Design Lead - to be a manager

Closing Manager — Sales (Interior Design) Location: Pune (or region) Department: Sales / Business Development

Reports to: Head of Sales / Co-founder

Employment type: Full-time

Job summary We are looking for a focused, persuasive, and process-driven Closing Manager to join our interior design sales team. You will take qualified design leads and convert them into signed contracts by guiding prospects through the final stages of decision-making — addressing objections, negotiating scope and pricing, and securing commitment. This role combines strong sales closing skills with solid product knowledge of interior design offerings and operational awareness to ensure a smooth handoff to design and delivery teams.

Key responsibilities

Close sales: Convert qualified leads into confirmed projects by running consultative closing conversations, presenting final proposals, and negotiating terms.

Proposal & quotation ownership: Prepare, review, and tailor final proposals and commercial quotations in coordination with pricing and design teams; ensure accuracy and timely delivery.

Objection handling: Anticipate and resolve buyer objections (budget, timeline, scope, materials, warranty) with empathy and data-backed responses.

Contract execution: Manage contract documentation, collect initial advances, ensure signed agreements, and follow up on necessary paperwork.

Pipeline management: Maintain accurate deal records in the CRM, update stages, expected close dates, and next actions; forecast monthly/quarterly closures.

Cross-functional coordination: Liaise with design, operations, procurement, and finance to validate feasibility, confirm delivery timelines, and ensure pricing margins.

Pricing validation: Work with the pricing/finance team to preserve margin while offering commercially acceptable options and upsell where appropriate.

Customer experience: Ensure a high-quality handover to project managers with client brief, agreed variations, and expectations clearly documented.

KPI ownership: Responsible for personal and team KPIs (conversion rate, average deal size, time-to-close, revenue closed).

Continuous improvement: Collect feedback, identify common objections, and recommend improvements to proposals, payment terms, or product offerings.

Required qualifications & experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Interior Design, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 3–6 years of experience in B2C/B2B sales with at least 2 years closing high-value projects (interior design, real estate, construction, or luxury home improvements preferred).
• Proven track record of hitting monthly/quarterly revenue targets.
• Strong negotiation and commercial skills with experience handling contracts and payments.
• Familiarity with interior design proposals, typical cost components, and delivery timelines.
• Comfortable using a CRM (HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce or similar) and MS Office / Google Workspace.

Desired skills & attributes

Excellent verbal and written communication; confident presenting to HNIs and decision-makers.

High emotional intelligence — listens, empathises, and builds rapport quickly.

Results-driven, resilient, and able to manage rejection without losing momentum.

Strong organisation and time-management; can juggle multiple active deals.

Commercial acumen — understands margins, cost levers, and how to create win-win proposals.

Problem-solver mindset; ability to find creative pricing or scope solutions to close deals.

Integrity and professional conduct; handles customer funds and contracts responsibly.

KPIs / Success metrics

Conversion rate (qualified leads → signed contracts).

Revenue closed per month / quarter.

Average deal size and margin maintained.

Time-to-close (days from qualification → contract).

Percentage of on-time handovers with complete documentation.

Customer satisfaction at handover (measured via short NPS or handover survey).