Entry Level Traveling Sales Representative Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Traveling Sales Representative

Great Lakes Wholesale

Full-Time | Field-Based | Extensive Travel Required

Join a Company That Believes in Relationships, Growth, and Getting Things Done

At Great Lakes Wholesale, we believe our people are the key to our success. We're looking for a highly motivated Traveling Sales Representative who is hungry to win, passionate about serving customers, and willing to put in the work to develop and grow a territory.

This isn't a role for someone waiting for opportunities to come to them. We're looking for a true relationship-builder who enjoys being on the road, meeting customers face-to-face, opening new accounts, and growing existing business through consistent follow-up and exceptional service.

If you're self-motivated, competitive, resilient, and excited by the challenge of turning prospects into long-term customers, we want to talk to you.

What You'll Do

• Develop and grow an assigned sales territory through proactive prospecting and customer visits.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities within your market.
• Build strong relationships with customers through regular in-person meetings.
• Present products, introduce new items, and provide solutions that help customers succeed.
• Travel extensively throughout your territory, including overnight travel as needed.
• Attend and represent Great Lakes Wholesale at regional and national trade shows.
• Manage and grow existing accounts while continuously adding new customers.
• Follow up on leads and opportunities with persistence and professionalism.
• Collaborate with customer service, purchasing, and operations teams to ensure outstanding customer experiences.
• Meet or exceed territory sales goals and performance expectations.
• Maintain CRM records and provide regular updates on sales activities and territory growth.

What Makes Someone Successful in This Role?

The ideal candidate is:

✅ Hungry to grow sales and earn commissions

✅ Comfortable spending significant time on the road

✅ Willing to "farm" a territory and build long-term customer relationships

✅ Persistent, competitive, and driven to succeed

✅ Comfortable hearing "no" and continuing to pursue opportunities

✅ Organized, self-disciplined, and accountable for results

✅ Passionate about helping customers grow their businesses

Qualifications

• Previous outside sales experience preferred.
• Experience in wholesale distribution, retail, consumer goods, or related industries is a plus. Experience with selling tools is even better!
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time-management abilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and CRM software.
• Valid driver's license and acceptable driving record.
• Ability to travel a lot of the time to grow your territory and development relationships with your customers.

Our Culture

At Great Lakes Wholesale, we don't just hire employees—we build teams of people who care about serving customers and helping one another succeed.

We are guided by our Core Values:

• Generosity
• Trustworthy
• Humble
• Gratitude

We are looking for someone who embraces these values every day through their actions, decisions, and commitment to customers and teammates.

You'll thrive here if you:

• Take ownership and accountability.
• Do what you say you're going to do.
• Build trust through honesty and integrity.
• Bring a positive attitude and strong work ethic.
• Believe that long-term success is earned through consistent effort and relationship-building.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary plus commission.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Paid vacation and holidays.
• 401k and profit sharing.
• Ongoing training and professional development.
• Career growth opportunities.
• A supportive team environment that values hard work, accountability, and collaboration.

Ready to Build Something?

If you're looking for a sales career where your effort directly impacts your success and you're excited about growing a territory through customer relationships, travel, and face-to-face selling, we'd love to hear from you.

We're not looking for someone who wants to maintain a territory—we're looking for someone who wants to grow it.

Apply today and help us continue building strong customer partnerships across the country. Send your resume to HR@glwholesale.com. 

• Self-motivated
• Salary plus commission
• Be able to travel a lot of the time to build up the territories and client relationship
• Sales experience a must, tools sales experience a plus

Great Lakes Wholesale Group has over 25 years of experience marketing and distributing 5,000+ continuity and closeout items including grocery, tools and hardware, healthcare, dry goods and beauty care products. Our successful customers include hardware stores, dollar stores, discount stores, convenience stores, florists, and supermarkets, as well as other retail outlets and other wholesalers. We offer a consistent line of quality continuity products at reasonable prices while supplementing our product mix with many exciting, limited availability closeout items. By carefully balancing quality and value, we help our retail customers capture the end consumer on the initial sale and keep them coming back again and again. Centrally headquartered in Lockport, IL, we ship our product throughout the United States, to Canada, and around the world.