Sales Executive – Trade Show Exhibits & Services

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Trade Show Savvy LLC

Sales Executive – Trade Show Exhibits & Services

Grapevine, TX
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Position Snapshot

    • Title: Sales Executive
    • Division: Trade Show Savvy Division Red Door Three
    • Reports To: General Manager, Red Door Three Division
    • Location: In-office at our Grapevine, TX office at 1020 Mustang Drive (DFW area) when not traveling. DFW hub provides direct flights to most major show cities.
    • Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours/week, Monday–Friday, in-office when in Grapevine. Regular travel to customer shows and industry events — averaging several nights per month.
    • Classification: Full-time, exempt (salaried)
    • Base Pay: $60,000 – $70,000 annually, depending on experience, paid on a bi-weekly salaried basis
    • Commission (at target): $85,000 – $105,000 per year, paid on Gross Profit, uncapped. No cap, no cliffs — every dollar of GP you generate earns commission at your applicable rate.
    • Year 1 Target Total Comp: $150,000 – $170,000. This is not a cold-start role. You will step into an active, established book of business with senior leadership support during onboarding. Year 1 OTE reflects that foundation.
    • On-Target Earnings (Year 2+): $170,000 – $210,000 per year at steady state, as the book grows and renewal and expansion revenue compound
    • Ramp Support: Guaranteed minimum total monthly compensation of $7,500 during the first six months (recoverable draw against future commissions, with standard ramp protections)

    About Red Door Three

    Red Door Three designs, builds, and manages trade show exhibits for clients across the United States. Our work spans custom builds, portable systems, show-services management, installation and dismantle coordination, permanent installations, and exhibit storage. We have built a national reputation on design quality, reliable execution, and a boutique client experience that larger competitors cannot match. We grow intentionally — by earning the next show with the clients we already serve and by adding new clients who value the same level of care.

    Red Door Three is a division of Trade Show Savvy LLC. Our DFW location at 1020 Mustang Drive in Grapevine sits minutes from one of the busiest airline hubs in the country. Trade shows happen in every major U.S. city, and DFW gives our team direct flights to almost all of them — meaning more time on show floors and in front of clients, and less time connecting through other airports. As we expand sales capacity, this role is a key part of how we grow over the next several years.

    The Role

    We are hiring a Sales Executive to drive new business and expand existing client relationships. We work with exhibitors at every stage of their program — from first-time portable buyers to multi-show custom build clients. Many of our best client relationships started with a single portable exhibit and grew into full programs spanning custom builds, show services, storage, and I&D. That growth happens because we earn it, show by show. Your job is to find clients who are ready to be taken care of at that level, start the relationship right, and build it from there.

    This role owns the full arc — from the first cold call to the signed contract to the fifth renewal. The person who prospects is the person who closes, manages the account, and shows up on the show floor. We don't split that function, and we don't want to. The relationship starts before the first meeting, and the candidate who understands that is the one we're looking for.

    In practice that means you will build target lists, prospect consistently across multiple channels, qualify and close new business, and manage and grow your assigned accounts over time — adding new lines of work, deepening engagement, and protecting recurring storage and services revenue. You are the face of Red Door Three to your clients from first contact through the show floor, and you stay their primary relationship throughout.

    A Note to Exhibit Industry Candidates

    If you're currently prospecting at a large exhibit house — building lists, working the phones, qualifying leads — and watching someone else close your deals, manage your clients, and collect commission on relationships you started, this posting is worth reading carefully.

    At Red Door Three, the person who makes the first call owns the client. You close the deal. You manage the account. You show up on the show floor. And you earn commission on everything that grows from the relationship you built — from a $15,000 portable to a $150,000 custom build and beyond.

    If you know the industry, know how to prospect, and are ready to own a full book, we'd like to talk.

    What You Will Do

    Specific activity benchmarks will be reviewed and adjusted collaboratively as your book develops and the business grows.

