Trade Program Consultant - Home Décor / FF&E / Hospitality Art (Strategic Advisory, Full Lifecycle)

We are an established, design-led wall décor brand selling hand-made, made-to-order artwork internationally, with a strong retail e-commerce business. We are launching a B2B trade channel for interior designers, art consultants, FF&E purchasing agents, hotel projects and retailers in the US, Europe, the UK and the Gulf. We are looking for a senior consultant who has built and grown a trade program in home décor, FF&E, hospitality art or a similar design-led sector, to advise us on how to win trade sales, protect the business on large orders, and ship at volume. This is a strategic advisory role, not task execution. We want to learn from someone who has done this before, and to leave with clear playbooks our team can run. What we want to learn from you 1. Winning trade sales - Which trade buyers to go after first, and how to get the first specifications and orders - How to approach interior design firms, art consultants and purchasing agents - When direct sales, independent sales reps or showrooms make sense - What makes a proposal win, how to handle pricing objections, and how to turn samples into orders 2. Marketing the trade program - How to position and promote the program to design professionals - Trade shows, accredited training for designers, design associations, referrals, content and case studies - Which of these actually bring in trade accounts, and which waste money 3. Lead nurturing and account growth - How to nurture long sales cycles (hotel projects often take 6–18 months) from first contact to repeat orders - Follow-up rhythm, CRM pipeline stages, re-engaging quiet leads - How to grow accounts into repeat partners 4. Risk management on trade orders - Protecting against non-payment, cancellations, disputes and quality claims on large custom orders - Deposit and payment structures, retainage, purchase-order terms to accept or refuse, and credit checks - Contract clauses that matter in hospitality projects 5. Bulk and international shipping - Moving large orders from Asia (China) and Europe to the US, UK, EU and Gulf - Sea vs. air, consolidating into full or shared containers, crating, choosing shipping terms (for example delivered-to-site vs. handing over to the buyer's forwarder), customs and duties - Receiving warehouses and installers, phased deliveries, and handling damage claims What we already have (for you to review and challenge) - Draft trade pricing tiers and margin model - Budget, financial projections and a risk plan - Trade catalog in development and a trade landing page - CRM and outreach tools, and a lead research process for design firms and hotel projects - Studios, a global framing network and existing shipping partners - A tax and invoicing workflow by region Engagement format - Phase 1 (paid, about 2–3 weeks): review our plans and run 3–4 working sessions, one per topic above. Deliver written playbooks: sales and marketing plan, lead nurturing process, risk checklist, and bulk shipping guide. - Phase 2 (optional): ongoing advisory calls, for example bi-weekly, while we launch and handle our first projects. Must have - At least 5 years building, selling into or running a trade or B2B program in home décor, FF&E, hospitality art, lighting, textiles or a similar sector - A track record of winning accounts with interior designers, purchasing agents or hotel projects - Practical experience managing payment terms, contracts and risk on large custom orders Strong plus - Hands-on experience with bulk international shipments from China or Europe to the US and other markets (sea freight, consolidation, customs, crating) - Experience with custom, made-to-order or artisan products - A network of independent sales reps, showrooms, purchasing agents or FF&E freight forwarders To apply, please answer: 1. Tell us about a trade program or account you grew: the product, the buyers, your role, and the result in numbers. 2. How would you get the first 5 trade accounts for a new hand-made art brand in the first 6 months? 3. A hotel purchasing agent sends a purchase order with 60-day payment terms and 10% retainage. How would you respond? 4. Describe a bulk shipment you organised (origin, destination, volume, method). What went wrong, or what would you do differently? 5. How do you keep a lead warm during a 12-month hotel project with no order yet? 6. Your proposed approach and fee for Phase 1, and your hourly rate for Phase 2. Generic answers or copy-pasted proposals will not be considered.