Sr. Business Development Manager, Dealer & Residential Designer

Sr. Business Development Manager, Dealer & Residential Designer

Work Mode: Remote

Location: Remote – Kohler, WI

Opportunity

The Dealer & Residential Designer Business Development Manager leads Kohler’s national growth strategy for secondary showroom dealers and residential designers. The role creates profitable, incremental demand through dealer recruitment and development, designer engagement and specification influence, non-quoted opportunity creation, and adoption of Kohler’s Wellness portfolio.

The role builds qualified dealer and designer pipelines, determines the appropriate path to market, and develops repeatable programs, value propositions, training, and engagement tools. In partnership with regional Business Development Managers, Field Sales, distribution partners, Marketing, and Product, the role supports local activation and conversion to increase brand preference, share of wallet, luxury mix, and non-quoted revenue.

The role owns national strategy and opportunity creation; regional Business Development Managers own local activation, account development, conversion, and ongoing execution after qualified opportunities are transitioned.

The role will remain focused on dealer development, residential designer engagement, Wellness growth, and related non-quoted demand creation. Design-build and other emerging opportunities will be pursued only when they directly support this mission.

Specific Responsibilities

Dealer Growth and Development

• Develop and execute a national strategy to grow Kohler sales, market share, and brand presence within the secondary showroom dealer segment.
• Build and activate a prioritized pipeline of dealers in underpenetrated markets, using market potential, coverage gaps, brand mix, customer reach, showroom capability, competitive presence, revenue potential, and strategic fit.
• Lead outreach, qualification, and early-stage development of high-potential dealer prospects, advancing opportunities through defined commercial milestones.
• Establish dealer value propositions, onboarding processes, activation plans, and ongoing engagement standards that enable consistent and scalable execution.
• Determine the path to market for each priority dealer, favoring wholesale distribution when it provides the strongest fulfillment, inventory, service, and local support; consider a direct Kohler relationship only when the dealer meets required commitments and distributor representation is inadequate.
• When distribution is the preferred path to market, facilitate alignment among the dealer, Kohler Field Sales, the regional Business Development Manager, and a willing distribution partner.
• Develop account-specific growth plans for priority dealers, including revenue objectives, product mix, assortment, inventory, pricing, training, marketing support, showroom presence, and customer-engagement priorities.
• Partner with Sales leadership to establish dealer acquisition, activation, retention, share-of-wallet, revenue, mix, and profitability objectives.
• Identify barriers affecting dealer adoption and coordinate cross-functional action plans to improve speed to revenue and the dealer experience.
• Monitor competitive dealer programs, product positioning, service models, and market activity, translating findings into clear recommendations for Kohler leadership.
• Create repeatable dealer-development playbooks, tools, and best practices that can be deployed by regional Business Development Managers and local sales teams.
• Maintain a disciplined handoff process that assigns qualified dealer opportunities to the appropriate regional owner with clear objectives, next actions, timing, and measures of success.

Residential Designer Strategy and Engagement

• Develop and execute a national residential designer engagement strategy that increases Kohler’s influence upstream of the showroom transaction.
• Prioritize residential designers, interior design firms, kitchen and bath designers, and design-led remodelers based on client profile, project potential, market influence, and strategic fit.
• Build direct relationships with priority residential designers and design firms to increase Kohler brand consideration, product specification, showroom referrals, and conversion.
• Create a repeatable designer-engagement model covering prospecting, relationship development, education, project discovery, specification support, follow-up, and opportunity tracking.
• Create compelling value propositions for residential designers centered on design leadership, product breadth, coordinated bathroom solutions, luxury offerings, Wellness, technical support, digital tools, showroom access, and service.
• Partner with Marketing, Product, Sales Enablement, and showroom teams to develop designer-focused presentations, product education, project-planning resources, specification tools, samples, and selling materials.
• Establish a consistent cadence of designer outreach through individual meetings, market events, showroom programs, virtual education, product previews, and other targeted engagement.
• Connect residential designers with appropriate Kohler Stores, dealer showrooms, wholesale showrooms, regional Business Development Managers, and local sales resources based on project requirements and market coverage.
• Capture designer feedback regarding product needs, design trends, competitive activity, service expectations, specification barriers, and emerging customer preferences.
• Translate designer insights into recommendations for product strategy, education, showroom experience, marketing programs, and sales tools.
• Establish clear processes for documenting designer-influenced opportunities and transitioning qualified opportunities to regional Business Development Managers for local activation and conversion.
• Measure designer engagement, qualified opportunities, specification activity, conversion, and influenced revenue where data is available.