    • Target identification: work with the General Manager to identify exhibitor lists from shows in our target markets, and build prioritized prospect lists from show directories, industry research, referrals, and your own network.
    • Multi-channel outreach: work targeted exhibitor lists through cold calls, email, LinkedIn, and physical mail — consistently, every month, without waiting to be asked. This role requires real outbound volume. If 80–100 meaningful prospect touches a month sounds like a lot, this probably isn't the right fit. If it sounds like Tuesday, keep reading. Combined with inbound lead handling and customer nurture, outreach is the engine that keeps the pipeline alive.
    • Account development: stay close to existing clients — understanding where their program is headed, what shows are coming up, and where we can do more for them. Portable clients often grow into larger booths and broader programs as their confidence in us grows. Large-booth clients need proactive attention on refreshes, upgrades, and additional shows. Deepening existing relationships is where the most durable revenue comes from, and where great account management shows up most clearly.
    • Active pipeline: maintain an active set of target accounts in documented CRM engagement, with regular activity on each. Pipeline depth and account coverage expectations will be established during onboarding and reviewed as your book develops.
    • Discovery meetings: conduct regular qualified discovery meetings each month, by phone, video, or in person. Cadence expectations will be calibrated during onboarding based on pipeline quality and your ramp stage.
    • Qualify opportunities: understand the prospect's show schedule, booth program, budget, decision-makers, and timing, and confirm fit before pulling our internal team into a quote.
    • Present and propose: introduce Red Door Three's capabilities — custom exhibits, portable systems, show services, I&D coordination, logistics, storage, and permanent installations — and partner with our designers to develop proposals that win.
    • Close new business: manage the proposal-to-contract process, negotiate within agreed parameters, and bring signed projects across the line.
    • Grow assigned accounts: expand inherited and assigned existing accounts by adding services, projects, or new lines of work; protect recurring storage and managed-services revenue through proactive account management.
    • Client ownership: you are the face of Red Door Three to your clients — through the sale, through design and production, through installation, and on the show floor. You attend all client meetings. The project team executes the work; you stay present with the client at every stage. This is not a hand-off model. Your clients know you, trust you, and hear from you throughout the life of the relationship.
    • Show attendance: travel to customer shows and industry events as needed to support relationships and build your pipeline. In a typical month, expect around 4 overnight trips; in busier stretches of the show calendar, that can reach 10 nights or more. Customer shows involve arriving the last day of installation and staying through the first show day — supporting the client, watching the booth perform, and reinforcing the relationship for the next show. Industry events are attended for intelligence, networking, and observation. For the right person, the travel is an asset, not a burden. Per industry rules, contractors do not solicit other exhibitors during installation or show hours.
    • CRM discipline: keep our CRM (Trade Show Savvy platform) current — pipeline, activities, quotes, and notes — and report activity and forecast accurately.
    • Pipeline reviews: participate in a weekly pipeline review with the General Manager.
    • Travel reporting: submit travel and mileage documentation per company policy.
    • Team contribution: collaborate with the design, production, and show-services teams; share what you learn from the market; and contribute to a culture that takes care of clients and each other.

    What You Bring

    • A proven track record in B2B sales or business development — typically 3+ years, though we care more about what you've done than how long you've been doing it. Experience in the trade show, exhibit, event, or experiential marketing industry is a significant advantage. If you've been prospecting or selling at an exhibit house and are ready to own a full book of business, we want to hear from you.
    • A genuine hunger for outbound prospecting — you don't wait for leads, you go find them. Cold calls, cold emails, LinkedIn, show floor conversations — you treat prospecting as a core skill, not a necessary evil, and you do it at volume without losing the personal touch that wins relationships.
    • Consultative, relationship-driven selling style suited to clients who value reliability and creativity over the lowest price.
    • Strong written and verbal communication; you can explain a complex solution in plain language and write a clean follow-up email.
    • Disciplined work habits: you plan your week, manage your pipeline, and follow through on what you commit to.
    • Comfort with CRM, email, and standard sales tools; willingness to learn our systems.
    • Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and genuine comfort with regular travel. A typical month involves around 4 overnight trips; peak stretches of the show calendar can reach 10 nights or more. At this compensation level, the right candidate sees that as part of the opportunity, not a tradeoff.
    • Professional presence appropriate for client meetings and trade show floors.

