerings.

Network & Business Development

• Activate existing relationships in target markets (New York, Dallas) to open doors at strategic accounts.
• Represent both Kolar Design and KXI at industry events, conferences, and target-account engagements.
• Cultivate strategic partnerships with complementary firms (architects, AEC, experience designers, AV/tech integrators, CRE) and key influencers.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with studio leadership on what work we want to win, how to position for it, and where to invest pursuit energy.
• Collaborate with marketing on campaigns, content, account-based programs, and industry presence.
• Provide voice-of-the-prospect insights to inform service offerings, positioning, and pricing.

Required Competencies:

• Passion & belief - Believes in the power of brand environments and experiential design to change how people experience space, work, and one another. Can speak about this at a level that prospects feel and remember.
• Business acumen - Fluent in corporate client decision-making. Comfortable in C-suite and executive conversations. Understands how decisions actually get made - budget cycles, stakeholder dynamics, procurement, real estate calendars.
• Humility - Leads with curiosity and listening. Asks questions before pitching. Checks ego at the door. Knows what they don't know and brings the right studio voice in at the right moment.
• Strong communicator - Presents and pitches at a high level. Translates creative concepts into client business value. Writes proposals that close.
• Self-starter - Owns pipeline outcomes without daily direction. Loves to win. Treats slow weeks as personal accountability problems, not market problems.
• Activated network - Has cultivated and can immediately tap relationships in corporate, CRE, AEC, and adjacent spaces. Names doors they can open.
• Process discipline - Runs a clean CRM. Reports honestly on pipeline. Doesn't sandbag, pad, or hide bad news. Builds the data hygiene that lets the rest of the firm trust the forecast.
• Adaptability across two brands - Can articulate the distinct value proposition of Kolar Design and KXI, position the right brand for the right opportunity, and navigate prospects toward the right fit.

Success Metrics:

• Qualified pipeline value at agreed-upon target by end of first full quarter in role
• Win rate on qualified opportunities meets or exceeds sector benchmark
• 100% of opportunities handed to studios include scope clarity, budget frame, decision-maker access, and client context
• Coverage in all four target sectors: Healthcare, Financial, Workplace, and Specialty 
• New logo wins per quarter at target threshold
• CRM data accuracy ≥ 95% on opportunity stage, value, and close date
• Studio leader satisfaction with handoff quality (qualitative, surveyed quarterly)
• Average deal cycle time aligned to sector benchmark - neither rushed nor stalled

Salary: $60,000 - $80,000+ (base, depending on location and experience)

Compensation: Position also includes commission/bonus opportunities based on performance.

Benefits (Begin on the 1st day of employment):

• Health, Vision, and Dental Insurance
• Short-Term Disability
• Life Insurance
• Eligible for 401(k) Plan and Match (Immediate Vesting)
• Computing Hardware and Software provided
• Free Parking