National Accounts Sales Manager

Job Title

Establishes, develops, and grows strategic business partnerships with specific and targeted national accounts using a consultative selling approach. Identifies, develops, and establishes sales and profit opportunities for future product types. Assists customers in menu analyses to identify target opportunities for C.H. Guenther & Son. The ideal candidate possesses critical experiences and proficiencies in both large national account management as well as in business development.

Duties and Responsibilities

Maintains open & frequent communication with existing customer base via live visits & virtual meetings.

Participates and demonstrates in customer conventions / trade shows.

Leads QA / product incident response with active accounts.

Conducts regular business reviews with top accounts to review business performance and to continuously seek new volume growth opportunities.

Work closely with Commodities / Procurement team to deliver ongoing Commodity updates to key customers (e.g., latest trends with wheat, flour, sugar, oils, etc.).

Ability to drive strong business relationships to earn the right to be viewed as an outstanding partner to our customers, an extension of their own teams / departments, and to always represent CHG in the highest regard.

Plays an active role in drafting new Supply Agreements and Pricing Proposals for customers, in collaboration with CHG's Revenue Growth Management and Legal teams.

Increase base business through new accounts.

Makes "warm" calls from prospect lists to identify key decision makers.

Focused prospecting / researching for potential new accounts.

Submits samples for current and new products.

Responsible for annual sales budget for targeted accounts.

Responsible for securing profitable new business as part of annual budget.

Clear and direct communication with multiple inter-company departments especially National Accounts Product Marketing / Commercialization Team. Other departments include Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Purchasing, R & D and Culinary.

Manages projects with R & D team and our Product Marketing Team to expedite new business development.

Develops thorough understanding of Target Customer operational capabilities through direct involvement with Customer R & D and restaurant operations.

Executes all required administrative work in timely fashion.

Performs all other duties as assigned.

Minimum Job Requirements

Education / Certifications and Experience : A bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or other related field. Culinary or Sales related accreditation a plus. Minimum of 5 years' experience selling / managing National and Regional restaurant chains. Experience in Food Manufacturing, and a basic understanding of plant operations, a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (experience with MS OneNote a plus). Demonstrated leadership skills and possesses the ability to develop interdepartmental relationships.

Strong verbal and written communication skills. Proven strategic selling skills and, preferably, having successfully completed strategic selling courses such as Challenger, Miller Heiman, Gartner, etc.

Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of associates and customers ranging from entry level to executive level positions. Ability to work with multiple departments including but not limited to Cost Accounting, Operations, Purchasing, R & D, Supply Chain, Legal, Culinary, Quality Assurance, and Information Services, both internally and externally. Ability to manage multiple tasks, often with competing deadlines. Ability to prioritize projects and clearly communicate direction internally and externally. Proficient use of computer and related software.

Supervisory Responsibilities

N / A

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

Typical work in office environment or remote home office. Must live near a U.S. airport. Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times. Substantial travel required (up to 40%) mostly in the United States.

Expectations

Will demonstrate, promote, and exemplify the Company's Core Values.