    Nice to Have

    • Existing relationships with corporate exhibitors, event marketers, or marketing teams.
    • Comfort selling into multiple buyer personas (marketing, events, procurement, executives).

    Quota and Targets

    Annual Gross Profit quota will be set collaboratively with the General Manager prior to the start of each plan year and documented in a written Quota Addendum. Commission is tiered by business type — new client business pays the highest rate. Full plan details will be provided during the interview process and documented at hire.

    What Success Looks Like

    In the first 90 days you will learn our products, services, and client base; build a target prospect list; pick up your assigned accounts; and begin consistent outbound activity. By the end of your first year you'll have your own book — accounts you found, relationships you built, clients who know your name and ask for you by name on the show floor. You'll have closed new business, grown inherited accounts, and established yourself as the face of Red Door Three to a growing set of clients who trust you. That's what success looks like here.

    Why Red Door Three

    Red Door Three is deliberately small, deliberately senior, and deliberately picky about the clients we take on. We don't compete on volume or price — we compete on design quality, execution reliability, and the kind of client attention that larger shops structurally cannot provide. That's the environment you'd be selling from, and working in.

    • Sustainable pace. Show weeks are intense — long days on the floor, early calls, sometimes weekend travel. The weeks between shows are paced like a normal business. We plan the work so it's demanding without being grinding, and we staff to make that possible.
    • Real ownership of accounts. You will not be one of twenty reps competing for credit. Your book is yours, and your relationships are visible to leadership.
    • Direct access to decision-makers. The General Manager is your sales partner, not a layer to navigate. Pricing decisions, proposal sign-offs, and creative input happen in real time.
    • Boutique work. Our clients come to us because the larger shops cannot give them the design quality, service consistency, or attention they need. You will be selling something you can be proud of.
    • Backed by Trade Show Savvy. Red Door Three brings nearly two decades of trade show expertise and a national vendor network. Our partnership with Trade Show Savvy adds capacity and growth investment without changing the boutique character of the business.
    • Real room to grow. You are not walking into a cold territory. Red Door Three has an active book of business generating over $2 million in annual revenue, and this role is built to take full ownership of that book from day one — with senior leadership actively involved in client introductions and relationship support during onboarding. From that foundation, the expectation is 20% annual growth. As the book scales, the Company plans to add a second Sales Executive, creating a path for the right person to grow into a senior account management role with a protected, mature book.

    What We Offer

    • Uncapped Gross Profit commission with no cliffs or caps at any level — every dollar of GP earns at your applicable rate. New business pays the highest rate, and when clients grow their programs, you earn the premium rate on that growth too.
    • Six-month guaranteed minimum of $7,500/month — a safety net, though the existing book and senior leadership support during onboarding mean most months in Year 1 should well exceed it.
    • Pre-approved business travel reimbursed at cost, plus IRS-rate mileage reimbursement.
    • Health insurance per company plan, effective the first day of the month following your start date.
    • 160 hours of PTO per year (Years 0–5), plus standard holidays.
    • 401(k) eligibility beginning 30 days after your start date, per plan document.

    Trade Show Savvy LLC and the Red Door Three Division are equal opportunity employers. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and evaluate candidates on qualifications, experience, and fit for the role. Employment is at-will. This posting is a description of the position and is not a contract of employment; specific terms, including the Compensation Plan and Employment Agreement, will be provided to and signed by the selected candidate at hire.

    Benefits:

    • 401(k)
    • 401(k) matching
    • Dental insurance
    • Health insurance
    • Paid time off

    Work Location: In person