Zachary Burns

Sales & Operations Leader | Multi-Unit Management | B2B/Pro Channel Growth Wildomar, California • 716-909-3263 • [email protected]

Profiles

LinkedIn: Zach Burns

Summary

Field sales and multi-unit sales leader with 10+ years of experience driving territory growth, coaching distributed teams, and building partner relationships across complex retail-vendor environments. Proven track record launching multi-store programs from scratch, executing performance turnarounds across underperforming territories (82% to 95% of budget), and building high-retention cultures that develop talent for advancement.

Core Competencies

Awards

Leaders Club — Sherwin-Williams (2023): Awarded for territory growth and sales leadership within the Lowe’s Business Unit
President’s Club — Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (2021): Top sales specialists nationwide for commercial account development and operational excellence

Leadership Philosophy

“True leadership means pairing real empathy with clear accountability. I don’t believe in short-term sales spikes that burn out teams. Instead, I focus on building sustainable, repeatable systems through training, setting clear expectations, and creating a culture of ownership. When employees understand the ‘why’ behind their targets, they take personal pride in hitting them.”

Experience

Sales Supervisor — Sherwin-Williams, Lowe’s Business Unit

Jan 2026 – Present | Riverside, CA Territory

Execute operational plans, localized campaigns, and regional revenue strategies across a 10-store territory, growing overall sales 8% over prior year within the first four months.
Launched a brand-new 10-store sales program from scratch — hired all 20 part-time representatives and built staffing and scheduling systems to align workflows with localized sales trends.
Design and deliver on-site training in consultative selling, product knowledge, and customer relationship building, driving a 34% average increase in attachment (add-on) sales over prior year.
Mentor and develop 20 part-time team members for full-time career tracks, sustaining 90% team retention and building a talent pipeline recognized by VP-level leadership for advancement.
Serve as primary liaison between Sherwin-Williams/Valspar and Lowe’s store leadership, using influence-without-authority to unify regional sales strategy with store operations.

Regional Pro Sales Manager — Sherwin-Williams, Lowe’s Business Unit

Oct 2024 – Jan 2026 | Arkansas Territory

Rebuilt sales culture and established consistent growth strategies across 4 historically underperforming territories, improving performance from an average 82% to 95% of budget over 9 months.
Designed and deployed a joint accountability matrix aligning retail teams, corporate reps, and district leadership to drive sales momentum.
Established a structured communication cadence and proactive coaching cycle that resolved channel friction and strengthened execution.
Equipped site managers with the training and tools to take ownership of business targets and drive execution independently.
Defined territory KPIs and rules of engagement to convert reactive, unpredictable accounts into reliable, repeat contractor pipelines.

Pro Sales Representative — Sherwin-Williams, Lowe’s Business Unit

Sep 2022 – Oct 2024 | Durham, NC Territory

Scaled professional paint sales across a 7-store Lowe’s territory, growing performance from 89% to 101% of budget in the first year, while building trusted partnerships with contractors and store leadership.
Partnered with Store Managers, Pro Specialists, and District Managers to align contractor outreach and maximize market performance.
Led recurring coaching and product workshops for store staff, increasing confidence with commercial clients and improving paint-desk conversions.
Developed custom product, pricing, and execution plans for contractors, earning repeat business in a competitive market.
Earned promotion to lead own team within two years — one of only three representatives in a decade to achieve this.

Sales Specialist — Pro — Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Jan 2016 – Sep 2022 | Amherst, NY

Managed commercial sales, inventory, and client logistics within the high-volume Building Materials division.
Became store’s go-to troubleshooter, training floor associates in complex material ordering and customer issue resolution.
Guided trade professionals through large commercial orders, logistics, and material runs to maximize average order value.
Built deep knowledge of retail processes, scheduling, and Pro customer behavior that informs current multi-unit leadership approach.