Wellness Category Growth

• Own the Wellness-category growth strategy for dealer and residential designer channels, translating enterprise Wellness priorities into targeted customer engagement, specification, education, and market-activation plans.
• Position Kohler’s Wellness portfolio as an integrated solution that enhances personal well-being and elevates the residential bathroom experience.
• Build dealer and designer understanding of Wellness solutions, customer benefits, applications, installation considerations, and integration into complete-bath designs.
• Identify priority dealers, designers, projects, and markets with the strongest potential for Wellness adoption based on customer profile, project type, design orientation, luxury-product performance, and market opportunity.
• Develop Wellness-specific sales narratives, educational materials, discovery questions, project-planning tools, and specification resources in partnership with Product, Category, Marketing, Sales Enablement, and technical teams.
• Create targeted engagement programs that introduce residential designers and dealers to Wellness through product education, demonstrations, showroom experiences, design events, virtual learning, and project consultations.
• Increase the inclusion of Wellness products in dealer assortments, designer recommendations, customer presentations, specifications, and complete-bath solutions.
• Coordinate with regional Business Development Managers and showroom teams to ensure qualified Wellness opportunities receive appropriate local follow-up, product support, and conversion activity.
• Pilot Wellness messaging, designer engagement, dealer activation, and showroom experiences in priority markets; document successful approaches and scale them across markets.
• Represent the voice of dealers and residential designers in cross-functional Wellness planning, communicating product gaps, training needs, competitive insights, service barriers, and emerging opportunities.
• Track Wellness pipeline, engagement, adoption, specifications, revenue, product mix, and program effectiveness, providing regular recommendations to leadership.

Program Development and Cross-Functional Execution

• Translate dealer, designer, and Wellness strategies into annual operating plans with defined priorities, financial objectives, customer targets, milestones, and performance measures.
• Coordinate across Sales, Marketing, Product, Sales Enablement, Customer Service, Pricing, Finance, Supply Chain, and New Product Development to execute dealer, designer, and Wellness priorities.
• Develop scalable programs, training, campaigns, incentives, events, communications, and sales tools that support dealer recruitment, designer engagement, Wellness growth, and opportunity conversion.
• Partner with Finance and Sales leadership to evaluate program economics, customer-development investments, expected revenue, gross margin, product mix, and return on investment.
• Establish consistent operating processes for opportunity qualification, ownership, handoff, local activation, follow-up, and performance management.
• Maintain accurate dealer, designer, and Wellness pipelines, including opportunity stage, estimated value, timing, responsible owner, next action, and conversion status.
• Provide monthly performance updates to leadership covering pipeline development, customer engagement, opportunities transitioned to the field, conversion, revenue, mix, margin, risks, and required decisions.
• Lead monthly pipeline reviews with regional Business Development Managers and strategic account leaders to confirm ownership, handoffs, next actions, and support needs, and redirect effort to the highest-potential opportunities. Provide quarterly performance reviews covering results, customer and market insights, scalable programs, and next-quarter priorities.
• Identify high-performing programs and customer-development practices, document the model, and support replication across the Stores & Showrooms organization.
• Represent Kohler at relevant dealer meetings, residential design events, industry associations, trade shows, educational programs, and customer engagements.
• Protect the Kohler brand and ensure that all dealer, designer, and Wellness programs align with company standards, commercial policies, and strategic priorities.

Skills/Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university in business, marketing, design, sales, or a related discipline required.
• Three to five years of experience in sales, business development, channel development, design-industry engagement, product marketing, or a related field, with demonstrated success developing indirect customers, dealer or designer relationships, trade-influencer programs, and qualified opportunity pipelines.
• Knowledge of the kitchen and bath industry, luxury residential products, showroom selling, specification selling, two-step distribution, and pull-through sales is preferred.
• Familiarity with Wellness-related products, luxury bathroom solutions, residential design trends, or experiential selling is preferred.
• Strong commercial, analytical, and project-management skills, including the ability to assess market potential, revenue, product mix, profitability, program return, and execution requirements.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with customers, designers, sales teams, cross-functional partners, and senior leadership.
• Demonstrated creativity and ability to develop value propositions, customer programs, training, and scalable business-development tools.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook required; experience with Salesforce, Power BI, or related CRM and analytics tools preferred.
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed organization and lead work through influence without direct authority.

Travel

• Travel to dealer locations, design firms, showrooms, customer meetings, market-development activities, trade shows, design events, training programs, and Kohler facilities will be required, approximately 30%–40%.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

We believe in supporting you from the moment you join us, which is why Kohler offers day 1 benefits. This means you’ll have access to your applicable benefit programs from your first day on the job, with no waiting period. The salary range for this position is $135,600 - $211,000. The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidate’s experience, their education, and the work location. In addition, this position is eligible for a performance bonus/variable incentive compensation.

Why Choose Kohler?
We empower each associate to #BecomeMoreAtKohler with a competitive total rewards package to support your health and wellbeing, access to career growth and development opportunities, a diverse and inclusive workplace, and a strong culture of innovation. With more than 30,000 bold leaders across the globe, we’re driving meaningful change in our mission to help people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives.

About Us
It is Kohler’s policy to recruit, hire, and promote qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. If, as an individual with a disability, you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact kohlerjobs@kohler.com. Kohler Co. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.