Though this was our first search with them, we’d been in contact with Cemco Steel’s hiring team for a while. When they needed help finding talent for an expansionary sales role, they reached out to us for our industry-specific recruiting expertise. 

At the time, Cemco had a much stronger presence in the Western and South-central US, with a weaker presence in the Southeast, Midwest, and Northeast. They’d increased their manufacturing capacity to accommodate further sales growth but didn’t have the right person to spearhead a push into this new territory.  

Their goal was to bring a Regional Sales Manager into the fold, specifically helping them push further east into the US’s southeastern states. The issue: Without any foothold there, they were unsure how to best find the right talent with the right connections to be successful. That’s why they brought us into the fold at the very beginning of the search. 

For this role, the need for relevant experience took center stage. They strongly preferred someone with experience selling in the Division 9 space (drywall, ceilings, interior finishes, etc.). They also didn’t want an inexperienced salesperson, fresh off the press; we specifically targeted candidates with pull-through sales experience and well-established connections with distribution partners, FBMs, GMSs, and LWs. 

While this role would start with responsibilities closer to a “Territory Sales Rep,” they intended to find someone to spend the next few years growing the position into more of a classic RSM role. This person should be effective in generating revenue and building sales themselves but could eventually step into a leadership role and see this as a growth opportunity. 

Another important factor: while they aren’t a colossal company, they certainly aren’t small. They tasked us with finding someone who’d be happy with that middle ground. 

Because this was our first search with them, we sent a few candidates their way who met their other qualifications but resided outside the Division 9 space. When it became clear industry-specific experience was less of a “want” and more of a “need,” we homed in on that audience specifically and started digging. Our last slate of candidates had four individuals in the Division 9 space.

From the moment we saw this candidate’s profile on LinkedIn, we knew he’d be perfect for the role, if we could pique his interest. And after their first conversation with him, Cemco’s hiring team agreed with us. 

He lived in Memphis and had been an RSM in with a major player in the drywall space for 5.5 years, so we knew he’d already have the right distributor relationships. They saw his leadership potential, despite the lack of distinct experience, and he met every single other qualification they desired. To top it off, his career history clued us in that he might’ve been at a stage where he wanted more autonomy and leadership growth opportunities.  

Ultimately, this was more of a lateral move for him, but it provided a more appealing pay structure and better opportunities for career advancement.

We sent him over within a week of starting this search, and in under a month and a half they’d signed the contract to bring him on. Without deep building products recruiting experience, he might’ve very easily gotten looked over without someone realizing how strong a candidate he was. 

This was their first experience working with an external recruiter. They transitioned from wondering if bringing in a third party was worth it to working with us to find similar talent for breaking into other markets. 

In the wake of his success in this role and how fast the search was, they’ve tapped us to find similar talent to help them break into other markets on the east side of the US. 

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