Regional Sales Manager

This Regional Sales Manager is responsible for selling directly to customers in a defined geographical region.  Account sizes can range from small to very large within any sector in the food, beverage, pet food and other related industries.  Responsible for growing sales by working with and building business relationships with R&D, New Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain groups.  The Regional Sales Manager must be able to develop a thorough understanding of the customer’s business plan and operation, and to utilize our supplier’s expertise to continually bring new solutions to our customers to help them develop new products and solve problems.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

• Meet divisional sales goals, usually 10% gross profit growth annually (30%)
• Build, retain and expand strong multi-level and cross functional relationships with key decision makers within the customer base including Purchasing, R&D, Marketing, Operations, and Quality, etc.
• Develop a thorough understanding of customers business plan and operation
• Bring together needs of various departments or functions in the customer organization to create a strong compelling reason to take action and formulate the unique value our company can provide
• Plan for prospecting new customer by effectively obtaining and using referrals, networking and cold calls
• Negotiate in a cooperative atmosphere, making absolutely sure all sides have an understanding of what is agreed upon and test for understanding
• Utilize suppliers and their expertise to continually bring new ideas to and solve problems for the customer (20%)
• Communicate results of customer visits via weekly reports to division management
• Work internally to build strong business relationships within all company departments

Sales Goals & Objectives:

• Development and execute a detailed sales strategy plan, with input from the VP, Sales and Marketing, to meet divisional financial goals. The plan should be based on assigned accounts/geography based on understanding of market, firsthand customer information, and alignment with company’s strategy
• Ensure that sales revenues volume, growth and contribution margin are achieved or exceeded (30%)
• Update project pipeline monthly. Identify where opportunities lie in the pipeline and takes effective action to move opportunities through the pipeline
• Meet measurable personal objectives developed around annual divisional goals

Market Sales Activities:

• Conduct customer calls, in person and over the phone, in a customer friendly manner that reflects knowledge of the customer and industry
• Uncover customer’s need to offerings our company can provide
• Fully investigate all sales leads with feedback provided through weekly reports
• Communicate to customer any pricing schedules and changes (15%)
• Use the full capabilities of the company which are valued by the customer (i.e., products and services from multiple functions and business units) to differentiate an offering from the competition
• Manage contract performance as required
• Investigate and initiate cross selling opportunities within our group of companies
• Develop and lead customer specific technical and marketing projects, leading them to productive completion
• Develop presentations using best practices to address customer needs, including appropriate next steps, setting audience expectations, and using variety and emphasis through intonation
• Travel – more than 60% of the time. Weekly travel is expected with only periodic full weeks on non-travel.  Some overnight travel is required

**If you’d like to hear more about this opportunity and others we are currently working on, please contact Sam Kovacevic at skova@cps4jobs.com.

JO:  97.23BKK

#LI-SK3

Technical Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or a related discipline required
• At least 5 years of experience and demonstrated new product development success with food ingredients sales
• Experience with the following industries preferred: meat, poultry, dairy, baking, flavor companies, confections, snack foods, nutraceuticals, beverage
• Organized, detail-oriented, and able to effectively manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines
• Superior verbal and written communication skills
• An enthusiastic team player with a strong drive to create a positive work environment
• Ability to connect with and interact effectively within all levels of the business
• Ability to handle sensitive information and maintain the highest level of confidentiality
• Maintains an effective level of business literacy. Able to understand business unit operation plans and relevant sales metrics
• Ability to gather and analyze data and present sound alternatives and recommendations
• Sage X3 and Salesforce experience a plus
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office, particularly proficient in Outlook and Excel
• Travel – more than 60% of the time. Weekly travel is expected with only periodic full weeks of non-travel.  Some overnight travel is required

JO:  97.23BKK

#LI-SK3