Sales Manager

T&L Nursery is hiring a Sales Manager to lead our sales team and shape the future direction of the business. This is a key leadership role responsible for driving profitable growth, setting sales and marketing strategy, and managing a team of inside and outside regional sales representatives, and sales operations staff. You’ll play a central role in expanding our market share, deepening customer relationships, and ensuring the level of service our customers expect — while meeting company sales objectives. Expect 6–8 weeks of travel per year to visit customers, attend trade shows, and represent T&L at industry events.

For 40 years, T&L Nursery has been where the Pacific Northwest garden begins — growing the plant material that stocks garden centers and landscaping projects across the region. From our nursery in the Sammamish Valley, between Redmond and Woodinville, we produce approximately 4 million plants across more than 2,500 varieties each year, making us one of the largest and most diverse growers in the region.

Despite our scale, we're still a small, privately owned business — and that culture shows. We were recently recognized nationally with the Best Places to Work: Horticulture designation, a reflection of our commitment to building a great place to grow, both for our plants and our people.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Team Leadership & Development

• Build and lead a high-performing sales team — recruiting, hiring, training, coaching, and holding team members accountable to departmental objectives
• Champion a team culture built on results, customer focus, and genuine investment in each person's development
• Conduct regular sales meetings and establish weekly priorities and objectives
• Provide ongoing performance feedback, mentoring, and professional development opportunities
• Support sales staff with customer negotiations, conflict resolution, and strategic account management

Sales Leadership & Strategy

• Work closely with the Managing Director and Executive Committee to develop, implement, and execute annual sales plans that support company growth and profitability goals
• Establish sales objectives, forecasts, and performance metrics for the team
• Monitor performance and take proactive steps to achieve revenue and margin targets
• Grow sales with existing customers while identifying and securing new business
• Analyze market trends, customer needs, competitor activity, and industry developments to identify growth opportunities
• Represent the Sales department in company-wide strategic planning and foster cross-departmental collaboration

Customer Relationship Management

• Own and strengthen strategic relationships with key garden centers, landscapers, and non-traditional accounts, stepping in to negotiate, grow, and protect long-term partnerships
• Conduct regular customer visits and sales reviews to identify growth opportunities and address service gaps before they become problems
• Partner with customers to build preseason programs, promotions, and purchasing plans that align with their buying cycles
• Set the standard for responsive, proactive customer service across the sales team, ensuring inquiries and opportunities are followed up on consistently and without drop-off

Sales Operations & Marketing

• Develop and manage preseason order programs and conduct sales performance reviews
• Establish weekly promotions, specials, and sales initiatives to support inventory movement and revenue goals
• Collaborate with Growers, Production, Inventory, and Operations teams to align sales commitments with product availability
• Participate in trade shows, industry events, customer meetings, and promotional activities
• Support the development and execution of marketing campaigns and customer outreach

Reporting & Analysis

• Prepare regular sales reports, forecasts, and market analyses
• Monitor key performance indicators and recommend improvements to sales processes and customer engagement strategies

What You Bring

• 5–7 years of progressive sales experience, including at least 3 years in a sales leadership or management role
• Proven track record leading a high-performing sales team of 5 or more
• Experience managing a substantial sales portfolio, with annual revenue at or above $10M annually
• Strong working knowledge of plant material, including the ability to speak confidently with professionals about product characteristics, seasonality, and availability
• Strong analytical, negotiation, and customer service skills, with the ability to build lasting professional relationships
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills; bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus
• Experience with CRM, ERP, and sales reporting systems preferred; strong Excel skills for sales analysis and reporting
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Horticulture, Agribusiness, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered
• Background in wholesale or B2B horticulture sales is a strong advantage — familiarity with nursery industry buying cycles and product knowledge will help you ramp quickly. Candidates with strong sales leadership records from other industries are also encouraged to apply
• Experience developing preseason order programs, promotional strategies, and volume pricing structures is a plus

Pay: $80,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person