“Put. That coffee. Down. Coffee’s for closers only," a top “closer” admonishes an underperforming salesman in David Mamet’s play Glengarry Glen Ross. That may have been a little harsh, but the sentiment remains: Sales is the life force of every business. Here, we profile three standout salespeople who keep the design industry humming.

Interior design is a group sport. True, most of the editorial fanfare goes to one well-regarded name; however, the daily business of creating spectacular interiors takes a Wi-Fi-enabled village.

Design principals proudly give credit to, and rely on, their team members—be it the mind-reading assistant, the CAD genius or the prescient office manager. Yet even with a talented crew of work-spouses, reinforcements have to be called in. Sometimes you need a hero in business-casual to save the day.

In our industry, these valiant characters are known as manufacturer reps. Organized and calm, insightful and effective, they are the indispensible design surrogates that keep firms out of harm’s way. Addressing everything from stock availability to pressing product inquiries, quality issues to logistics, sales reps slay problems left and right. They also make the art of sales a collaborative effort, offering product options, alternatives and reassurance to the most harried of designers. If it’s matter of design life or death (and with some clients, it always is), these are the rapid responders.