Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Outside Sales Support Coordinator

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Outside Sales Support Coordinator is a high-impact, client-facing operations role that enables outside sales representatives to focus on revenue-generating activity by managing quote creation, order processing, CRM administration, logistics coordination, and customer communications. This role sits at the intersection of sales operations, customer service, and logistics — acting as the primary back-office partner to field sellers, ensuring quotes and orders are accurate, prioritized, and executed on-time. Ideal candidates are detail-oriented, proactive, and experienced with CRM/ERP systems, quoting tools (CPQ), and sales workflows.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Support Specialist / Sales Assistant
  • Inside Sales Representative
  • Customer Service Representative (B2B)

Advancement To:

  • Outside Sales Operations Specialist
  • Sales Operations Analyst
  • Account Manager / Territory Manager
  • Regional Sales Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Inside Sales Coordinator
  • Customer Success Manager
  • Order Management Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Serve as the primary administrative partner to outside sales reps by managing end-to-end quote creation and pricing approvals using CPQ tools or CRM quoting modules; ensure quotes meet margin and pricing policies before submission to customers.
  • Accurately process customer purchase orders in the ERP/Order Management system (e.g., SAP, NetSuite, Oracle) and validate product codes, pricing, lead times, shipping terms, and billing information to prevent order exceptions.
  • Maintain and sanitize CRM data (Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics) for territory accounts, contacts, opportunity stages, and activity logs to improve forecast accuracy and sales reporting.
  • Coordinate order fulfillment logistics with distribution centers, manufacturing, and 3PL partners to confirm ship dates, track shipments, and proactively communicate backorder or delay notices to customers and field sales.
  • Prepare and deliver sales collateral, proposals, and customized presentations for outside sellers, ensuring brand and technical accuracy by collaborating with marketing and product teams.
  • Support pipeline management by qualifying inbound leads for field sales, creating and assigning opportunities, scheduling introductory meetings, and routing warm leads based on territory rules.
  • Manage pricing exceptions, contract renewals, rebates, and promotional pricing requests by coordinating approvals across finance, legal, and product teams and documenting decisions in CRM.
  • Reconcile invoices, credit memos, and order discrepancies with finance/AP to accelerate collections and reduce aged receivables for outside territories.
  • Generate and distribute weekly/monthly sales performance dashboards and KPI reports (bookings, backlog, attainment vs quota, win rates) to outside sales leadership and operations teams.
  • Maintain up-to-date territory maps, account lists, and call plans for outside sales reps; schedule route and meeting optimization to maximize face-to-face time with key accounts.
  • Handle customer escalations and service issues raised by outside sellers, coordinating cross-functional troubleshooting (service, returns, warranty, technical support) until resolution.
  • Support RFQ/RFP responses by gathering technical specs, pricing history, production lead times, and competitive intelligence; assemble timely and accurate bid packages.
  • Monitor inventory availability and safety stock levels for key SKUs relevant to territories, flagging impending shortages and recommending allocation priorities to sales leadership.
  • Coordinate sample and demo unit logistics: request, track, return, and maintain inventory of demo equipment for field demonstrations and trade events.
  • Assist with commission and incentive documentation by validating closed-won data, pricing adjustments, and returns that affect rep payouts and providing reconciliations to HR/Payroll.
  • Maintain and administer sales tools and enablement platforms (digital catalogs, configurators, CPQ) and provide first-line troubleshooting and user support to outside sellers.
  • Facilitate onboarding and continuous training for new outside sales hires on order entry, CRM best practices, quoting policy, and internal processes.
  • Implement process improvement initiatives — streamline quote-to-cash workflows, reduce turnaround time for quotes/orders, and document standard operating procedures (SOPs).
  • Coordinate regional events, customer meetings, and trade shows with outside teams: logistics, registration, shipping, and budgeting support to maximize field selling opportunities.
  • Track and manage returns, warranty claims, and RMA processes for field-sourced issues, ensuring timely credit/replacement and accurate documentation.
  • Support sales forecasting by consolidating field rep inputs, validating opportunity probability, and uploading adjustments into the forecasting system.
  • Maintain a knowledge base of product specs, lead times, pricing tiers, and contract terms to accelerate response times for field sales and customers.
  • Enforce compliance with corporate policies and regulatory requirements for quotations, contracts, and international shipments (INCOTERMS, export control).
  • Provide ad-hoc project support for sales initiatives such as new product launches, territory realignments, or pricing rollouts.

Secondary Functions

  • Lead or participate in system implementation and data-migration projects (CRM/ERP/CPQ), serving as the functional SME for outside sales workflows.
  • Drive small-scale automation and reporting improvements (Excel macros, Power BI dashboards, Salesforce reports) to reduce manual workload and improve data visibility.
  • Act as liaison between product management, marketing, and field sales to collect market feedback, competitive intel, and customer feature requests.
  • Assist sales leadership with special assignments such as territory capacity planning, quota modeling, and sales compensation analyses.
  • Provide backup coverage for inside sales and customer service queues during peak periods or absences to maintain service levels and SLAs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • CRM proficiency: Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, or comparable CRM platforms — data hygiene, opportunity management, report/dashboard creation.
  • ERP / Order Management: experience with SAP, NetSuite, Oracle, or similar systems for order entry, inventory status, and billing.
  • Quoting/CPQ tools: configurable pricing/quoting tools (Salesforce CPQ, Configure-Price-Quote systems) and experience managing pricing rules and approvals.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting, and basic macros for data analysis and reconciliation.
  • Reporting & analytics: experience building sales dashboards with Power BI, Tableau, or native CRM reporting to track KPIs and forecast.
  • Order-to-cash knowledge: understanding of invoice processing, credit memos, AR reconciliation, and cash application impacts on commissions.
  • Logistics & fulfillment coordination: familiarity with shipping carriers, incoterms, freight quotations, and 3PL coordination.
  • Contract and pricing administration: managing master service agreements, price lists, discount matrices, and renewal workflows.
  • EDI/transactional integrations: basic understanding of EDI, API-based order flows, or integrations between CRM and ERP systems.
  • Sales tools & enablement: experience with digital catalogs, demo management, sample tracking, and content management systems.
  • Quoting and proposal software: experience preparing RFP/RFQ responses and bid documents with attention to contractual terms.
  • Basic project management: ability to run small projects, manage stakeholders, and document SOPs and process flows.
  • Data quality & governance: enforcing CRM/ERP field standards, duplicate management, and master data updates.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication — conveys pricing/technical detail to internal teams and customers clearly and professionally.
  • Strong customer service orientation — responsive, solutions-focused, and skilled at de-escalating issues for field reps and customers.
  • High attention to detail and accuracy — minimizes order errors that can affect fulfillment and revenue recognition.
  • Excellent organizational and time-management skills — manages competing priorities for multiple field sellers and deadlines.
  • Problem solving and critical thinking — investigates root cause of issues and proposes pragmatic process changes.
  • Team player and collaborator — works cross-functionally with sales, operations, finance, and product teams.
  • Adaptability and resilience — comfortable in a fast-paced, changing sales environment with shifting priorities.
  • Proactive mindset — anticipates field needs, flags risks early, and pre-emptively resolves blockers.
  • Confidentiality and integrity — handles contract terms, pricing, and compensation data with discretion.
  • Analytical mindset — translates data into actionable insights for outside sales leadership.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED required; Associate degree strongly preferred.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Supply Chain / Logistics
  • Finance / Accounting
  • Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years of relevant experience in sales support, order management, or inside sales for B2B or technical products.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years supporting outside sales teams or working in sales operations/order management.
  • Direct experience with Salesforce or comparable CRM and an ERP system (SAP, NetSuite, Oracle).
  • Background in manufacturing, distribution, industrial products, or technical B2B sales environments preferred.
  • Demonstrated history of improving quote-to-cash cycle times, order accuracy, or sales data quality.
  • Experience coordinating logistics, handling RMA/warranty processes, or managing trade show support is a plus.
Explore More Careers